Classic Vampire Tales for Lovers of Nosferatu
On December 25th 2024, Nosferatu rises from its coffin to terrorize audiences once again. Nosferatu first appeared on screen in 1922. Directed by F.W. Murnau, this film has haunted audiences for more than a century. Now, Count Orlok returns in Robert Eggers' remake of the Gothic horror classic.
Staring actors such as Willem Dafoe and Nicholas Hoult, the film is sure to leave its mark on fans of horror. While there's a lot to love and fear within Nosferatu, it's far from the only classic vampire story. Many blood-sucking undead haunted the nightmares of readers before Count Orlok cast his shadow upon the screen. Here's our list of some of the best of those classic stories.
the best Classic vampire stories
Carmilla
by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Carmilla (1872) is a novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Published twenty-six years before Bram Stoker's Dracula, Le Fanu's work of Gothic horror and mystery is considered an important early entry in the genre of vampire fiction.
Recorded in the casebook of Dr. Hesselius, a medical professional with a detective's sensibility, is the story of Laura, a teenager bearing a strange secret. Raised in a castle by her father, a widower who recently concluded his career in service to the Austrian Empire, Laura has been haunted since her youth, when she was visited at night by a beautiful, spectral woman. Now eighteen, she awaits the visit of Bertha Rheinfelt, a niece of her father's friend. When Bertha dies mysteriously, however, and when a girl named Carmilla is brought to the castle under strange circumstances, Laura fears that the past has come full circle. But she soon overcomes her mournful state, growing close with Carmilla. But the girl's behavior soon proves unsettling.
Carmilla is prone to sleepwalking, sleeps through the day, declines to participate in prayers, and makes romantic overtures to Laura. She begins to be haunted by strange and violent dreams, waking one night to discover Carmilla at the foot of her bed, and bite marks along her neck. Her father intervenes, taking her to a local village. On the way, they meet Bertha's uncle, who shares the chilling details of her fate. It becomes clear that Carmilla, whoever she is, is far from the innocent young girl she claims to be.
Dracula
by Bram Stoker
In 1897, Bram Stoker published what has now become one of the most revered horror stories of its time. Dracula has inspired the Gothic genre for generations, including Nosferatu. It continues to this day to frighten and delight its readers for anyone brave enough to face the world of blood thirsty vampires in search of their next mortal victim.
In a gripping and sensational work of classic Gothic fiction we discover the infamous Count Dracula. When English lawyer Jonathan Harker travels to an obscure town called Transylvania, the goal of his visit was most certainly not to do business with a vampire. As he makes his way through the village square, Harker is overcome with an eerie sensation that the Count is not who he says he is.
Strewn with various charms and trinkets thrown at him from the local village people, Harker comes to find that the weird looks, whispers, and pointed fingers directed at him are not done so in jest at him being a tourist. Rather, they are a clear warning that the Count is perhaps more dangerous than he imagined. Brimming with observations on the eventual paradigmatic shifts of society, Stoker's intent with Dracula extends much further than the plot of quarreling vampires.
With references to the sexual politics of women in the Victorian era to the astute observations following the modernization of society, Stoker's ideas and writings were insightfully ahead of the times. Dracula has continued to play an influential role in the canon of literature, and for a blood-curdling and frighteningly good reason.
Dracula's Guest
by Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest (1914) is a collection of short stories by Irish author Bram Stoker. Edited and published by Florence, the author's wife, following Stoker's death only two years prior, Dracula's Guest helped to establish the Irish master of Gothic horror's reputation as a leading writer of the early-twentieth century.
In "Dracula's Guest," an unnamed Englishman journeys by carriage into the countryside from his hotel in Munich to take in some of the local scenery. On the journey, his driver warns him of the dangers of Walpurgis Night only hours away, a time in which demons and ghosts are rumored to roam the land. Stopping near an abandoned village, the Englishman ignores his driver's unease and, sending the carriage back to Munich, makes his way into the hills alone. Lost in the dark, a sudden appearance of moonlight reveals his eerie surroundings-a dark and dreary cemetery.
As a storm abruptly begins, he takes shelter in the doorway of a tomb, accidentally disturbing the entrance to reveal, at its center, the body of a beautiful, sleeping woman. In "The Judge's House," a scholar on holiday in a seaside town spends the night in a mysterious home, despite the warnings of locals who beg him not to stay at such a place. Dracula's Guest compiles nine works of short fiction by Bram Stoker, the secretive and vastly underrated creator of Dracula, one of history's greatest villains.
The Dead Woman in Love
by Théophile Gautier
Follow the classic supernatural tale of forbidden love between a devout priest and a beautiful vampiress in The Dead Woman in Love.
At sixty-six years of age, an elderly priest is finally ready to tell the story of his first and only love. Over forty years ago, on the day of his Ordination, Lord Romulad lays eyes on a creature that shines brighter than the stars in heaven. With an almost hypnotic radiance, the young madonna's beauty almost convinces Romulad to abandon his religious duty but, ignoring his lustful feelings, he completes his ceremony to become a priest and is left knowing only her name, Clarimonde.
Unable to forget her, Romulad quickly becomes dissatisfied with his newfound priesthood, gaining the attention of Father Serapion who delivers a warning: the woman he seeks is not only dead, but has died many times-her tomb a place of filth and debauchery. However, undeterred by these rumors, Romulad follows a mysterious stranger to the castle of Clarimonde and thus begins the love affair that would change his life forever.
The Skeleton Count: Or, the Vampire Mistress
by Elizabeth Caroline Grey
The Skeleton Count, or The Vampire Mistress (1828) is a penny dreadful by Elizabeth Caroline Grey. Although the novel's authorship is frequently disputed, The Skeleton Count, or The Vampire Mistress is likely the first vampire tale to be written and published by a woman. Like most penny dreadfuls, the novel makes up for a lack in style with an abundance of horror and romance.
Desperate to live to eternity, Count Rodolph makes a dangerous deal with the devil. Invigorated with his newfound power, Rodolph reanimates the corpse of the beautiful Bertha, a fitting bride to accompany him in his quest for everlasting life. Will she be a loyal and irresistible vampire mistress, or will the Count's creation turn against him? The Skeleton Count, or The Vampire Mistress is an entertaining tale of terror and the occult from a prolific author of nineteenth century penny dreadfuls.
The Vampyre
by John William Polidori
When Aubrey, a young Englishman, meets a mysterious man from London high society, Lord Ruthven, they become unlikely friends. Shortly after, Aubrey decides to accompany the noble on a trip to Rome. However, when a moral disagreement arises between the two, Aubrey decides to leave Ruthven in Rome, and goes off on his own. Arriving in Greece, Aubrey meets Ianthe, and the two share an immediate connection. After sharing stories and an evening together, Aubrey and Ianthe part ways for the night. However, after a devastating turn of events, Aubrey and Ruthven reunite, and Aubrey, ready to leave Greece behind, is happy to travel with the older man once again.
But as they continue their travels, Aubrey slowly begins to notice Ruthven's odd behavior. After even more consideration, Aubrey realizes a shocking pattern-nearly everyone that Ruthven comes in close contact to meets an untimely end. Afraid of his newly acquired knowledge, Aubrey attempts to distance himself from the suspicious man, though he is forced to reconsider his efforts when Ruthven expresses intent to marry Aubrey's sister.
First published under Lord Byron's name, The Vampyre rose to immediate commercial success. However, though he was inspired by a discarded piece of Lord Bryon's work, both authors have since admitted that John William Polidori was the true writer of The Vampyre. Considered to be the first work of vampire fiction, The Vampyre had an immense role in shaping vampires as literary figures, influencing the canonical rules of vampires that many still follow today. First published in 1819, Polidori's The Vampyre remains to be a thrilling and spooky read centuries later, and has since inspired both film and theater adaptations. With mystery and eerie suspense, Polidori's work is an extraordinary example of 19th century gothic horror.
Vampires and Vampirism
by Dudley Wright
Vampires and Vampirism (1914) is a work from another era, a time when belief and wonder led some to travel down pathways of knowledge in search of truth and terror, not knowing what they would find.
Written in response to an "awakened [popular] interest in supernormal phenomena" in the early twentieth century, Dudley Wright's Vampires and Vampirism traces the history of vampirism around the world, from ancient Babylonia, Assyria, and Greece, to Great Britain, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Beginning with the question "What is a vampire?", Wright seeks to first define the term before moving into an analysis of how belief in vampirism emerged from various and distant religious and cultural traditions. Each chapter uses a scholarly mix of ancient and modern sources to enlighten the reader, and the book culminates in a chapter titled "Fact or Fiction?", which allows the reader to hear from believers and skeptics alike. The book includes harrowing personal accounts of outbreaks of vampirism in British India and Mexico, as well as a lengthy bibliography.
In a world where matters of occult nature, such as astrology, have reentered the popular consciousness, Vampires and Vampirism is sure to be of interest. It is also a fascinating document of a time when Europeans-faced with spiritual doubt and inspired by religious traditions and myths from the outer reaches of empire-sought to establish new systems of belief, new orders they hoped could replace those they feared were quickly becoming lost.
Varney the Vampire
by James Malcolm Rymer - Thomas Peckett Prest
Varney the Vampire (1847) is a penny dreadful novel by British writers James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest. Originally serialized in cheap volumes, the novel introduced some of the most recognizable tropes of vampire fiction still used today, including the depiction of fangs and the use of a Gothic setting. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Varney the Vampire is a story of tragedy, damnation, and revenge that pioneered many of the themes common to horror and pulp fiction today.
Sir Francis Varney was condemned to an eternity of vampiric life following his actions during the reign of Oliver Cromwell. Having betrayed a royalist and killed his own son in a fit of rage, Varney was forced to suffer death and resurrection countless times over on his insatiable quest for human blood. In the nineteenth century, he targets the Bannerworths, a once-noble family fallen on hard times in their crumbling estate. Gruesome and tragic, the story manages to humanize the vampire without softening his terrifying actions or features, laying the groundwork for an action-packed romp through such legendary cities as London, Naples, and Venice. Varney the Vampire is a grisly penny dreadful novel, a quick-witted work of horror that has inspired generations of storytellers and readers alike.
Ready the stakes and get the garlic
Each of these tales bring their own unique spin to the world of gothic horror and vampirism. In some cases, they founded many of the tropes audiences have grown accustomed to. No matter which story you choose to sink your teeth into first, these classics are sure to leave you checking mirrors for reflections more closely and keeping a wooden stake close to your bed. So, grab some garlic and experience some of the best Gothic horror stories to be put on the page.