Mr. Lee's cape on display at the Dracula Experience

[David Pecchia]

I was doing some online research into Mr. Lee's Dracula cape from Dracula (1958). It was going for auction April 5-6 but was pushed back until October 2008. This lead me to do some research on his cloak that is on display from they say his 2nd Dracula appearance which would be, Dracula, Prince of Darkness, at the Dracula Experience in Whitby. It states that this cloak was 56 kilos, which is roughly 123-124 pounds. My main question is, how uncomfortable could that have been for Mr. Lee to wear?? I could not imagine wearing a garment so heavy. I was wondering if it was a misprint and maybe 5.6 kilos which would be a little over 12 pounds, that sounds a bit more reasonable. For anyone here on the CW that reads this and have visited the Dracula Experience if they have any photos from the exhibit and of his Dracula cape that is on display, I would love to see them. Thank you.

~David Pecchia

[Aaron Singh]

Hi David, sorry no one was able to help you on this one. The cape does seem a little heavy, but hey, Christopher Lee has been known to suffer for his art (he even fractured a leg once whilst filming Dracula didn't he?). I heard the cape in Whitby has been used to authenticate other capes supposedly from his films. Here's a picture from the one displayed in Planet Hollywood, London - I was well pleased when I found it in a corner, made the meal price worth it :)

[George Bauch]

Great photo, Aaron! About the cape being heavy, I once heard they sewed weights into the hem so that when he walked it would billow correctly, like a bat fluttering along in the night!

[David Pecchia]

Hi. Thank you so much for posting that pic. Do you have any others? Maybe one that shows a better view from the top or eye level? That is a nice shot.

~Thank you
David.