Renfield

: He begins by catching and eating flies, then feeds those flies to spiders, and the spiders to sparrows, intending to accumulate their collective life-force.

R.M. Renfield is one of the most enduring characters in Gothic literature, first appearing in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, . Traditionally portrayed as a "zoophagous" (life-eating) madman and the devoted servant of Count Dracula, the character has evolved from a tragic inmate to the star of his own modern horror-comedy. The Original Character: Stoker's "Zoophagous Maniac" Renfield

In the original novel, Renfield is a 59-year-old inmate at Dr. John Seward's asylum. He suffers from a specific delusion: that he can prolong his own life by consuming the life-force of other living creatures. : He begins by catching and eating flies,