Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu

arts · EN-US

Published in 1872, Carmilla is an early work in the vampire literature genre and is incidentally one of the most influential of its type. The gothic novella accounts the tale of Laura, a young woman who becomes susceptible to the friendship and seductive charms of the mysterious Carmilla. A gripping tale of coincidence, mystery, compulsion, dark romance, and deception, Le Fanu’s classic is regarded as having paved the way for modern takes on vampires.Narrated by Laura, the novel opens with a recount of her childhood, as she depicts growing up in a beautiful, yet solitary castle encompassed by a forest in Styria, Austria. Living with her father, a wealthy English retiree and widower, Laura remembers an uncanny childhood dream where she had been visited in her bedroom. Furthermore, she claims to have been bitten during the visionary encounter, though there are no evident wounds to support her claim. As time passes from this incident, Laura grows into a virtuous young woman longing for