A Dream of Red Hands by Bram Stoker
A Dream of Red Hands is a short story by Bram Stoker, first published in 1893. The story follows a young artist named Walter who becomes obsessed with a red-haired woman he sees in a dream. He becomes convinced that she is the embodiment of his artistic muse and sets out to find her in reality. However, when he finally meets her, he realizes that she is not the beautiful vision he had imagined but rather a decaying corpse. The story explores themes of obsession, creativity, and the blurring of reality and fantasy.
By Bram Stoker · First published 1899 · Genre: Horror, Gothic fiction, Short Stories · 4,876 words
First lines
The first opinion given to me regarding Jacob Settle was a simple descriptive statement, "He's a down-in-the-mouth chap": but I found that it embodied the thoughts and ideas of all his fellow-workmen. There was in the phrase a certain easy tolerance, an absence of positive feeling of any kind, rather than any complete opinion, which marked pretty accurately the man's place in public esteem. Still, there was some dissimilarity between this and his appearance which unconsciously set me thinking, and by degrees, as I saw more of the place and the workmen, I came to have a special interest in him. He was, I found, for ever doing kindnesses, not involving money expenses beyond his humble means, but in the manifold ways of forethought and forbearance and self-repression which are of the truer charities of life.
What this Textopian page supports
A Dream of Red Hands is listed on Textopian as a short story by Bram Stoker, dated 1899 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Bram Stoker
- Date: 1899 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Horror, Gothic fiction, Short Stories, Psychological
- Length: 4,876 words
- Structure: 1 section, 55 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for A Dream of Red Hands by Bram Stoker
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering A Dream of Red Hands?
- How does this short story by Bram Stoker fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Horror first become important in the reading?
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Genres
- Horror — Bram Stoker is well-known for his works of horror, and this book, with its themes of guilt, murder, and supernatural vision, follows the same genre.
- Gothic fiction — The story carries a gothic tone with dark, mysterious and gloomy elements, defining the ambiance of gothic literature.
- Short Stories — 'A Dream of Red Hands' is a standalone short story, therefore qualifying within the genre of short stories.
- Psychological — The protagonist's guilt and anguish over his murderous past, and the resultant hallucination and mental suffering, point to elements of psychological storytelling.
Tags
horror · gothic · supernatural · psychological · thriller · mystery · fiction · novel · vampire · undead · monster · haunting