Carmilla

“Carmilla” is one of the first works about vampires in the history of literature, written 25 years before Bram Stoker's famous “Dracula,” which was inspired by the works of Le Fanu. The story is told by a young girl named Laura, who lives with her father in a castle amid the endless forests of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and leads a secluded life. Everything changes with the arrival of a beautiful stranger named Carmilla, and strange events begin to unfold: peasants die one by one, Laura falls ill and withers away before their eyes, and at night she is tormented by nightmares. Who is this mysterious Carmilla, and what is her connection to what is happening? In addition to this novella, the collection includes other stories by Dr. Hesselius: “Green Tea,” “A Long Familiar Face,” “Judge Harbottle,” and “Number in the Hotel 'Flying Dragon'.”