Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu

Written before Bram Stoker penned his famous vampire tale, “Carmilla” is a classic vampire tale with its own interesting take on vampire lore, and a surprising inclusion for its time of a female vampire who prefers female victims. The heroine, Laura, is a lonely young girl living in a castle in Styria with only her father and a few servants. She is haunted by a recurring nightmare from when she was three years old of a beautiful girl who appeared in her bedroom and attacked her in her sleep. A coach accident occurs outside her home, and a young girl is left to stay with the family to heal while her mysterious mother leaves to complete an urgent journey. The young girl looks exactly like the girl in Laura's dream, but her charm and good manners win over Laura and her father. The girl calls herself “Carmilla.” She does have some strange habits including disappearing from her bedroom at night and a painful aversion to funeral hymns. Another incident with an eccentric pedlar reveals that she has a pair of strangely long, thin teeth. (Give the obviousness a break: when this was written people were less familiar with vamps). When a General surfaces who claims his niece was murdered by a mysterious guest, they enlist the help of a vampire hunter Baron to help them destroy an ancient vampire, Countess Mircalla Karnstein, who turns out to be one and the same as Carmilla. It also features an epic romance between Laura and Carmilla, ending in Laura's strange disease and decline of health as she almost becomes a vampire herself…

tags (add tags): Adaptation, Book, drama, fantasy, gothic, horror, movie, mystery, novella, romance, short story, thriller, vampire

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posted: 08/23/2009 by arlecchino comments | results | vote