This Austi Classics edition has three of the earliest vampire stories in the English. The first story in the edition is Carmilla by Le Fanu which is the best known of the three.

Insightful ilustrations created by Jezreel S. Cuevas are included for the first time. This edition includes an introduction by Dan Abramson which draws connections to modern culture in films such as Blade 1998 and 2022, and the Terminator film series.

The Legend of Carmilla the 19th Century Lady Vampire

In 1872, an Irish author by the name of J. Sheridan Le Fanu wrote a novella called Carmilla. The story is about a young woman named Laura who lives in a remote castle in Austria with her father. One day, while out riding, Laura comes across a wounded woman in the forest. She helps the woman to her feet and takes her back to the castle where she is nursed back to health. The woman, who introduces herself as Carmilla, quickly becomes Laura's best friend and confidante. However, as time goes on, Laura begins to notice that Carmilla seems...different. She has strange mannerisms and an insatiable thirst for blood. Soon, Laura realizes that her new friend may not be human after all...

Carmilla is set in the early 19th century and tells the story of Laura, a young woman who lives alone with her father in a remote castle in Austria. One day, while out riding, Laura comes across a wounded woman in the forest. She helps the woman to her feet and takes her back to the castle where she is nursed back to health. The woman, who introduces herself as Carmilla, quickly becomes Laura's best friend and confidante. However, as time goes on, Laura begins to notice that Carmilla seems...different. She has strange mannerisms and an insatiable thirst for blood. Soon, Laura realizes that her new friend may not be human after all...

As their friendship deepens, so does Carmilla's thirst for blood. One night, while Laura is sleeping, she wakes up to find Carmilla leaning over her with a hungry look in her eyes. Carmilla bites Laura on the neck and starts drinking her blood. Fortunately, Laura's father walks in at that moment and scares Carmilla off before she can do any serious damage.

However, it's too late; Laura has been infected with the same curse that afflicted Carmilla. Over the next few weeks,Laura slowly succumbs to the same thirst for blood that claimed Carmilla's life. In a last-ditch effort to save his daughter, Laura's father sends for help from a vampire hunter named Van Helsing. Together, they manage to destroy Carmilla before she can claim any more victims...

Although published over 150 years ago, Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla remains one of the most popular vampire stories of all time. The story of a young woman who befriends a beautiful woman only to discover that she is actually a vampire has captivated readers for generations—and continues to do so today! If you're looking for a creepy horror story to keep you up at night, look no further than Carmilla; you won't be disappointed!

Film adaptations of Carmilla

This version was released in 2020 starring starring Devrim Lingnau and Hannah Rae. The trailer is here:

There also is the 2017 Canadian comedy horror version of The Carmilla Movie directed by Spencer Maybee. The trailer is here:

Also see carmillamovie.com. This is based on the Carmilla web series of the same name which ran 2014 from 2016.

The Vampyre: A Creepy Tale of Horror from 19th Century London

If you're looking for a truly spine-tingling tale of horror, then look no further than The Vampyre by Dr John William Polidori. First published in 1819, and thought to be the first English language vampire story, this story is set in London and tells the tale of a mysterious, Pallid man who seems to have a thirst for blood. Although The Vampyre is not as well-known as some of the other horror stories written during the 19th century, it is nonetheless a masterfully written tale that is sure to send chills down your spine. So if you're brave enough to read on, be warned...you may never look at vampires the same way again!

Polidori was friends with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, and it is believed that Polidori felt mistreated by Byron. Polidori wrote this story with vampire character Lord Ruthven representing Lord Bryon to express his resentment.

Dr John Polidori 1795-1821	Lord George Gordon Byron 1788-1824	Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 1797-1851

The story begins with two gentlemen, Mr. Aubrey and Mr. Stanley, attending a fashionable party in London. It is here that they meet the enigmatic Lord Ruthven, a pale gentleman who seems to be strangely alluring to women. Despite his strange appearance and behavior, Lord Ruthven quickly becomes a popular figure in London Society.

Mr. Aubrey eventually becomes quite taken with Lord Ruthven and decides to accompany him on a grand tour of Europe. However, as they travel together Mr. Aubrey begins to realize that there is something very strange and eerie about Lord Ruthven indeed. He starts noticing that women seem inexplicably drawn to him and that he has an uncanny ability to charm them, even when he says or does things that should repel them.

What's more, Mr. Aubrey also starts noticing that wherever Lord Ruthven goes, death and destruction seem to follow close behind...

Although he tries to rationalize it away at first, eventually Mr. Aubrey comes to the horrifying realization that Lord Ruthven is none other than a vampire! Even worse, by the time he realizes this it is too late; he has already been bitten by the vampire and is doomed to become one himself!

As he lay dying, Mr. Aubrey scribbles out a warning to future generations about Lord Ruthven so that others will not fall victim to his dark charms as he did...but will anyone heed his warning? Or will they too be drawn in by the enigmatic Lord Ruthven until it's too late?

"The Vampyre" is one of the most creepy and spine-tingling horror stories ever written, and reminds of the psychological tactics of the modern narcissist abuser. If you need to delve into the vampire archetype, then look no further than this classic tale of terror from 19th century London!

As mentioned above, Polidori (1795-1821) was in the circle of Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. The lead character of the The Vampyre, Lord Ruthven, is loosely based on Lord Byron himself. In the same ghost-story competition initiated by Lord Byron in which Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, Polidori wrote a novel Ernestus Berchtold. The Vampyre was first published in the British The New Monthly Magazine without Polidori's permission and attributed to Lord Byron. Naturally Polidori was unhappy about this but so was Byron who attempted to clear up the confusion later. (See John William Polidori's The Vampyre Spring 2010, pdf page 39)

Polidori died a week before his 26th birthday. See this blog about Polidori. His father Gaetano Fedele Polidori (1763–1853) was a scholar, poet and translator, and set up a private printing press at their home in London.

John William Polidori

This edition also has the influential The True Story of a Vampire by Eric Stenbock.

Count Eric Stanislaus Stenbock

I hope you enjoy this edition of the earliest English language vampire stories.

Available at Amazon

Buy it at Amazon UK here , at Amazon United States here , and at Amazon Australia here.

Dan Abramson
Sydney Australia
November 2022