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Appearing in "A Death in the Chapel!"

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Synopsis for "A Death in the Chapel!"

Present Day Rome: In Vatican City, a young man is taking a girl named Maria back to his hotel with him, unaware that she is really a vampire. However, before the girl can feed upon the man, he is saved by Giuseppe Montesi, who has learned from pages of the book of Darkhold what is dubbed the Montesi Formula, a spell that can vanquish vampires. Holding the female at bay, Montesi destroys her by chanting the spell, causing her to burst into flame and leave only ashes behind.

Witnessing this, Dracula fears this man is a great threat and follows Montesi with the intent of killing him. However, when he realizes that the monk is entering the Vatican, which he fears to enter because it would mean exposing himself to many religious symbols, Dracula flies too close and lets out a cry of pain that is heard by Montesi. Believing himself to be safe, the monk addresses the count, stating that he is not yet ready to face the vampire but that they will soon have their reckoning.

Desperate to stop Montessi, Dracula decides to take the drastic measure of entering the Vatican, knowing that destroying the Montesi Formula would be worth the risk. Killing two priests and stealing their clothing, Dracula enters the hated building. Although Dracula is weakened by the Vatican's many depictions of the cross, he manages to find Montesi in the Archives, examining the copy of the incantation from the Darkhold known as the Montesi Formula. Bursting into the study, Dracula forces the paper from Guiseppe's hands and sets it ablaze with a nearby candle.

Although Dracula had originally intended to allow the monk to live with the knowledge of his failure, he suddenly realizes that Montesi must have memorized the spell and chases after him. Although Dracula soon finds himself assaulted from every corner in every hall with images of the Holy Cross, he manages to chase down Montesi who has stopped in the Sistine Chapel to make his final peace with God. When Montesi tries to speak the spell, Dracula attacks, causing Montesi to fall and strike his head fatally against the floor. With his dying words, Montesi tells Dracula that this is a bitter victory as, prior to Dracula's arrival, Montesi had sent a copy of the formula to Quincy Harker. Furious, Dracula flees the Vatican, not accepting Montesi's dying boasts as anything more than a lie. As Dracula flees the room, other priests enter the room to find the deceased Montesi on the floor. The men try to make sense of the crime but still find it in their hearts to pray to God to forgive the mysterious attacker who has killed one of their own.

Appearing in "The Mark of a Vampire!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spellbound #22
(originally printed as Worse Than Death!)

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Synopsis for "The Mark of a Vampire!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Spellbound #22
(originally printed as Worse Than Death!)

A French miser has his money tossed to the wind by a man who lost his family in a fire from one of the miser's buildings. The miser loses his mind attempting to pick up all of his money from the streets of Paris.

Appearing in "Blood Moon"

  • Appearances not yet listed

Synopsis for "Blood Moon"

6-page text story

Appearing in "Shadow Over Versailles"

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Synopsis for "Shadow Over Versailles"

1789: Dracula continues to operate out of Paris, France, during the summer of that year. Out on his regular rounds to find a fresh victim to feast upon, Dracula comes across a man named Henri who is coming home from a bar and makes him his latest victim.

Meanwhile, Cagliostro meets with Montplier to discuss Dracula's effect on France and they witness Cagliostro's wife Lorenza Serafina feeding on a fresh victim. The two men decide that they must destroy Count Dracula before his vampirism blights the entire country. As Cagliostro departs, Montplier scoffs at Cagliostro's belief that he has an important role in the scheme of things, and wonders if France is heading toward a big change due to King Louis the 16th's decline in popularity and the Revolutionary War going on in America. Further instability caused by the disapproval of the King and his Estate-Generals compounded by the arrival of Dracula and his rivalry with Cagliostro risk much change in the region.

Meanwhile, Dracula has gone out on another hunt and is about to feed upon a fresh female victim when he realizes that he has been lured into a trap and is suddenly surrounded by an army of Frenchmen armed with wooden crucifixs. Dracula attempts to fly away in bat form but there are others waiting for him on the rooftops who are armed with crosses as well. Dracula faints, reverting back to his human form, and falls to the ground where he is beaten unconscious by his attackers.

When Dracula comes to, he finds himself in a dungeon, chained to two crosses with a clove of garlic around his neck. Montplier is there to greet Dracula when he awakens, and informs Dracula that he intends to execute him to inspire a civilian revolt against the king. Dracula finds the notion preposterous because he is a vampire and most forms of execution cannot harm him. Montplier tells Dracula that he intends to use the guillotine, the one device that could kill Dracula by removing his head from his body.

However, history happens to have other plans as the date is July 14, 1789, the day that the citizens of France revolt and storm the Bastille. Breaking into the dungeon and overpowering Montplier, the mob frees Dracula, realizing too late that who he is and that he is a member of the King's court. Dracula breaks free, flees the castle and reports what had happened to the king and queen.

This leads to Montplier's ironic end, as he is sentenced to die by the guillotine himself.

Appearing in "Chapter II - Into the Spider's Web"

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Synopsis for "Chapter II - Into the Spider's Web"

  • Synopsis not yet written

Notes

  • The Book of the Vishanti feature from Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #9 will later add some details to the first story, including giving Montesi the first name of "Giuseppe" and revealing that he was actually a prelate who merely affected the dress of a monk and that he presided over a little-known wing of the Vatican Library that was secretly devoted to occult lore.
  • That later story also explained that it was only after receiving notes made by the recently-deceased Father Ramón Jóquez during his brief study of the Darkhold in Werewolf by Night #3 that Giuseppe Montesi had rediscovered the long-lost Montesi Formula.
  • The spell is only referenced in this story as the Darkhold incantation. It will first be called the Montesi Formula in X-Men Annual #6.

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