Customer Reviews

Carmilla

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After seeing numerous films which all contain the Carmilla female vampire character, I was curious to check out the original material. As soon as I found out that the book actually predates Dracula I deiced it is a must read. As the phenomanly popular Dracula set ground rules for vampires which are so rarely deviated from in both literature and film, despite the fact that European vampyre lore varies dramticly in each region, I was curious to see how the vampire was portrayed before Bram Stoker.

Carmilla certainly is different. Both the vampire's appearnce and methods differ enormously from Count Dracula and his many spin offs. It is impossible to explain the story with out giving too much away as this is such a short story.

Carmilla is, I feel, influential in an interesting way. There are nowhere near as many direct film incarnations of Carmilla as there are of Dracula, 'Vampire Lovers' is a fairly direct adaptation of the novella (the Midnight Movies double feature disc Countess Dracula/Vampire Lovers has a special feature with actress Ingrid Pitt reading from Carmilla), the Carmilla character has a big part in 'Blood Spattered Bride' and also Carmilla makes a brief appearance in 'Twins of Evil'. However there is a heavy lesbian overtone present in Carmilla which while tame today was sure to be racy at the time of writing. It seems that this principle has being carried over into film just as faithfully as Bram Stoker's sunlight destroys vampires rule (in Carmilla vampires can walk around in the sun). Thus thanks to Carmilla, whenever there is a female vampire in any film she is automatically a lesbian! Some of my favourites are 'Vampyros Lesbos', 'Vampyres', 'Female Vampire', 'Shivers of the Vampire' and of course the previously mentioned Carmilla films.

I am glad I read Carmilla, it is an interesting and well written novella with a different take on vampires which is fresh and original due to it being older. In retrospect Carmilla has also spawned the beloved lesbian vampire film genre and it was awesome to read about the first lesbian vampire ever!

I first became acquainted with Carmilla from the Hammer Studios Karstein Trilogy of The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, and Twins of Evil. The Vampire Lovers is the only one that draws from this book. The book starts getting into the movie from about the fifth chapter. I recognised dialog and descriptions in the plots of both. It's quite a liberal adaption, but the essence of the story remains intact. For example, the dialog isn't verbatim. The single line from The Vampire Lovers of "You must die, everybody must die" is about a paragraph's length of dialog in the book. It's a fantastic tale. Most of the lesbian is implied, and I caught gratuitous nudity added to the movie, which does add to the movie's appeal. I love the short length of about 150 pages. It never drags, and the chapters are no more than 10 pages each, making for easy reading. I put Carmilla above Bram Stoker's Dracula. Carmilla is a must-have for people with more than a passing interest of the vampire myth. I highly recommend this book. It's excellent.

J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is included in its entirety in a compilation book of Irish literature that I own. I wasn't impressed with a lot of the stuff I was looking at in it, but one day when I was ill from work, I leafed through the compilation to Le Fanu's mini novel and, once I began to read it, couldn't put it down until I was finished. This is highly unusual for me because I'm not big on gothic stories. However, this novella is addictive, fast paced, and one gets caught up in it as they read by sheer imagination when fueled by exceptionally talented writing.

I also thought the vampiress was showing strong lesbian traits, but wondered if Le Fanu could ever have gotten his work published if that were the case. No matter, as the story sucks you into its darkness (no pun intended) and you can actually feel Laura's growing despondency as Carmilla slowly drains away her life force rather than the Dracula-like depictions of quick attacks we often get in movies and the like. I think I was almost as creeped out by her violently emotional outbursts at the sound of a church choir and Laura seeming to take it in stride.

Intriguing and engaging, never dull, and able to transport the reader right to that eery place and time, Carmilla is a novella that takes a short time to read and still leaves you wanting more. Leave it to the Irish, who are responsible for most of the Holloween customs we follow today, to give us a timelessly stylish and truly frightening story such as this one!

This is a wonderful little story about a lonely little girl born into a good family (wealth, and character) who is visited and befriended by a petulant little child who turns out to be the most dangerous vampire in history. Carmilla reeks of a romance of times not seen in the urban and suburban vistas of America. Carmilla (the story, not the girl) is of a time when the darkness following sunset relegated everyone in the village to their homes and most oftn their sleeping quarters. There might be small gatherings to hear tales or sing songs, but these were not as frequent as one might imagine. Life was comprised of survivial first, community second, and recreation when one could find it. Into this mix the soft-spoken, beautiful doll who is Carmilla (the girl, not the story) enters, only to siphon off the very sanctity of a quiet little hamlet, turning it into a chilling town of death. Carmilla would have lasted in this village for quite some time had she not gotten carelss. Some speculate that she actually did not die (much like "The Laughing Jesus" controversy), but the tale is a bit ambiguous, just enough to lave doubt in the minds of the true believers.

This story is short and tightly focused on one incident, rathr than the saga of terror carmilla pread throughout her life travelling Europe. As such it leaves much to the imagination of exatly who carmillas was and how she became to be. Written before Braum Stoker ever heard of vampiers, this is simply the one of best tales of vampirism ever written.

Carmilla is incredibly short by modern standards. A victorian novel that **predates** anything Braum Sotker did - this classic was heavilly plagarized by Stoker (much to his credit for having excellent taste). This is a must read in its original form. If you do enjoy this novella you will probably also highly enjoy "La Horla", which is probably the second best vampire story ever penned.

The archetype of the vampire is universal throughout all cultures. These fascinating and alluring creatures who hover on the edge of reality have been the inspiration for a whole "gothic" subculture, thousands of films, and innumerable stories. While everyone is familiar with Bram Stoker's 1897 classic DRACULA, fewer people are familiar with J. Sheridan LeFanu's CARMILLA (1872) which directly inspired it.

If ever you question this "inspiration" read Stoker's short story DRACULA'S GUEST, originally a chapter of the larger book which had been edited from the original DRACULA manuscript for reasons of length. Carmilla makes a brief, absolutely recognizable pseudonymous appearance.

LeFanu's novella is short (about 100 pages) but tensely and tautly written. The story of a lonely country squiress, Laura, who is visited by the mysterious stranger Carmilla, the story lays the foundation for all vampire tales to come. LeFanu's story also contains a powerful if understated erotic subplot of lesbian sexuality, an element which runs through all subsequent vampire literature (most notably in the Hammer Films' adaptations of CARMILLA). In this regard, the vampire was a perfect vehicle for published erotica in the staid Victorian era, an early example of the wedding of sex and violence in popular culture.

More well-written than DRACULA and at least equally intriguing, CARMILLA deserves serious attention from any devotee of the genre.

I had to read this story for a class I took a year ago on vampires in mythology, film, and literature and found it was too hard for me to put it down. After re-reading it, I truly began to appreciate it's significance. The story was highly addictive for starters and I loved the whole lesbian sub-plot line story to it. This would go great with a feminist studies class. I would like to read the stories that pick up where this one left off. Forget Stoker's "Dracula," this is vampire story to read.

Carmilla is the most important vampire story ever written. She predates Braum Stoker and takes us back to a time long before modern medicine, electricity, or late-night runs to Starbucks. The tale is as dark as the countryside in which it is set. To truly understand the tale however you must understand the time it was told in, and its historical evidence.

There have been thousands of verified cases of vampirism throughout history. Priests, constables, mayors, doctors, lawyers and judges, magistrates, and any number of respected members of society have set their hand (and seal) to oath stating "I have hereby witnessed what can only be described as a vampire." This has happened time and again all over the world, and Carmilla, sweet loving daughter and succubus is a queen among them. The story is labeled fiction by the uninitiated, but it is more a faction, and more than enough time has passed to let it be known anyway. Modern science would be delighted to actually have the evidence today to examine, and sadly that is the dilemma, for the vampires (including our diminutive friend Mircalla, Malarca, and others...) have long-since abandoned us. They are simply nowhere to be found. But if you ever find yourself in a small lonely town far away from modern Europe you may catch a whiff of the sent, a trail gone cold, but still possible to follow. Carmilla was there before you. Perhaps, just perhaps...

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James, I can see why.

Le Fanu's use of atmosphere is remarkable, he builds the scenes up and up. His writings are by no means gory, but they are very horrific, due to his wonderful plot devices and descriptions.

'Carmilla' has to be my favourite of Le Fanu's wonderous stories, it is dramatic, chilling and at times quite tender. The pace is just right and the short chapters keep you hooked, and you will want to read more and more, I struggle to put this book down.

If it has one fault, it is the lack of explanation for the other 'villains' of the story, who was the strange man that entered the Masque? (I presume he was a Karnstien).

But the lack of explanation for that man, the Countess and the strange dark woman in the carriage, stimulates the brain.

I would suggest that fans of 'Dracula' should read this as Stoker himself loved the story, and even considered making his novel about a Styria Countess not unlike 'Carmilla'. A further insight into Stoker's admiration for this exquisit piece of fiction, can be seen in Stoker's short story 'Dracula's Guest'.

Also if you like the works of M.R James, then you should read this, and Le Fanu's other stories, as James uses the same style and has written a bit about Le Fanu.

James said of 'In A Glass Darkly' (the Anthology in which 'Carmilla' can be found):

"The volume called In a Glass Darkly is probably the best known, next to Uncle Silas, of all the author's works, and to those who have read it, the titles "The Familiar", "Mr Justice Harbottle", "Carmilla" and "Green Tea" will suggest the remembrance of an agreeable thrill. The two first, and "Squire Toby's Will", I should assert to be the best ghost stories in the English language"

Thank you very much for reading my review. I hope it helps.

"Carmilla" is an effective, and very creepy, Victorian supernatural thriller about Carmilla, a mysterious young woman with secrets, who befriends Laura, a lonely and sheltered young woman, who lives with her father in a castle in an Austrian forest.

If you have heard anything about this story at all, you have probably heard two things. The first thing you have likely heard is technically a spoiler -- it is not something that Le Fanu's Victorian readers would likely have guessed prior to the revelations at the end.

The second thing you have probably heard about this story is that it has something to do with lesbians. This is not really a spoiler because it is, for the most part, not true. I understand why people think this, but in all cases they are missing the real point of a passage, or are being misled by differences in Victorian norms, thought and language. The erotic "subtext" in this novella is a Red Herring -- quickly disposed of -- which points the way to the mystery's true solution. Carmilla's "passion" isn't erotic -- it's something else; she's not a lesbian -- she's ... something else. The real point of the story lies in its climactic revelations.

If, like many modern critics, you prefer to think of this as an allegorical "coming of age" story of suppressed lesbian desire, no-one can stop you. But really, the story makes a lot more sense, and is a lot scarier, the other way -- unless of course you're really scared of lesbians.

ADDENDUM: The English language has changed some, so it may help to add some tips on Victorian language. References to Laura's "breast" refer not to her bosom, but to a point just below her throat that she herself cannot even see. A "romance" is not a love story, but a story involving the supernatural. "Romantic" does not mean "erotic"; as used here, it is closer to "superstitious". "Passion" does not mean "sexual desire", but refers rather to any strong emotion or anguish, and when Laura mentions "passions" being "terribly aroused" she does not refer to being extremely horny, but rather to being terribly traumatized. Finally, do not make the mistake of assuming those sexually repressed Victorians were more uptight about physical affection than we are. The reverse was true. The Victorians were uptight about sex, but free with affection, and a little hugging and kissing from a sexually-safe source (such as another girl) was regarded as reasonably normal.