calliopes_pen

( Beneath the cut, you will find commentary on the writing of Harmless Phantoms On Their Errands Glide for Yuletide 2023. )

The fic commentary post will be up shortly, but for now, here's the reveal!

Harmless Phantoms On Their Errands Glide (14346 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker
Characters: Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray Harker, Quincey Morris, Abraham Van Helsing, Arthur Holmwood, John Seward
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Journey to the Castle, Kissing in the Snow, Mina tackle hugs Jonathan, Jonathan's skills concern everyone, Quincey has a secret, Ghosts, Found Family, Friendship, Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, Quincey Morris Lives, Seward's bed might be haunted
Summary:

In the wake of the Count’s final defeat, it has begun to snow in earnest. Having nowhere else to go, as night falls our crew is forced to head for the castle for sanctuary from the storm. During the course of the night, they will forge a new destiny for themselves.

( Beneath the cut, you will find my Dear Yuletide 2022 Letter. Fandoms are: Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing (2021), Count Dracula (1977), Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897), Dracula: l'amour plus fort que la mort – Ouali, The Fall of the House of Usher (TV 1966), and Supernatural (TV 1977). )

...or I can just post this today, instead of a few days from now!

( Beneath the cut, you will find commentary on the writing of The Dread of Vanished Shadows for Yuletide 2021. )

The Dread of Vanished Shadows (28425 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker (Novel 1897)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker
Characters: Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula
Additional Tags: Vampire Bites, Possession, Mind Control, Blood Drinking, Sleepwalking, Post-Canon, Exorcism, Fog, Bats, Friendship, Found Family, Dabbling in the dark arts can save lives, Mina will do anything to save her husband's soul, Stake through the heart, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Character Death, Jonathan has a rough night

Summary:
The Count’s reign of terror was not truly ended with his destruction. While there was a year of peace, Jonathan and Mina soon discover that there were many strands in the Count’s web; he planned ahead for this eventuality. When Jonathan begins to sleepwalk, and is preyed upon by the vampire’s progeny, Mina and Van Helsing are locked into a battle with the solicitor's blood, life, and very soul on the line.

Thank you for the Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) fanfic,

laughingacademy! Thank you for the Hellraiser story, Dracothelizard!

In a few days, I'll probably be posting my round-up on the writing of this Yuletide story, just as I do every year.

( Beneath the cut, you will find discussion of writing There Is A Pleasure In the Pathless Woods for Yuletide 2020. )

Reveals have happened, so I can link to what I wrote. My recipient wanted the addition placed right in with the story, so I edited so that I might slide it into chapter 7, and placed two new lines into chapter 8. It made the word count jump from 62,499 words, right on up to 66,996 words.

There Is A Pleasure In The Pathless Woods (67168 words) by calliopes_pen
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker, Brides of Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Dracula/Jonathan Harker
Characters: Brides of Dracula, Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Quincey Morris, Dracula, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood
Additional Tags: Vampire Bites, Found Family, Possession, Mind Control, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnosis, Exorcism, Blood, Blood Drinking, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Adventure, Nightmares, Off Panel Stake Through The Heart, Horror, Fog, Journey to the Castle, Happy Ending, Quincey causes property damage, Jonathan fights for his soul, Mina fights to protect Jonathan
Summary:

A lie is unknowingly penned within the heart of Jonathan Harker’s journal, formed by Count Dracula's great mind. Jonathan did not escape the castle unscathed; he was bitten; he was made to drink blood. As the horror mounts following his escape, Mina is ensnared in the growing net that is woven around them all. They must walk this dark road to its completion, with everyone cooperating and joining the battle for their very souls.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, as the corruption begins to consume Jonathan and Mina one piece at a time.

I suspected it was you for the two I received,

thisbluespirit, but I wasn’t certain. Thank you again for both stories!

As I do every year, I'll do a round-up post about the writing of this sometime in the next few days.

( Beneath the cut, you will find my story notes on Yuletide 2019’s story The Living Sea of Waking Dreams )

I received a lovely fanfic for Yuletide. It's a bit of very sweet pre-canon novel Jonathan/Mina/Lucy.

When I find the living a bore, there’s a place I go (1066 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lucy Westenra/Mina Harker/Jonathan Harker
Characters: Lucy Westenra, Mina Harker, Jonathan Harker
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon
Summary: Lucy is a bad chaperone.

So dear writer, if you're reading this? Thank you, again. It was a joy to see this!

( Beneath the cut, you will find my Dear Yuletide 2019 Letter. Fandoms are: Dracula—Bram Stoker, Dracula (TV 1968), Dracula the Musical - Wildhorn/Black & Hampton, Horror of Dracula (1958), Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979) and Tanz der Vampire – Steinman/Kunze. )

It appears that I ended up receiving a Yuletide story this year after all, contrary to my expectations. It was a lovely treat to receive on this morning. So whoever you are, if you are reading this post, thank you so much. I thought I might know who wrote it, but I could be wrong (seeing as someone other than the previously presumed two people in this fandom wrote a story in this fandom this year).

Road to Recovery (2056 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dracula (TV 1968)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker
Characters: Jonathan Harker, John Seward, Mina Harker
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Post-Canon, Vampires, Victorian, Hurt/Comfort, Dark
Summary:

It will take time for Jonathan to become well again, but both Dr Seward and Mina are willing to do everything they can to help him – in very different ways...

In other news, for those that might be interested and have Comet TV: A Babylon 5 marathon begins at 9 AM CST.

The Yuletide tag set is open. I’ve been going through it see what things might interest me. Right now, here’s a list of what I’m pondering when it comes to either offering to write or requesting. There are a few others I have yet to watch or read that sound interesting, so I’m leaving them off the list for now. This is in order according to books, then movies, tv shows, etc…

I will add that I was amused to see WWII RPF, with a cast of Christopher Lee, Julia Child, Jon Pertwee, and Roald Dahl.

Dracula - Bram Stoker
Dracula the Undead - Freda Warrington
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
Bell Book and Candle (1958)
The Brides of Dracula (1960)
The Company of Wolves (1984)
Crimson Peak (2015)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (Movies - Hammer)
Horror of Dracula (1958)
The Innocents (1961)
Mark of the Vampire (1935)
The Omen (Movies)
Rebecca (1940)
Stardust (2007)
The Uninvited (1944)
Warlock (1989)
White Zombie (1932)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Dracula (TV 1968)

Dracula (TV 2013) is one that I’ve never seen, but I have heard enough about it to be uncertain if I want to give it a shot.

Meanwhile, I found out yesterday that Comet TV will be doing a special showing of three silent films on Halloween night. They’re calling it Hushaween. At 9 PM it’s Nosferatu (1922); at 11 PM, it’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920); and at 1:30 AM, it’s The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Pretty sure I could only last through Nosferatu, but hey—glad they’re on at all.

Yuletide nominations are open.

In two cases for my Yuletide nominations, however, it would appear that someone got to a character before I did, based on the message when I went to save. “Someone else has already nominated the tag Lawrence Talbot (The Wolf Man) for this set but in fandom The Wolf Man (1941).”

The other instance was just that someone else nominated the Rebecca characters, but for the Du Maurier novel. Since that is apparently taken care of, I fell back on second place and the Universal movies.

Are there any specific characters that people might want me to nominate under the umbrella of the older Universal Monster Movies?

( Beneath the cut, you will find the story notes for The Soft Whispers of the Dead. )

Yuletide nominations begin tomorrow, so I just thought I would do a poll for my third nomination. It’s based on the whittled down list of fandoms I could nominate.

First off the ones I will be nominating tomorrow are: Horror of Dracula (1958): Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing, Dracula, and Lucy Holmwood.
Dracula - Bram Stoker: Jonathan, Mina, Peter Hawkins, and Van Helsing.

Someone else will probably get Dracula (1968) and Crimson Peak (2015).

Poll #20433 Which Fandom Shall I Nominate For Yuletide?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

View Respondents

Vote For As Many As You Wish

View Answers

Dracula Das Musical- Wildhorn
2 (25.0%)

Dracula The Undead, by Freda Warrington
1 (12.5%)

The Fall of the House of Usher (TV 1966; with Denholm Elliott)
2 (25.0%)

House of Dark Shadows (1970)
1 (12.5%)

Rebecca (1940)
6 (75.0%)

Universal Monster Movies
4 (50.0%)

In the case of Dracula The Undead, don't confuse it with the sequel from Dacre Stoker. Meanwhile, Dracula Das Musical is the version performed in Graz, and can be found here, on Youtube.

As promised, here are the deleted scenes from The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide.

( Beneath the cut, you will find those scenes. )

And there you have it. That is all that was cut from the fanfic.

( Beneath the cut, you will find the behind the scenes notes for my Yuletide story. It's a bit long. )

If there is anything that wasn't answered by the above, feel free to ask in the comments. Deleted scenes will be posted tomorrow, and afterwards I'll link back to everything in the end notes of the Ao3 upload.

The time for reveals has come. I wrote The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide, which clocks in at 61,506 words. Given it was for Dracula, if they hadn't already guessed it was me behind it, nobody should be surprised.

The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide (61692 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 8/8
Fandom: Dracula - Bram Stoker
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Mina Harker/Lucy Westenra, Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker, Count Dracula/Jonathan Harker, Jonathan Harker/Lucy Westenra
Characters: Mina Harker, Dracula, Lucy Westenra, Abraham Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, John Seward, R.M. Renfield, Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmwood
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Fog, Vampires, Mind Control, Blood Drinking, Character Death, Vampire Turning, Stake through the heart, Friendship, Horror, Gothic, Suspense, Animal Transformation, Rats, Van Helsing Is Thwarted At Almost Every Turn, Possession, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Love, Bats
Summary:

What if Lucy didn’t return to her crypt when she was confronted with Van Helsing and crew? What if she went away with Dracula, and thus avoided the stake? What if Lucy targeted another to get closer to Mina, with Dracula’s assistance? Mina finds herself making a dark choice as her husband wanders into the night, and the ripples of those choices change everything.

The notes and deleted scenes will be posted later, and then linked back to the end notes over on Ao3. I don’t know if I need to cross-post this to

hidden_passages, seeing as I was recced in the Yuletide related post over there.

If anyone happens to have any Yuletide fic recs in the Gothic Horror or Gothic Romance genre now that the archive is open, we’re open to accepting them at

hidden_passages. Specifically, they can go in this post; kudos to

damzel for thinking to post it. I saw plenty of the right type in the archive, but haven’t had a chance to dig through them all.

This year, I received two stories for Yuletide, and I recommend reading both of them if you’re a fan of either Dracula (1968), or Horror of Dracula (1958)--or a Dracula fan, at all, really.

Served Cold (3402 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dracula (TV 1968), Dracula & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker
Characters: Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, John Seward, Abraham Van Helsing
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Dark, Revenge, Vampires, Blood, Yuletide Treat, Crueltide, Major Character Undeath, Rocks Fall Everyone Dies, Mentions of Mina/Lucy
Summary:

Mina’s one remaining desire is simple: she wants revenge.

To the Crossroads (4581 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Horror of Dracula (1958), Dracula & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jonathan Harker, Dracula, Van Helsing (Hammer)
Additional Tags: Vampires, Character Turned Into Vampire, Vampire Turning, hammer horror, Blood, Blood Drinking, Vampire Hunters, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Summary:

Dracula discovers Jonathan Harker’s plot to destroy him and gives him a punishment worse than death. Harker races to get intelligence—and evidence identifying his accomplice—away from Dracula's castle, in the hope that his partner will still be able to defeat the Monarch of All Vampires. To succeed, Harker must stay ahead of Dracula’s suspicions and of his own unholy transformation.

Now to wade through the rest of the archive, and see if there are any other fandoms that I’m familiar with.

I'm currently piecing together this year's Yuletide fanfic from what I've written. So far, with not even half of it in there, and the plot going off into its own thing, and me picking bits out of a dozen versions of one scene to include--it's currently 12,098 words. I'm still piecing it together, and writing things.

I won't say the fandom. I'm not locking this, since the person I'm writing for isn't on my reading list/friends list this year. Send good thoughts my way that this works out!

Is anyone else having issues when it comes to editing their Yuletide sign-up? I wanted to add a couple of other fandoms in there, as well as more characters I was willing to write in another. However, when I tell it to save, I end up with an error. “502 Bad Gateway. The server returned an invalid or incomplete response.”

It’s like that in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. The only workaround I’ve come up with at the moment is jotting down everything I already have, and that I wanted to add, deleting the current sign-up, and doing another sign-up form with the corrected content. I just worried I would end up with that error again.

Speaking of Yuletide,

damzel had the idea of gathering together a list of the gothic horror/gothic romance fandoms that were nominated this year. That’s currently unofficially underway at

hidden_passages. If there are any that were missed, (I’m certain there must be) feel free to add them there.

I finished adding those links to the Dear Yuletide letter, so that now you can just hop on down to each section; after I finished that, I went and successfully signed up.

Heh. Knowing previous years, I’ll keep editing my sign-up until the cut off day.

The Yuletide tag set is open, so everyone can see what was nominated this year. I am genuinely surprised that someone else remembers Escape To Witch Mountain (1995). And all incarnations of The Tomorrow People (I’ve only seen the 90’s American version) tv shows made it in, too. There are so many things that I need to rewatch or read again before I can confirm what I would love to offer to write or what I want to request. I probably need to locate the Holmes and Watson 1975 tv pilot with Robby the Robot.

These are all the ones that I have a particular interest in after looking—including the ones I nominated, somewhere among them:

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter (Mostly going to read this soon)
Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle
Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles - Kim Newman
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
The Real Ghostbusters
The Company of Wolves (1984)
Count Dracula (1977)
Crimson Peak (2015)
The Haunting (1963)
Horror of Dracula (1958)
The Innocents (1961)
Laura (1944)
The Mummy Series
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone films)
The Shadow (1994)
Van Helsing (2004)
Dark Shadows (Big Finish Audio)
Dark Shadows (1966)
Dark Shadows (1991)
Dracula (TV 1968)
Dracula: The Series (This is the 1990 version)
She-Wolf of London (TV)

I need to read Nine Coaches Waiting, by Mary Stewart. Tanz der Vampire - Steinman/Kunze is one that Youtube keeps recommending I watch, due to my interest in Dracula musicals. I spotted My Two Dads, which currently airs in reruns on Sunday nights on Antenna TV. Poltergeist: The Legacy is on daily on Comet TV.

I have She-Wolf of London, and the 1991 version of Dark Shadows on DVD, along with Dracula: The Series when it comes to the tv shows section.

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1022531.html

The rest of the nominations have been approved for Yuletide.

✔ Count Dracula (1977)
Characters
✔ Renfield (Count Dracula 1977)
✔ Jonathan Harker (Count Dracula 1977)
✔ Dracula (Count Dracula 1977)
✔ Mina Westenra Harker (Count Dracula 1977)

✔ Dracula (TV 1968)
Characters
✔ Jonathan Harker (Dracula TV 1968)
✔ Mina Harker (Dracula TV 1968)
✔ John Seward (Dracula TV 1968)
✔ Lucy Weston (Dracula TV 1968)

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1021450.html

My nomination list for Yuletide has partially been reviewed. So as of right now, I can confirm this one. I'll let people know when the others make it through.

✔ Dracula - Bram Stoker
Characters
✔ Golden Krone Innkeeper's Wife (Dracula - Bram Stoker)
✔ Jonathan Harker (Dracula - Bram Stoker)
✔ John Seward (Dracula - Bram Stoker)
✔ Dracula (Dracula - Bram Stoker)

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1021238.html

Next year, I will try to remember to nominate Dracula The Undead, by Freda Warrington. (Not the Dacre Stoker novel of the same name) I love that unofficial continuation of the novel, and I have a prompt I'd love to see written someday. I just never have room and/or never think to nominate it until I've already done my nominations.

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1020647.html

Yuletide nominations are open. My nominations look like this--and I will let people know when they are either accepted or rejected, should that occur at all. The "?!" mark was what it looked like before either happened.

?! Count Dracula (1977)
?! Renfield (Count Dracula 1977)
?! Jonathan Harker (Count Dracula 1977)
?! Dracula (Count Dracula 1977)
?! Mina Westenra Harker (Count Dracula 1977)

Dracula (TV 1968)
?! Jonathan Harker (Dracula TV 1968)
?! Mina Harker (Dracula TV 1968)
?! John Seward (Dracula TV 1968)
?! Lucy Weston (Dracula TV 1968)

?! Dracula - Bram Stoker
?! Golden Krone Innkeeper's Wife (Dracula - Bram Stoker)
?! Jonathan Harker (Dracula - Bram Stoker)
?! John Seward (Dracula - Bram Stoker)
?! Dracula (Dracula - Bram Stoker)

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1019591.html

In my Yuletide considerations, I still have a few blank spots for who I plan to nominate in each source. Currently, it looks a little like this:

Count Dracula (1977)
1. Renfield (as I promised

sovay, and I love the character, too)
2. Jonathan Harker
3. Dracula
4. Mina Westenra Harker

Three and four are up for grabs, though I’m leaning towards throwing the Louis Jourdan version of Dracula into the third slot at the moment. Are there other character requests from those who have seen it?

Dracula (TV 1968):
1. Jonathan Harker
2. Mina Harker
3. John Seward
4. Lucy Weston

The fourth character slot in Dracula (TV 1968) will either be Lucy Weston, Dracula, or Van Helsing. It depends on who is wanted more.

Dracula—Bram Stoker (the original novel):
1.Dracula
2.Jonathan Harker
3.Golden Krone Innkeeper's Wife
4.Seward

As I asked over in that Yuletide comment the other day: Is there anyone in particular that anybody is desperate to see before I added anyone else? Because if someone would love to see (in that last one) the Brides of Dracula, Van Helsing, Mina, Lucy, Quincey, Seward, Arthur, or even Sister Agatha nominated I'd be happy to throw whichever two in when things open on the 8th.

Should anyone have any character requests, I'll edit them in.

(Hit random icon, and get Dracula about to bite Lucy's throat in Dracula (1968). Heh.)

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1019123.html

The yearly Yuletide Fandom Brainstorming post has gone up. I added my comment about who I’m willing to nominate here. I’m open to nominating whoever people wish to see in the Dracula fandoms. With Dracula (1968), I’m now going back and forth on which I should toss into the nominations for that particular fourth character slot.

Crossposts: https://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1018674.html

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Page Summary

The Yuletide 2023 Commentary Post
Fic: Harmless Phantoms On Their Errands Glide
Dear Yuletide Letter 2022
The Yuletide 2021 Commentary Post
Fic: The Dread of Vanished Shadows
The Yuletide 2020 Commentary Post
Fic: There Is A Pleasure In The Pathless Woods
The Yuletide 2019 Commentary Post
A Story For Me
Dear Yuletide Author 2019
I Received A Yuletide Treat
Yuletide Tag Set Is Open
Nominations Are Open
Story Notes For The Soft Whispers of the Dead
Nominations Begin Tomorrow
Deleted Scenes
The Yuletide 2017 Fanfic Commentary Post
Fic: The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide
Hidden Passages Is Open For Yuletide Recs
I Received Two Dracula Stories!
Yuletide Update
A Problem With Editing The Form
Signing Up For Yuletide: Completed
The Yuletide Tag Set Is Open
They All Went Through
One Fandom So Far, Two To Go
Note To Self
Yuletide Nominations Are Open
I Have A Few Openings
Yuletide's Brainstorming Post

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Entries tagged with yuletide

The Yuletide 2023 Commentary Post

Fic: Harmless Phantoms On Their Errands Glide

Dear Yuletide Letter 2022

The Yuletide 2021 Commentary Post

Fic: The Dread of Vanished Shadows

The Yuletide 2020 Commentary Post

Fic: There Is A Pleasure In The Pathless Woods

The Yuletide 2019 Commentary Post

A Story For Me

Dear Yuletide Author 2019

I Received A Yuletide Treat

Yuletide Tag Set Is Open

Nominations Are Open

Story Notes For The Soft Whispers of the Dead

Nominations Begin Tomorrow

Deleted Scenes

The Yuletide 2017 Fanfic Commentary Post

Fic: The Book Of Night Was Opened Wide

Hidden Passages Is Open For Yuletide Recs

I Received Two Dracula Stories!

Yuletide Update

A Problem With Editing The Form

Signing Up For Yuletide: Completed

The Yuletide Tag Set Is Open

They All Went Through

One Fandom So Far, Two To Go

Note To Self

Yuletide Nominations Are Open

I Have A Few Openings

Yuletide's Brainstorming Post