Bram (Abraham) Stoker (1847-1912) was born in Dublin. As a sickly child, he spent much of his childhood bedridden, amused by his mother's stories of horror, folklore and real life, including grisly tales of the 1832 cholera epidemic in Sligo. Gradually his health improved, and from the age of seven he went to school, followed by university at Trinity College Dublin. He became famous as a writer of horror and supernatural fiction, including his 1897 best seller Dracula.

'Dracula's Guest' was written as an action-packed chapter in Dracula, but it was never included in the final manuscript. It was published in 1914 as a standalone tale after Stoker's death.