Sink your teeth into the cult classic that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Fear sweeps the countryside as people fall victim to a strange illness.

After a peculiar accident, beautiful Mircalla becomes a ward at Laura's family home.

Soon, friendship blooms between the mysterious Mircalla and curious Laura.

Love is in the air, but so is something deadly.

Will Mircalla's secret cost Laura her life?

Carmilla, first published in 1872, is one of the first vampire novels ever written, predating Dracula by 26 years. Carmilla, with its themes of vampirism and homosexuality, shocked the standards and stereotypes for women set in the Victorian era. Today, Carmilla is considered the original archetype of female and LGBTQ vampires and Le Fanu's influence is seen throughout vampire fiction.

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128 pages

Average rating: 7.57

37 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

oh_let3
May 16, 2023
8/10 stars
le fanu was a great ghost story writer but his vampire story is astonishingly ahead of its time
E Clou
May 10, 2023
8/10 stars
This predates Dracula? It's obviously a lesbian love story as best as it could be told back then. Charming, and a bit of a cozy horror if there is such a thing.
carmzies
Apr 26, 2023
8/10 stars
3.5 | strong start, weak ending
maxliv
May 23, 2022
7/10 stars
It was a delight to read this. Such a short story, but developing the feeling of uneasily thought the whole way in a beautiful pacing. And seeing a book from 1871 dealing with the topics of homosexuality in a explicitly erotic way and even a openly romantic atmosphere gives a new perspective on things. Nonetheless, it's an amazing horror story, creating some of the most known mythology and stereotypes on vampire fiction that many of what we see on the screen or pages today are huge influenced by it. Sapphic gothic vampires? Count me in.

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