Abraham Van Helsing

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character in the novel Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. He is a Dutch doctor, of advanced age and a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc., etc.", but is best known as a vampire hunter.

Dracula

In the novel, Van Helsing is called in by his former student, Dr. Seward (his later friendly relationship with Seward was based in part upon an unknown event in which Van Helsing suffered a grievous wound and Seward saved his life by sucking out the gangrene), to assist with the mysterious illness of Lucy Westenra. It is Van Helsing who first realises that Lucy is the victim of a vampire, and Van Helsing who guides Dr. Seward and his friends in their efforts first to save Lucy and then to end the vampire's threat once and for all.

According to some short and obscure lines of the novel (most readers don't remember them), he had a son (whom he said bore a resemblance to Arthur Holmwood) who died under unrevealed circumstances (presumably his resemblance to Holmwood means that he was at least a young adult). He also had a wife who went insane but who, as a devout Catholic (albeit one with odd ideas about how to use the Host), he cannot divorce. The obvious guess here is that his son was killed by vampires or demons or something of the like and his wife went insane as a result, but this is mere conjecture. The fact that he protected Mina Harker via some sort of ritual circle around her also suggests that he has some familiarity with magic or Catholic exorcism rites. All of these remarks come from the annotions of Leonard Wolf.

Van Helsing is unique in the fact that he is one of the few charcters in the novel that is given a full physical description in one place. In chapter 14, Mina describes him as:

"a man of medium weight, strongly built, with his shoulders set back over a broad, deep chest and a neck well balanced on the trunk as the head is on the neck. The poise of the head strikes me at once as indicative of thought and power. The head is noble, well-sized, broad, and large behind the ears. The face, clean-shaven, shows a hard, square chin, a large resolute, mobile mouth, a good-sized nose, rather straight, but with quick, sensitive nostrils, that seem to broaden as the big bushy brows come down and the mouth tightens. The forehead is broad and fine, rising at first almost straight and then sloping back above two bumps or ridges wide apart, such a forehead that the reddish hair cannot possibly tumble over it, but falls naturally back and to the sides. Big, dark blue eyes are set widely apart, and are quick and tender or stern with the man's moods."

Adaptations of the novel have tended to play up Van Helsing's role as the vampire expert, sometimes to the extent that this is depicted as his major occupation. In the novel, however, Dr. Seward is unaware of this side of his old friend (and furthermore, has no suspicion that vampires really exist, let alone that one is involved in the case), and requests Van Helsing's assistance simply because Lucy's affliction has him baffled and Van Helsing "knows as much about obscure diseases as any one in the world".

Van Helsing is described by his former student thus:

He is a seemingly arbitrary man, this is because he knows what he is talking about better than any one else. He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day, and he has, I believe, an absolutely open mind. This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats, these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind, work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy. [Dracula, ch.9]

It is strange to notice some interesting linguistic facts about Van Helsing's way of talking in the novel. He generally speaks English approximatively, redundantly, filling it with biblical allusions -while Dracula is also a foreigner, but speaking English without accent. But when he is in agitation, he suddenly begins to speak correctly. When Van Helsing is upset, he begins speaking German: "Gott im Himmel!" It is possible that Bram Stoker thought it was Dutch, but the correct Dutch would be "God in de hemel!"

Appearances in movies

Notable actors to have played Van Helsing in various screen versions include Edward Van Sloan in Universal Studios' Dracula series; Peter Cushing in Hammer Films' Dracula series; Laurence Olivier in the 1979 Dracula; Anthony Hopkins in Bram Stoker's Dracula s(1992); and Mel Brooks in the parody Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). The Monster Squad (1987 )Tri-Star Pictures. To be precise, Cushing's character in the Hammer movies was named J. Van Helsing, as seen in Brides of Dracula. The continuity of these movies had Dracula resurrecting in the 1970s, only to meet J. Van Helsing's grandson, Lorimer Van Helsing, a "different" vampire hunter also played by Peter Cushing (notice the family resemblance). It is unclear in The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires if Cushing is playing Van Helsing or a descendant.

Van Helsing (2004)

Hugh Jackman played Gabriel Van Helsing, the eponymous hero of Van Helsing (2004), so that the filmmakers might hold certain rights to the character. While this Gabriel Van Helsing may have fought Dracula (who is called Vladislaus Dracula for the same reason), the time period is actually set about ten years before the events in the book. In this movie, Van Helsing is portrayed as a monster hunter for a secret society composed of all religions, working in the shadows to keep the world safe from supernatural evil.

However according to Stephen Sommers, he didn't like the name Abraham so chose to change his name to Gabriel. He viewed him as Abraham's younger brother.[1]

Movies with descendants of Van Helsing

In addition, there have been numerous works of the descendants of Van Helsing carrying on the family calling of opposing vampires. Examples include the comic book series, The Tomb of Dracula which featured Rachel Van Helsing, granddaughter of Abraham, as a major member of the principal hunters. There is also the manga and anime, Hellsing, in which modern day descendant Integra Hellsing leads a British government strike force (included is a vampire named Alucard who is eventually revealed to be Dracula himself) against supernatural menaces (Mainly those of the evil Nazi terrorist organization Millenium). The previously mentioned Larimer Van Helsing also falls into this category.

Appearances in comics

Abraham Van Helsing was also portrayed in the Tomb of Dracula Marvel series, which was based on the characters of Bram Stoker's novel, but the chronology slightly differs from Bram Stoker's.

His first appearance is in Dracula Lives #3, in which a first encounter between a younger Van Helsing and Dracula is set up. A few days after marrying a woman named Elizabeth, lawyers informed Van Helsing that he had inherited land from a distant relative in Wallachia. Traveling to Romania, Van Helsing had a long conference with some lawyers in Bistritz. Elizabeth went ahead to the manor to set it up for the night.

One lawyer whom Van Helsing talked to had a collection of Hun and Magyar artifacts, and Van Helsing lost track of the time studying them. When he arrived at the manor, he found his wife missing, but did discover several corpses with XXX burned underneath bite marks on their necks. Armed with a gun from his brother Boris, who lived in the U.S., Van Helsing left, frantic.

Returning to Bistritz, a frenzied Van Helsing discovered the existence of the Children of Judas, a vampire coven that served Dracula. He also discovered the location of the Grand Sabbath of the vampires. (Van Helsing assumed that the Children of Judas were human, but mentally ill occultists.) He went there, and found Elizabeth bound on an altar with thirteen Children of Judas and Dracula present.

Armed, Van Helsing opened fire with normal bullets - only to see them have no effect. Stunned, only the arrival of a group of priests and soldiers saved him - but not Elizabeth. Van Helsing refused to allow Elizabeth’s corpse to be beheaded or staked. Reluctantly, they allowed Van Helsing to bury Elizabeth in the manorial vault - but informed him of what to do in three days. Standing watch in the vault, Van Helsing saw her return as a vampire. Destroying her, he swore revenge against Dracula, which would explain the vent of the book.

In 1890, Dracula, having acquired ownership of England’s Carfax Abbey through solicitor Jonathan Harker, moved to the abbey, and began menacing England. His victims included Lucy Westernra in Whitby. The aristocrat had suitors such as Jack Seward, Arthur Holmwood, and Quincy Morris - and had a friend in Mina Murray, Jonathan Harker’s fiancée. Jack Seward, who worked as a doctor in an asylum - tending to among others, the notorious Renfield - contacted Van Helsing about Lucy Westernra’s peculiar loss of blood. Van Helsing, recognizing the mark of the vampire, tried to save Lucy, but she died, returning as a vampire. Eventually, Van Helsing destroyed the vampiric Lucy.

Van Helsing pursued Dracula back to Transylvania. Quincy Morris and Jonathan Harker, armed with knives, impaled Dracula through the heart and apparently decapitated him. Seeing his body evaporate, they left, assuming him to be destroyed.

However, since the knives they used were not made of wood or silver, they did not hurt Dracula as they thought. Instead, Dracula, using his ability to turn into mist, tricked them into thinking that they had destroyed him, and when they left, he returned to corporeal form.

At some later point in time, Van Helsing traced Dracula back to his castle, due to the assistance of a young boy named Carl Von Harbou. Although Von Harbou served Dracula, he decided to betray his master to Van Helsing. Finding Dracula in his coffin, Van Helsing drove a stake through Dracula’s heart.

In the twentieth century, Dracula, having undergone many deaths and returns over the years since his struggles with Van Helsing, traveled back in time to the 19th century via an enchanted mirror, attempting to prevent his destruction at the hands of Van Helsing. Instead of arriving before the staking, however, he arrived after, but still tried to kill Van Helsing. However, Van Helsing had left the area of the Borgo Pass and Castle Dracula.

Dracula killed a young woman, and villagers stormed Castle Dracula. Dracula repulsed them, and then discovered that Frank Drake, one of his descendants, and Rachel Van Helsing, Abraham's great-granddaughter, had followed him from the 20th century. Determined to destroy Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula had a subordinate vampire named Lenore battle Drake and Rachel as he sought to find Abraham Van Helsing.

Dracula discovered Abraham Van Helsing’s i9i9kip8u kmil.klodgings elsewhere in Romania. Stunned and confused as he had just driven the stake through (the native temporal counterpart of) Dracula’s heart a short time ago, Van Helsing was unprepared to face the 20th century Dracula. However, Rachel Van Helsing saved her great-grandfather, forcing Dracula to flee. Dracula escaped back into the timestream, with Frank Drake, Rachel Van Helsing, and their ally Taj Nital in pursuit.

Abraham Van Helsing then trained Mina and Jonathan Harker’s son, Quincy, in vampire lore, but in 1899, thinking that by staking Dracula he had destroyed him for good, he received a rude surprise when Dracula returned years later and killed him.

Character source

There are several possible sources for the character of Van Helsing as described by Bram Stoker. German historian Max Muller is one possible suggestion, as an early draft of Dracula features a version of Van Helsing called Max Windshoeffel. Another is Theodore Roosevelt's uncle, Robert Roosevelt, who was a popular author, of Dutch descent, a scientist, and broadly matched Stoker's description in image and character. He was also a member of Stoker's "clique", which included Oscar Wilde and fellow Long Islander Walt Whitman. Arminius Vambery, a Hungarian professor who helped Stoker with his research into vampirism, is also a likely source for at least part of the character of Van Helsing.

A possible fictional source is a similar vampire-hunting paranormal expert, Dr. Hesselius, who appears in J. Sheridan Le Fanu's seminal 1869 vampire story Carmilla, as well as other supernatural tales by the same author.