Et cetera : What We're Reading: Carmilla

“Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in gothic romance and simmering tension.” —Goodreads

J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 'Carmilla' is a short but striking novella that explores the life of a sapphic vampire who, for more than a century, cannot help falling in love with young, lonely women living in the Austrian wilderness. Carmilla often behaves like a lovesick teenager, and while I noticed a few similarities to Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula,' I adored this atmospheric gothic classic all the same.

Laura is Carmilla’s latest—and perhaps most intense—conquest. The two are immediately drawn to one another, and Carmilla finds it nearly unbearable to be apart from Laura for any length of time. Soon, however, Laura begins to grow mysteriously ill, and unsettling stories surface of other young women in the countryside who have died after hosting a visitor who looks remarkably like Carmilla.

As all good (and doomed) gothic love stories must, Carmilla and Laura’s romance ends in death.

Check it out on the Libby app today and decide for yourself whether Le Fanu inspired Stoker—and, as always, happy reading, friends.

~Heather