Adapting the "Red Death" module

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I recently picked up the MotRD boxed set, and have been reading through it. I absolutely love the module Red Death (not to be confused with the boxed set itself, or the evil entity, or the short story, or the disease. I'm talking about the adventure set in Prospero Hall.

With Ghostsighted character and a clockmaker in my Ravenloft party, I can't resist sending them up against the Ebony clock and its ghostly minions. So I'm going to transplant it to Ravenloft. There are a couple ways I could go with this:

1) Have Prospero Hall and environs transplanted to RL by the mists direct from Gothic Earth, like Odiare was.

or

2) Rework the backstory replacing Dracula with Strahd (or Drakov) and Transylvania with Barovia (or Falkovnia).

I'm leaning to option 2, since I fear that mentioning real Earth place names will seem silly in a Ravenloft adventure. (Like the Star Trek episodes where they time travel to "the present"). And while it may shock the players, Dracula's name won't mean as much to the characters as Strahd's.

So I'm thinking of going with Strahd instead of Vlad, based mainly on Dracula's curse which is far too eloquent for Drakov, I think.

So the trouble becomes, how to explain Poe? Change his name and call him Mordentish? Have the book come through the mists? Have it come from Odiare?

Also, the manor house is BEAUTIFUL and detailed. It seems a shame to only use 7 or 8 rooms. Any ideas what's in the rest of the house? Has anyone run this adventure? How did it go? what did you add or take away? What happens to Prospero after the clock is destroyed?

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

Don't the Weathermay twins mention an author of soppy novels? And there's the Dead Travel Fast, Louise Renier's favourite novel, perhaps the author wrote that as well as the story that Prospero uses.

As for who replaces Dracula, Strahd may be a bit obvious. Perhaps an Non-Darklord NPC? Maybe Jacqueline Montarri, The Brain or Glennis MacFadden?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I don't recall the twins mentioning any novelists or novels other than The Dead Travel Fast but if you could point me at it, it's an option. I just looked at the Prose section of Art in the Land from the BoSouls. There's someone named Phillip Edgar, who writes ghost stories... hmm...

Or, I could use Veronica Blackstone (from the poetry section of the same article.) The players have actually met her, and it's not a far jump from macabre poetry to macabre short stories...

Since Dracula/Strahd doesn't actually appear in the story, only the background, I don't mind it being obvious. On top of that, I've barely used Strahd so far, so it might make a good introduction to him.

[Le Noir Faineant]

IMC, the Crimson Death module marks the final climax: RD=Azalin, resurrected from the dead; Prospero is Drakov. who's gained control over Darkon.

As long as we don't get Mr Mangrum version of how Azalin was freed again, this will be my explanation...