| Synopsis: |
Before Edward, before Louis and Lestat, there was Carmilla. Carmilla was a Gothic novella first published in the magazine The Dark Blue in 1872, and then in Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of short stories, In a Glass Darkly the same year. Carmilla, the title character, is the original prototype for a legion of female and lesbian vampires. Carmilla selects only female victims, becoming emotionally involved with a few. Like Varney, Carmilla was not confined to darkness. She had unearthly beauty, was able to pass through solid walls, and could change into a large black cat (compared to Dracula, who changed into a large dog). Carmilla had a heavey influence on Bram Stoker's Dracula and later vampire novels. |