THE novel was originally called The Un-dead, and in publishing terms remains one of the longest-lived successes in horror history.

First issued in 1897, the book has sold millions and is still in print. It has been translated into 44 languages and countless cinema versions have been made.

Now, the original manuscript of Bram Stoker's Dracula looks likely to set a record when it goes under the hammer, in New York, next month.

Experts at Christie's believe bidding will be keen and the long-lost manuscript could easily fetch more than £1m.

The story of Dracula, from his storm-tossed arrival in Whitby, North Yorkshire, through his reign of terror in London to his demise in Transylvania, is well-known.

But the history of the 529-page manuscript is more mysterious.

Its whereabouts were unknown until 1980, when it turned up in New England. Four years later it was acquired by the current owner, a US collector of 19th century literature.

The script - with a different ending, as well as extensive scrawled revisions and deletions by Stoker - bears the Irish-born author's hand-lettered title page: The Un-dead.

It was only days before publication that the title was simplified to the name of its main character.

The first edition had a print run of 3,000 copies, priced at six shillings (30p) each, with Stoker receiving a royalty of one and sixpence (7.5p) per copy after the first 1,000 were sold.

Francis Wahlgren, head of the book department at Christie's, New York, said: "It is highly unusual for the manuscript of a major work of fiction to be entirely lost from sight for almost a century."