PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia is a dream come true for bibliophiles, history lovers, and anyone who wants to learn more about their favorite book.

The museum offers many educational programs to the public, including Behind the Bookstore presentations; a guided tour through one of the many selected books in their enormous collection.

During the tour, which takes place in October, a small group gathers to take a deep dive into one of the most influential gothic horror masterpieces of all time. Dracula: The Enduring Monster offers fans the opportunity to hold the first edition novel, read the author’s handwritten and typed notes as he writes, and take a look at the first authorized illustration of the novel’s antagonist.

The novel, written by Bram Stoker over seven years, remains influential and read by audiences around the world more than a century later.

The library houses Stoker’s original notes and 100 pages of outlines, early ideas for the novel, the author’s research into folklore, and early editions of the novel. Fans can touch and feel the first edition hardcover and see Stoker’s signed autograph up close and personal.

You can also peruse the first paperback containing the first authorized illustration of Dracula that Stoker was able to see before he died.

LOOK: See more of The Rosenbach’s Behind the Bookstore presentation in this expanded version of our report

Visitors who register for the event pass by a series of shelves containing 400,000 rare books, manuscripts and works of art.

Sunstein’s Rosenbach program director, Edward G. Pettit, lives for it. He is the presenter and narrator of this journey through one of the most influential works in literary history.

“They can handle the notes, we pass them on. The first edition is signed by Stoker. It’s a great exploration of the conception and development of a novel that people still read today, 125 years after its publication.”

It’s an unforgettable experience for these fans of the novel and for anyone who recognizes the influential work of a vampire that endures in pop culture to this day.

“This is what connects you when talking about literature,” Pettit says. “The books are original editions, the manuscripts you hold in your hands are the same ones the author wrote. That emotion never goes away. You’re not just talking about notes in a book, you’re showing them yourself. It’s literary history.”

Behind the Bookstore is just one of the many programs offered at the Rosenbach.

You can join them for personally guided tours, cocktail parties, reading courses and much more from the depths of their fantastic collection of rare books and manuscripts.

For more information, visit https://rosenbach.org