Bela Lugosi earned $4,000 for his participation in publicity photos for this film (he does not actually appear in it).
Completed for $278,000 it was one of Universal's most expensive productions of the 1930s.
Director Lambert Hillyer was injured on the 9th day of production (according to publicity, Friday the 13th) when a free-standing fill light toppled on his head. Nearly half a day of shooting was lost when he was briefly hospitalized. However, filming started February 4, 1936 and finished March 10, 1936, and there was a Thursday the 13th, but no Friday the 13th in that time interval.
Four days after production wrapped, Universal's principal debtor, Standard Capital Corp., seized control of the studio and the Laemmle family - including patriarch Carl Laemmle, who had founded the studio - were unceremoniously kicked out.
Part of the original SHOCK THEATER package of 52 Universal titles released to television in 1957, followed a year later with SON OF SHOCK, which added 21 more features.
Some elements of the plot are from Bram Stoker's story "Dracula's Guest" which was written as a chapter in his 1897 novel "Dracula," but excised due to the novel's length. It was first published in 1914, two years after Stoker's death. Other elements are loosely based on the 1872 short story "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu.
Takes place immediately after the events of Dracula.
The last horror film produced under the supervision of Carl Laemmle.
This was originally to be another project for director James Whale. The script he submitted was so "outrageous" (in various senses of the word) that he was taken off the project. A virtual list of writers submitted treatments and scripts.
Top-echelon director A. Edward Sutherland was originally assigned to direct. His contract contained an unusual "Pay or Play" clause, and he earned $17,500 for his involvement in the production. Because of interminable production delays, Sutherland moved on to another project before shooting began. His replacement, Lambert Hillyer, who had directed mostly "B" westerns, earned just $5,000 for directing the film.