Nosferatu: The Unauthorized Dracula Film That Was Ordered Destroyed - But Rose From The Grave
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 December 2025
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
IN THIS EPISODE: The 1922 horror classic "Nosferatu" still turns up, on TV and on college campuses every Halloween. And it’ll likely show up again somewhere this year as well. In this episode we’ll look at how Nosferatu isterrifyingly relevant even still today, the controversial making of the film – and the lawsuit by Bram Stoker’s wife, how the director of the film was involved in the occult… and how you would not have wanted to miss the film’s premiere which was an unforgettable, epic event all by itself. That and a whole lot more about 1922’s Nosferatu, on this episode of Weird Darkness.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Strange Newspaper Ad That Launched Horror's Greatest Vampire Film
00:01:04.589 = Show Open
00:02:33.736 = Nosferatu Wasn't About Vampires — It Was About a Pandemic
00:10:05.520 = *** Nosferatu: The Film That Was Ordered Destroyed — And Survived
00:26:48.293 = *** Nosferatu: Facts, Secrets, and Spongebob Squarepants
00:34:11.409 = Show Close
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
SOURCES and RESOURCES – and/or --- PRINT VERSION to READ or SHARE:“The Message Nosferatu Has For Us Today” by Jim Beckerman for NorthJersey.com:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4h966w3w
“The True Story Behind Nosferatu” by Sam Markus for Grunge.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/zupyynu7
“Other Nosferatu Facts” by Mark Mancini for Mental Floss: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/zueums9f, and William Burns for Horror News Network: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/r6xbudh4=====(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: April 28, 2021
EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/Nosferatu
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all things strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#Nosferatu #Vampires #ClassicHorror #SilentFilm #Dracula #MaxSchreck #HorrorHistory #GermanExpressionism #BannedFilms #WeirdDarkness
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | A hundred years ago, a rather strange want ad appeared in a German newspaper. |
| 0:07.0 | Wanted. |
| 0:08.0 | 30 to 50 living rats. |
| 0:11.0 | The ad which ran on July 31, 1921, was a casting call. |
| 0:16.0 | The rats were needed for a film that was being shot in the northern German town of |
| 0:21.0 | Wismar that summer. The film was Nospharantu. If you've seen that film, and many of you |
| 0:27.6 | have, you know that they got their rats. COVID-19 has made us look at a lot of familiar |
| 0:34.5 | things with fresh eyes, from a handshake to a doorknob to a grocery |
| 0:39.8 | list. Certain movies, too, will never look quite the same. One is this early silent movie |
| 0:47.9 | version of Dracula, which might have been made with the present moment in mind. And no wonder, because it was made during |
| 0:57.0 | a similar moment. I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weird Darkness. |
| 1:18.1 | Welcome Weirdos, I'm Darren Marler. I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, |
| 1:25.4 | conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and bizarre. Crime. Conspiracy. Mysterious. Macob. Unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode, |
| 1:34.6 | The 1922 horror classic Nosferatu still turns up on TV and on college campuses every |
| 1:42.7 | Halloween, and it'll likely show up again somewhere |
| 1:46.0 | this year as well. |
| 1:47.0 | In this episode, we'll look at how Nospheratu is terrifyingly relevant even still today, |
| 1:53.0 | the controversial making of the film, and the lawsuit by Bram Stoker's wife, how the |
| 1:59.0 | director of the film was involved in the occult, and how you would |
| 2:02.2 | not have wanted to miss the film's premiere, which was an unforgettable epic event all by itself. |
| 2:09.2 | That and a whole lot more about 1922's Nospharatu on this episode of Weird Darkness. |
| 2:16.2 | Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 14 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Darren Marlar, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Darren Marlar and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.