I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to harvest all the blood donors for Dracula’s New Year’s Eve celebration. This might have been an easy job if it weren’t for the frigid temperatures in Time Square, one of the coldest in recorded history in fact.

Do you have any idea what fifteen below zero does to a vampire? I mean our blood is cold to begin with and when it’s this cold we’re sluggish unless we’re constantly feeding on warm blood.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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W. J. Howard is a contributor and administrator here at the Vamplit blog. She writes horror, fantasy and sci-fi with a bit of comedy thrown in at times. In addition, she is the author of the award winning novel, The Courier, a satirical, good vs. evil fantasy novel about Barry, who takes a job that seems too good to be true and soon finds out it pays to read the fine print. Vamplit Publishing will publish The Courier in quarterly serialized episodes starting this month. Many of Wendy’s short stories are featured here in the blog.

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I guess I should back up and mention I volunteered to gather six hundred and sixty six donors for a New Year’s Eve Celebration hosted by Dracula’s clan every hundred years. Considering our life span, I suppose the holiday is only worthy to celebrating that often. Vampires from all around the world attend the event, which is more of an orgy and gluttonous feast.

Anyways, I wasn’t invited to the last bash despite my five hundred years as a vampire. You see, I’m a bit of a fuck up. I’ve never been considered worthy of Dracula’s close circle let alone an attendee at a social event, at least until I volunteered for this mission. If all goes well, I’ll be painting the party red with the best of the community in just a few short hours. If I can’t prove my devotion to Dracula, I have no idea what they’ll do to me.

Now, I stand on the rooftop, overlooking Time Square and a crowd of unsuspecting blood donors waiting for the ball to drop. My only hope is I can pull this off.

My original plan was to fly in and pluck a donor at a time out of the crowd like an apple off a tree. That way no one would notice what I was doing, considering my ability to move faster than the human eye can see, and even faster than most other vampires. It’s my gift. But the frigid cold has slowed me down, and I’ve only collected a hundred so far. In fact, my body is stiffening so fast that I have to warm myself by draining two out of every ten I lift to the rooftop.

“What the hell is going on up here?”

It’s Ingrid, the event planner for the celebration, and the only one willing to give me this chance. Wicked vamp but a real tight ass.

“It’s the cold. It’s slowing me down.”

“You’re sucking up all the blood for the party.” Ingrid swept her hands over a nearby pile of dead bodies, already frosting over from the cold.

“What did you not understand about the cold slowing–”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. You promised me you could do this.”

“I need help.”

“Help?” Ingrid sighed and put her hands on her curvy hips. “How about you help me explain to Dracula why we have to cancel tonight’s blood orgy.”

Ingrid’s the biggest bitch in the New York Vampire community and I knew she’d have me staked if I didn’t follow through. So I lied. “I’ll get it done. Come back in an hour.”

The sound of Ingrid’s heals faded while I glanced back down on the crowd below. I figured I had two choices, grab five at a time and risk being noticed or get staked. So I went with Plan A.

I descended upon the crowd in a flash and was able to grab three donors. Again and again I swooped down increasing my load to capacity. Gathering up more people was tricky, still it was going faster and the more times I dived the easier it was to juggle donors.

By the twentieth dip I took a break and sucked down the blood of two young, corn fed blondes I could tell were from out of town. That’s when I heard panic from the streets below. No one suspected a vampire though. They were screaming out, “terrorists.”

The threat spread like a wave over the crowd and two-hundred-thousand people scattered like ants with no regard for who they stepped over.

Shit! It was one thing to snatch up donors, standing still, but they were all in motion now. It didn’t stop me though. I collected as many as I could as fast as I could until I was forced to take another break.

This time I fed on locals until my gut would take in no more and blood regurgitated back up my throat and out my nose. The problem was it didn’t warm me nearly enough to get me back to max speed, and I was only half way to my quota.

As I swooped back down on the crowd, I was surprised by how quickly the crowd had disbursed. There were hundreds of humans, trampled and lying on the ground begging for help though. Easy pickings, I thought.

“Look!” A man in the crowd on the ground pointed upward.

He saw me, so I swooped in and grabbed him next along with three motionless bodies beside him and a lost child sobbing to his right. Upward I flew, struggling to reach the rooftop, but my momentum slowed. Just three floors short of the rooftop, my grip stiffened and paralyzed, and I dropped my load. The more I struggled to fly upward and save myself, the colder I grew until I shattered like glass into millions of shards that rained down on Time Square.

I had ruined Dracula’s New Year’s Eve celebration.

While I expected I was dead and gone forever, Dracula had other plans. He sent Ingrid out to sweep up the shards of me and place them in a lava lamp where surprisingly my awareness remains along with an eternal desire for blood. Ingrid’s in here too, nagging and picking at me as I float in slow motion around the nastiest blood sucking bitch, a fate worse than Hell.

© Copyright 2012 W.J. Howard
978 words

This Week’s Topic

Best Performance in the Role of Dracula
Who do you think played Dracula best?

Our horror chat is open to everyone whether you are a writer, publisher, film maker, artist, gamer, magazine or just someone who loves horror. Remember this is a fun and promotional chat. Feel free to invite your friends across Twitter to join our chats.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. Every Tuesday we’ll post the current week’s and the following week’s topic (below).  

**If you’d like to suggest a topic, post it here and it’ll get added to the list of future topics.

2.  All day Wednesday on Twitter, starting 12:00 A.M. GMT and ending 11:59 P.M. Pacific time, tweet your answers, comments and replies to other participants on the topic. Make sure you include:

• #humpday #horrorchat in your responses so other chat participants can find the chat tweets (on longer tweets, include #horrorchat at a minimum)
• short links to websites, videos and other stuff related to the topic. Promotions for your works (literature, films, artwork, magazines, games, etc.) and friend’s work are welcome and expected

If you don’t use Twitter, you can also participate on our Facebook page.

3. Search for ‘horrorchat’ and/or ‘humpday’ to find other members chatting on the topic and comment on their responses using @ mentions.

TIPS FOR TRACKING THE CHAT

• Try using TweetChat to view the combined conversation. Enter ‘horrorchat’ in the search criteria or go directly to http://tweetchat.com/room/horrorchat. You can join the conversation from TweetChat as well.
• On Twitter, search for horrorchat and save the search. This makes it easy to switch between @ mentions and your search. You can also expand the tweets to the right using the arrow button and see all the replies to a particular tweet much easier than provided in TweetChat. Need specific directions, click here.

If you have any questions, please post them to the comments here or direct them on Twitter to @by_wjhoward.

Next Week’s Topic:  What scared you as a child? (i.e. toys, movies, books, etc.)

THIS WEEK’S HORRORCHAT

Dumped here Thursday via HashParty.

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS: @vamplit @carolelynngill @by_wjhoward @FKMagazine @bloodlegger @jimbronyaur @AS_Promotions @mcdermottalex96 @lokinvar @VampireMob @ecovampira @darkmediacity

@darkmediacity @by_wjhoward Annie Lennox http://youtu.be/X6EBzUh5Yfc from the film that shall remain nameless #humpday #horrorchat
@vamplit Alice Cooper as Dracula…good one #humpday #horrorchat
@vamplit @darkmediacity @carolelynngill I love christopher Lee’s voice!! #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward more Christopher Lee http://youtu.be/wwXtqaRGstc #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward I’m listening to Christopher Lee reading Dracula, its like heaven on earth. He is the sexiest vampire. #horrorchat
@darkmediacity @by_wjhoward Read Sookie Stackhouse novels, if you have which character is obsessed with Dracula #humpday #horrorchat
@vamplit @by_wjhoward @carolelynngill Oh, now you have to. Haha. #horrorchat
@darkmediacity @vamplit @by_wjhoward @carolelynngill http://youtu.be/kEY1nIWYlDY Christopher Lee reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula #horrorchat
@darkmediacity @vamplit @by_wjhoward @carolelynngill I not safe to talk in public about that film by I do like Gary Oldman #horrorchat
@vamplit @by_wjhoward @carolelynngill Am I being too cliche if I say Gary Oldman #humpday #horrorchat
@lokinvar I loved the Dracula in Buffy he was scary and sleazy too. #humpday #horrorchat
@darkmediacity Hi today its the best performances as Dracula whats your favourite #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @vamplit @carolelynngill @darkmediacity Danica&Drake from Blade3 Music Tainted Love http://youtu.be/UpB1wWW9NSQ #horrorchat
@mcdermottalex96 @by_wjhoward @carolelynngill how about this Dracula movie have you seen it http://youtu.be/S-zj8U7WkCs #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward http://youtu.be/k3SsYyTUu50 Muppets Dracula #horrorchat
http://youtu.be/HWU7FxQIsoM Alice Cooper I Love the Dead #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @vamplit @carolelynngill @darkmediacity I love that film, its amazing #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward I knew he’d done it but just when for film, how about this http://youtu.be/TQK5TbgopKw Alice Cooper #humpday #horrorchat
@vamplit @carolelynngill @darkmediacity Forgot Andy Warhol did it. #humpday #horrorchat
@vamplit Close. 3. I was surprised to find he’d played role on stage, in Dracula and Abbott & Costello movie #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill @darkmediacity http://youtu.be/SjqD3aLnPrY Blood For Dracula (1974): opening credits with Udo Kier #horrorchat
RT @by_wjhoward: Bela Lugosi was best known for playing Count Dracula. How many times did he play the part #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward are you counting the Abbott and Costello movie too If so 2 if not one. #humpday #horrorchat
RT @by_wjhoward: Bela Lugosi was best known for playing Count Dracula. How many times did he play the part #humpday #horrorchat
Bela Lugosi was best known for playing Count Dracula. How many times did he play the part #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @ecovampira @carolelynngill @AS Promotions @mcdermottalex96 http://youtu.be/BXzC5SNv1q4 Anime Dracula #humpday #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @mcdermottalex96 @by_wjhoward @VampireMob http://youtu.be/VthsQVsXwEg Count Duckula #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill @VampireMob Dave Allen on Dracula http://youtu.be/Xtn4S9KUsg0 very funny sadly missed. #horrorchat
@VampireMob @by_wjhoward @carolelynngill I bet someones already tweeted Bela Lugosi happy #humpday #horrorchat guys.
RT @AS_Promotions: Saw #Dracula the Ballet in Los Angeles some time back. Spectacular! With music from Liszt haunting… #vampire #horrorchat #humpday
RT @VampireMob: A #vampire story for the rest of us w cast from #Simpsons #Sopranos #BoardwalkEmpire #humpday #horrorchat http://bit.ly/9ES2vn
Don’t miss a single post this month… http://bit.ly/krGJ21 #horrorchat13
RT @mcdermottalex96: #horrorchat #humpday #Dracula related!! #Vampire books!
RT @by_wjhoward @VampireMob Thanks for sharing! LUV IT!! @vamplit @carolelynngill DON’T MISS http://bit.ly/9ES2vn #humpday #horrorchat/Thnx!
RT @AS_Promotions: Love this song!! @carolelynngill @vamplit RT Rob Zombie’s Dragula! #horrorchat #humpday Hey i like this! http://fb.me/12nY8JTUG
@ecovampira Got a link to Enchanting book on Amazon #humpday #horrorchat
RT @by_wjhoward: @VampireMob Thanks for sharing! LUV IT!! @vamplit @carolelynngill DON’T MISS http://bit.ly/9ES2vn #humpday #horrorchat
@VampireMob Thanks for sharing! LUV IT!! @vamplit @carolelynngill DON’T MISS http://bit.ly/9ES2vn #humpday #horrorchat
RT @VampireMob: A #vampire story for the rest of us w cast from #Simpsons #Sopranos #BoardwalkEmpire #humpday #horrorchat http://bit.ly/9ES2vn
RT @carolelynngill: Pputting up videos with great music and I love it! it’s all for #horrorchat #humpday! come and join us! put up something Dracula related
@carolelynngill @vamplit Introducing children to horror over breakfast…LOL #humpday #horrorchat
@mcdermottalex96 #horrorchat A good #vampire book is enchanting! For us #gothic lovers, there just aren’t many right now!
RT @VampireMob: A #vampire story for the rest of us w cast from #Simpsons #Sopranos #BoardwalkEmpire #humpday #horrorchat http://bit.ly/9ES2vn
@carolelynngill @vamplit 1974 Blood of Dracula is one of my all time favorites #humpday #horrorchat
A #vampire story for the rest of us w cast from #Simpsons #Sopranos #BoardwalkEmpire #humpday #horrorchat http://bit.ly/9ES2vn
@carolelynngill @vamplit Klaus Kinski became his parts. No wonder he was a bit nuts. #humpday #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @vamplit Yes, Richard Roxburgh played perfect Dracula in Van Helsing #humpday #horrorchat
#horrorchat #humpday #Dracula related!! #Vampire books!
RT @carolelynngill: Iced Earth’s Dracula–the story in a song. #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit @vy_wjhoward enjoy on Dracula horror… http://fb.me/Z4mCsGGQ
RT @carolelynngill: Pputting up videos with great music and I love it! it’s all for #horrorchat #humpday! come and join us! put up something Dracula related
@AS_Promotions Me too in Denver. Dracula ballet is spectacular! #humpday #horrorchat
Saw #Dracula the Ballet in Los Angeles some time back. Spectacular! With music from Liszt haunting… #vampire #horrorchat #humpday
More Dracula in cartoons http://youtu.be/K_ZcR5-kzv4 Scooby Doo makes it in #humpday #horrorchat
#horrorchat #humpday Rob Zombie is f**&^ amazing! Dragula is 1 of his best!
“RT @carolelynngill: http://www.youtube.com/watch v=Xj2rm5bTrQQDracula, the musical
#horrorchat #humpday
@vamplit @by_wjhoward reminds me of Phantom of Opera”
Love this song!! @carolelynngill @vamplit RT Rob Zombie’s Dragula! #horrorchat #humpday Hey i like this! http://fb.me/12nY8JTUG
RT @carolelynngill: Werewolf vs Dracula from Van Helsing. love this! #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit @by_wjhoward please join us on… http://fb.me/12j2tgHqk
RT @carolelynngill: Iced Earth’s Dracula–the story in a song. #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit @vy_wjhoward enjoy on Dracula horror… http://fb.me/Z4mCsGGQ
RT @carolelynngill: Pputting up videos with great music and I love it! it’s all for #horrorchat #humpday! come and join us! put up something Dracula related
RT @HorrorChat13: Join @jimbronyaur & @mkelly317 while they corrupt the world with zombies! #horrorchat13 www.horrorchat.info
Did we miss Richard Roxburgh as Dracula. http://youtu.be/HVda5BiAUug That’s be a #humpday #horrorchat shame.
Join @jimbronyaur & @mkelly317 while they corrupt the world with zombies! #horrorchat13 www.horrorchat.info
Taking a break from writing #fridayflash to check out new best Draculas posts for #humpday #horrorchat.
RT @jimbronyaur: Hey to @mkelly317 & @horrorchat13 … posted rules for our contest this month… RT it! http://ht.ly/57EFs
RT @jimbronyaur: Hey to @mkelly317 & @horrorchat13 … posted rules for our contest this month… RT it! http://ht.ly/57EFs
Pputting up videos with great music and I love it! it’s all for #horrorchat #humpday! come and join us! put up something Dracula related
Iced Earth’s Dracula–the story in a song. #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit @vy_wjhoward enjoy on Dracula horror… http://fb.me/Z4mCsGGQ
Werewolf vs Dracula from Van Helsing. love this! #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit @by_wjhoward please join us on… http://fb.me/12j2tgHqk
Rob Zombie’s Dragula! #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit @by_wjhoard. Hey i like this! http://fb.me/12nY8JTUG
RT @jimbronyaur: Hey to @mkelly317 & @horrorchat13 … posted rules for our contest this month… RT it! http://ht.ly/57EFs
RT @jimbronyaur: The rules for #horrorchat13 ‘s zombie month contest are posted… win a copy of Undead is Not an Option (by #TSC) http://ht.ly/57EDu
Hey to @mkelly317 & @horrorchat13 … posted rules for our contest this month… RT it! http://ht.ly/57EFs
The rules for #horrorchat13 ‘s zombie month contest are posted… win a copy of Undead is Not an Option (by #TSC) http://ht.ly/57EDu
Spanish Dracula from 1931! looks good! #horrorchat #humpday @vamplit #horrorchat http://fb.me/KMoRse6C
Catch Dracula’s Lament! #horrorchat #humpday join us on Twitter for our Dracula themed day! this is a riot!… http://fb.me/zanh7QSF
“http://www.youtube.com/watch v=Xj2rm5bTrQQDracula, the musical
#horrorchat #humpday
@vamplit @by_wjhoward reminds me of Phantom of Opera”
“http://www.youtube.com/watch v=dwn3BfhaBqEJim Carrey funny spoof Oldman’s Draci
#horrorchat #humpday
@vamplit @by_wjhoward”
Gwar… You are my meat… listen to the words… enjoy. http://bit.ly/kTSpI4 #horrorchat13
RT @HorrorChat13: Zombie… bunnies Don’t miss this video! http://bit.ly/kjVwRY #horrorchat13
Zombie… bunnies Don’t miss this video! http://bit.ly/kjVwRY #horrorchat13
@lokinvar You’ll have to vote for The Count on the Vamplit Facebook page. #humpday #horrorchat http://on.fb.me/lvLzsY
Poll on the Vamplit facebook page asking your favorite Dracula performance by an actor http://on.fb.me/lvLzsY #humpday #horrorchat
RT @lauraeno: RT @HorrorChat13: It’s here… the undead have come… #horrorchat13 – www.horrorchat.info
RT @HorrorChat13: It’s here… the undead have come… #horrorchat13 – www.horrorchat.info
First up… a warning from the CDC – http://bit.ly/jUEawv
What would a discussion about best Draculas be without Blackula http://youtu.be/26jvG4THLIE #humpday #horrorchat
Just posted the first three posts for zombie month on #horrorchat13… http://bit.ly/krGJ21 #fb
It’s here… the undead have come… #horrorchat13 – www.horrorchat.info
RT @vamplit Dracula 2000 http://youtu.be/XOKKL_rwoKk this is one of my favourite vampire films. #horrorchat <--ME TOO!!
@vamplit @by_wjhowardback later for #humpday #horrorchat!
"http://www.youtube.com/watch v=K1KO55JBuFEKlaus Kinski as Nosferatu
#horrorchat #humpday
@vamplit @by_wjhoward”
@carolelynngill @vamplit Have memories of running around saying BLAH BLAH BLAH! as kid LOL #humpday #horrorchat
“http://www.youtube.com/watch v=7Nfmh178L98and of course! Bela!
#horrorchat #humpday
@vamplit @by_wjhoward”
@carolelynngill @vamplit There’s another topic, horror characters in cartoons. #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward hahahahaha!!!!! #horrorchat -Hey, it works though… those small things in life make great horror stories/movies
@carolelynngill @vamplit Shadow of the Vampire was such a great film! #humpday #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @vamplit off topic added Dreamy Horror to #horrorchat topics when happened on Carnival of Souls http://youtu.be/0VPcMTg4Lq4
@jimbronyaur Why does Attack of the Killer Shrews come to mind…lol http://youtu.be/0VPcMTg4Lq4 #humpday #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @vamplit Carradine was Dracula more times than I thought starting with House of Frankenstein 1944 #humpday #horrorchat
“http://www.youtube.com/watch v=HzhCA3gQWyQ&feature=relatedWilliem DeFoe as Max Schreck
#horrorchat #humpday
@vamplit @by_wjhoward”
@carolelynngill @vamplit Love the bat…on a string…LOL. We could do a whole #humpday #horrorchat on really bad vampire bat scenes.
@vamplit @carolelynngill Acting in silent horror films so eerie. Max Schreck will always be one of my FAVS. #humpday #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward I’m sure you could turn the barking dogs into a good ‘ol scary movie, no #horrorchat
Dogs have had me up since 3:30AM. Might as well join #humpday #horrorchat with those under the sun.
#horrorchat #humpday the horror – seeing all those cookies disappear like that… mwahahaha
#horrorchat #humpday Hi all. One of my favs – Count Drac and the Cookie Monster. http://www.youtube.com/watch v=u7hTkzEwFZ0
Have you put up a link to Shadow of the Vampire http://youtu.be/JyBt5DDFcQY #horrorchat
RT @carolelynngill: #horrorchat #humpdayDracula Day on Horrorchat! hope you join us! #horrorchat
“#horrorchat #humpdayDracula Day on Horrorchat!
hope you join us!”
@carolelynngill this one is just for you Louis Jordan as Dracula http://youtu.be/1YXD5_6vhHM #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @wj_howard my last offering this morning is Young Dracula http://youtu.be/piGEYlb4VEo #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @wj_howard Alice Cooper in Suck a rock and roll vampire movie http://youtu.be/u7h9ORm07JY sadly this film did #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill The League of Gentlemen’s creepy vampire scene http://youtu.be/u7h9ORm07JY watch it is you dare! #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @wj_howard another Morgan Freeman as Dracula http://youtu.be/2J5JqftATOA #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @wj_howard what about Morgan Freeman singing about bathing in a casket http://youtu.be/Wp0-yDJAtWQ #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @wj_howard just because its there Lego Vampire Attack http://youtu.be/IjS4WZDuNiI and I’m becoming addicted #horrorchat
Dracula in the film Van Helsing http://youtu.be/HMvSQGx7evU this is the bloopers #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @wj_howard I beat you to Buffy have you seen this http://youtu.be/vHYl1eDaSCU Santos vs. Dracula Mexican horror #horrorchat
“http://www.youtube.com/watch v=JDjA3WoP6Wo@vamplit @wj_howard
Buffy vs Drac preveriw! #humpday #horrorchat”
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill how about Billy the Kid vs. Dracula http://youtu.be/BomWL2cb5-Y I think John Carradine is Dracula #horrorchat
“http://www.youtube.com/watch v=JyBt5DDFcQYI second Schreck. And this is a great film about him!
@vamplit @wj_howard #horrorchat #humpday”
This is a B&Q add that used Dracula to sell the Colonialist door http://youtu.be/mKqJNXQI-3I #horrorchat
Dracula Dead and Loving It http://youtu.be/c7Dogj5c9pg as a tribute to the wonderful comic timing of Leslie Nielson #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill does anyone else remember the Buffy vs. Dracula episode http://youtu.be/ZFQOGdcTB5I very creepy. #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill Dracula 2000 http://youtu.be/XOKKL_rwoKk this is one of my favourite vampire films. #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill George Hamilton in this very 70s scene from Love at First Bite http://youtu.be/jgtftS4MF0Y #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carolelynngill http://youtu.be/rcyzubFvBsA Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922) – this is a link to the full movie #horrorchat
@by_wjhoward @carollyngill Omg its Wednesday I’m listing as I chat. #horrorchat
@carolelynngill @vamplit Got your favorite Dracula’s in film for #humpday #horrorchat yet
Who are your favorite actors who’ve played Dracula Share your favorite scenes and trailers. #humpday #horrorchat http://vamplit.com/ p=3839
RT @vamplit: This Week’s Horrorchat – Best Dracula Performances http://nblo.gs/ixgSw
This Week’s Horrorchat – Best Dracula Performances http://nblo.gs/ixgSw