Dracula's castle is far from England, in the Carpathian mountains, one of the "wildest and least known portions of Europe," according to Jonathan. He also can't find the castle's exact location on a map. Thus, from the beginning, we meet up with conventions of the supernatural and horror genres in the isolated, mountainous, mysterious locale of Castle Dracula.
Further, when Jonathan tells local people where he is going, they cross themselves and look fearful. As...
Dracula's castle is far from England, in the Carpathian mountains, one of the "wildest and least known portions of Europe," according to Jonathan. He also can't find the castle's exact location on a map. Thus, from the beginning, we meet up with conventions of the supernatural and horror genres in the isolated, mountainous, mysterious locale of Castle Dracula.
Further, when Jonathan tells local people where he is going, they cross themselves and look fearful. As he comes closer to castle, a night journey, he feels "a strange chill" and a strong sense of foreboding. Then the wind begins to blow and "moan" and wolves begin to howl in the night. Finally, Jonathan and his driver arrive at the top of a mountain, "in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light." Its walls are high and as Jonathan enters, he hears "the rattling of chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back."
This follows all the conventions of horror from Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho through Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Jonathan has much to raise his sense of horror as he encounters an isolated medieval castle that seems more prison than place of hospitality on a lonely mountain peak. To top it all off, his host, Count Dracula, has ice-cold hands, only comes out at night, never eats and can't be seen in a mirror. This setting gives Jonathan every reason to worry deeply and gradually grow more frightened.
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