Carmilla (short story)

Carmilla

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

What do you do if you have read all the popular vampire books and still want more? You might want to check these lists from Reading Rants or The Monster Librarian. However, if you consider yourself a fairly good reader, you don’t mind old-fashioned writing (like from the 1800s), and you want to learn more about the history of vampire literature, you might want to give an old-school vampire story a try.

Carmilla was written in 1872, making it 25 years older than Dracula. I can think of three reasons to recommend it. First, unlike Varney the Vampyre, it seems to be reasonably well written. In some parts, the writing is even beautiful. Second, it features a vampire who isn’t super obvious about being a vampire. The vampire actually tries to blend in, and she does a reasonably good job of it. Third, it’s historically significant because it is the first story about a lesbian vampire. It’s not at all graphic – there’s a little bit of kissing and hugging and talk of loving someone forever, but that’s all. It seems very PG these days, but I’m sure it was sensational when it was written.

Laura lives with her father and a few servants in a castle out in the middle of nowhere in Styria, a region of Austria. Her closest neighbors live at least 15 miles away, so she doesn’t get to spend much time with anybody her own age. Then one day a carriage has an accident on the road near her castle, and one of the people in it, a girl of about Laura’s age, is injured. This is Carmilla, and her mother is in some kind of trouble. Mom needs to travel fast, but she doesn’t think Carmilla is well enough to sit in a speeding carriage all day. Laura’s father offers to take care of Carmilla until the mother returns, and Laura is thrilled. Laura and Carmilla appear to form a bond almost instantly, and Carmilla appears to be quite fond of Laura.

Some time later, Laura and Carmilla hear about a disease that is killing the peasants in the area. The victims are fine one day, but at night they often feel as though something is trying to strangle or smother them. The next day they grow weaker, and then they die. Carmilla is frightened by this, so she and Laura buy charms to ward off the disease. It’s just in time, too, since they both have a similar experience one night. Laura left her charm somewhere, but Carmilla kept hers under her pillow, so while Carmilla isn’t too bothered by her experience, Laura is is more upset. After that, they both have trouble sleeping and seem to feel unwell, although Laura seems to be suffering far more.

Nobody really seems to know what is going on until the end of the story, when several people arrive, unmask the vampire, and kill her. The problem with the ending, other than one character just coming out of nowhere to solve the problem, is that only part of the problem is solve – I’m pretty sure the vampire they killed was only one out of a group, and most of the peasants who died should also have become vampires. We can assume the peasant vampires were taken care of, but we never do find out what happened to the others.

So how does Carmilla compare with the Hollywood vampire stereotype?

• Drinking Blood [checkmark] Yeah, although apparently this vampire also sleeps in blood.
• Has Fangs [checkmark] They’re hard to notice, but yes, there are fangs and puncture marks on the neck.
• Vampires Spread by Biting [checkmark] Yes. Vampires can also be created through suicide sometimes.
• Amazingly Strong [checkmark] It’s more than just physical strength – the touch of a vampire can make you weak.
• Unkillable [checkmark] Pretty much. Apparently you need to stake, decapitate, and burn the vampire, and then maybe scatter its ashes.
• Weak Against Wooden Stakes [checkmark] That’s just one step of the process.
• Weak Against Sunlight [xmark] Not even a little bit.
• Must be Invited In [xmark]
• Weak Against Flowing Water [xmark]
• Weak Against Holy Symbols [checkmark] The story never mentions crosses, but vampires do not like certain religious things, and priests seem to be some kind of protection against them.
• Weak Against Garlic [xmark]
• Get Confused at Crossroads [xmark]
• No Reflection in Mirrors [xmark]
• No Heartbeat/Breath/Blood/Temperature/Other Signs of Life [xmark] In fact, before they kill the vampire, our heroes have a doctor make sure she is still breathing and has a pulse. She also bleeds a lot.
• Pale, Corpse-like Appearance [xmark]
• Doesn’t Age [checkmark] The vampire that dies is about 150 years old and still looks fairly young.
• Changes Shape [checkmark] This one turns into some kind of cat when it feeds.
• Flight [xmark]
• Wall Crawling [xmark]
• Hypnotic Powers [xmark] Charisma yes, hypnotism no.
• Sleeps in a Coffin [checkmark] In a coffin full of blood under rock and dirt. Nobody knows how she gets in or out without disturbing the dirt, but our heroes do wonder.
• Wealthy [xmark] [checkmark] At least one of the vampires was, but we really don’t know much about the others.

How about some of the more modern trends?

• Sophisticated and Elegant [checkmark] These vampires seem to be able to move in high society.
• Angsty [xmark]
• Dark and Brooding [xmark]
• Really Just Misunderstood [xmark]
• A Sucker for Love [xmark] At the end of the story, we find out that vampires sometimes become obsessed with somebody and they act like they are in love, but that’s all just part of the feeding process.
• Looks Young and Sexy [checkmark] [xmark] At least one is, and there might be one who isn’t. We never find out if that person is a vampire or not, though.
• Fluid Sexuality [checkmark] We’ve got a female vampire who only feeds on women and seems to be very interested in a few of them. At the end of the novel, we find out that it’s not really romantic interest. It’s just lunch.

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Where to Find It

[librarylist showtitles=true]

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Make sure you don’t request Carmilla: A Vampire Tale unless you want to get the libretto for a chamber opera.
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