First introduced in the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu, Count Orlok sparked numerous controversies over his similarities to Dracula — and even inspired rumors that the actor who played him was a real vampire.
Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoMax Schreck as Count Orlok in the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu.
Until the end of her life, Florence Stoker had a mission: to destroy any copies of the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu. The film was a clear rip-off of her husband Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, and she was determined to wipe it from the face of the Earth. But Nosferatu endured. And its vampire villain, Count Orlok, became something of a cinematic icon.
Directed by F.W. Murnau and produced by Albin Grau, Nosferatu wasn’t shy about its Dracula inspiration. One of its promotional materials even said that it was “freely adapted” from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But the filmmakers were also careful to differentiate their vampire, Count Orlok, from Stoker’s Count Dracula. And in doing so, they created a new, horrifying monster.
Unlike Dracula, who is often depicted as suave, sophisticated, and quietly terrifying, Count Orlok is repulsive, vicious, and almost animal-like in appearance. The Draculas of film — who emerged about a decade after Nosferatu was released — were often portrayed as elegant and faintly human. But Orlok is a real terror. Played by Max Schreck during the silent film era, his main purpose was to horrify contemporary audiences.
Despite Florence Stoker’s best efforts, the impact of Count Orlok and Nosferatu can be felt to this day. So how did this horror icon emerge?
How Nosferatu Was Closely Based On Dracula
In 1897, Bram Stoker published his iconic horror novel Dracula. The story pulled upon centuries of vampiric lore to tell the story of Count Dracula, a vampire living in Transylvania. The Dracula character, who is attempting to move to England, invites a solicitor named Jonathan Harker to his castle to finalize his new property transaction. Harker records his horrifying experience at the castle in feverish diary entries, and Dracula eventually focuses his attention on Harker’s fiancée (later wife), Mina.
Public DomainThe first American edition of Bram Stoker’s vampire novel Dracula.
The novel was a huge hit. And in 1921, a new movie company called Prana Film decided to make a vampire movie. The producer, Albin Grau, had met a Serbian peasant during World War I, who told him about encountering the undead in Romania. Believing that nosferatu was a Romanian word for “vampire,” Grau and director F.W. Murnau thought that would make for a good title for the film. (Stoker, too, used this “Romanian” term to describe vampires, but it’s not actually clear where this word came from.) Grau also firmly believed that Dracula would make a fantastic vampire film.
But even though the filmmakers contacted the publishing house that had released a German translation of Dracula, they never reached out to Florence Stoker, Bram Stoker’s widow, to secure the rights (Bram Stoker had died back in 1912). So when it came to writing the script for Nosferatu, Grau and screenwriter Henrik Galeen ended up creating a narrative that sounded a lot like Stoker’s Dracula — but with a few significant tweaks.
In their movie, a young German real estate agent named Thomas Hutter travels from the city of Wisborg in Germany to Transylvania to finalize the sale of a house in Wisborg. He stays at the castle of a man named Count Orlok, whom Hutter slowly begins to suspect is a vampire. Like in Dracula, which sees the Count travel to London, Orlok makes his way to Wisborg, bringing death and disease as he pursues Hutter’s wife, Ellen.
Public DomainA 1922 German ad for Nosferatu.
Nosferatu does not feature the character of Abraham Van Helsing, who helps Harker hunt down Dracula, and the film has a different ending than the Dracula novel. But its most significant change was in the vampire itself. Orlok, in the German story, is far more monstrous than Stoker’s Dracula.
Count Orlok, The Terrifying Vampire Of Nosferatu
Public DomainCount Orlok, as played by actor Max Schreck, is truly revolting in Nosferatu.
The Count Dracula of Bram Stoker’s novel is charming, yet quietly terrifying. This portrayal is built upon in the later Dracula films, especially by Bela Lugosi in the movie Dracula (1931). Lugosi plays Dracula as suave and cool, an interpretation helped by his sleek, dark hair and Hungarian lilt. But Count Orlok in Nosferatu is an entirely different kind of vampire.
Played by Max Schreck, and partly inspired by the classic horror story The Golem, Count Orlok has sunken eyes, sharp talons, hunched shoulders, a thin body, a bald head, and pointed ears. He’s almost vermin-like, and, indeed, seems to represent the dangers of pestilence and plague.
Orlok is aggressive and blood-sucking like Dracula, but in a more palpable way. When Jonathan Harker cuts himself while shaving in Dracula, Dracula lunges toward him — then draws back when he sees Harker’s crucifix. Dracula then smashes Harker’s shaving mirror. But when Hutter cuts his thumb in Nosferatu, Orlok reacts by instantly trying to suck the blood out.
The Count Orlok of Nosferatu differs from Dracula in other ways as well. Though the orginal Dracula casts no shadow, Orlok’s shadow is just as terrifying as he is. And while Dracula is most powerful at night, but capable of walking around in the daytime, sunlight is fatal to Count Orlok.
Public DomainThe iconic image of Count Orlok’s shadow from Nosferatu (1922).
Indeed, sunlight is Count Orlok’s undoing in the film. Unlike Dracula, who is killed by Harker, Van Helsing, and others, Count Orlok is killed when Hutter’s wife Ellen sacrifices herself. She lets Count Orlok attack her right before dawn. When the sun rises, the vampire disappears in a puff of smoke.
Schreck’s depiction of the monster was so memorable, in fact, that some even suspected that Schreck was a vampire in real life. His last name roughly translates to “terror” in German, and the 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire plays with the idea of Schreck’s supposedly secret vampire identity.
But even though Count Orlok and Nosferatu became horror legends, things almost didn’t turn out that way. When Florence Stoker heard about the film, she made it her personal mission to wipe it off the face of the Earth.
Florence Stoker’s Mission To Obliterate Count Orlok And Nosferatu
Public DomainTo avoid copying Dracula completely, the Nosferatu filmmakers made a number of changes to the plot and the vampire character. But it wasn’t enough to avoid drawing Florence Stoker’s wrath.
Nosferatu premiered on March 4, 1922 in Berlin, quickly attracting attention. Prana Film spent more money promoting the movie than making it — indeed, the studio soon went bankrupt — and news of the vampire film soon made its way to England, and to the widow of Bram Stoker, Florence.
Not only was Nosferatu a rip-off of Dracula, but it was a blatant rip-off. A program from the film’s premiere proudly noted that it was “freely adapted” from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But the filmmakers had not acquired the rights from Stoker’s estate — and they had failed to inform Florence of their plans.
Florence’s first response was to sue. But according to The New York Times, it eventually became clear that Prana Film simply had no money.
Public DomainFlorence Stoker, the widow of Bram Stoker, fought to have Nosferatu destroyed, but ultimately, the film survived.
After three years, a judge in Berlin made his decision: All copies of Nosferatu were to be destroyed. But while copies of the film were indeed destroyed in Germany, some copies had already made their way to the United States, and there, Dracula was in the public domain. These copies quietly spread, eventually gaining popularity as a somewhat taboo cult classic, until the copyright on Dracula expired across the world in the 1960s. At that point, the controversial film Nosferatu could legally be shown anywhere.
By then, Count Orlok was already something of a horror film icon. And he continues to be one today. A 2024 remake of the original German film will present the tale once again to a new audience, proving that the Count Orlok character — like Count Dracula and other vampire characters — is truly immortal. Not even the light of day can truly kill his story.
After reading about the long and horrifying history of Count Orlok, discover the bone-chilling stories of nine “real” vampires from history. Or, learn about the Aswang, the blood-sucking shapeshifter of Filipino folklore.
