This is the original vampire story to appear in English. It is written by the grand master of ghost stories (Le Fanu) and this book INSPIRED Braum Stoker to write Dracula. It's not a very long book, but it gets in your head and stays with you. This particular version has front and back matter that adds to the story without changing a word. Highly recommended. ( )

my thoughts and comments:

Ewwwwwwwww-----------I do not do vampires.

I read it and I am glad I did because now I know I can at least handle a light vampire read.
I found I also did not hate this little tale. Neither did I love it. I found it to be very predictable but not boring. I quite liked the character of the first person, who is telling the tale; the victim. I also found the villainess to be a well rounded (though readable) character. All in all it was rather a non-frightening and non-intimadating read for me, which surprised me.
So now I can say I have read a story about a vampire. ( )

Originally published in 1872, this classic vampire novel is a nice little "old school" thriller.
Mysterious and beautiful Carmilla ends up staying (not by coincidence) with the young and chaste Laura.
Laura becomes enraptured with Carmilla and her vampire talent of seduction. The sexual overtones that flourish between the two women are alluring. This haunting tale builds to a solid climax when Carmilla and her ancestral history is exposed.
This is the female version of Dracula just with a feminine atmosphere and sensuousness.
Recommended ( )

Though not as well known as Dracula, it seems clear to me that Carmilla had a definite influence in the writing of that more famous work. While Polidori's "Vampyre" had introduced the nobleman vampire and the penny dreadful "Varney" had its predatory vampire against whom the heroes had to struggle, Carmilla provided the lush (and oft decadent) sensuality we've come to associate with the vampire.

The story is quite simple. The heroine/narrator, a young woman, lives with her father in the Central European countryside. Loneliness prompts them to take in a strange young lady--Carmilla--whose path seems to cross accidentally with theirs. Carmilla, who appears to have some off habits and ideas, displays an intense degree of affection for her new friend. After some time and some strange dreams, the heroine begins to grow weaker, her decline untraceable to natural causes.

It's a more modest (and certainly a shorter) story than Dracula, but I rather enjoyed the intimacy and atmosphere of the smaller scale. Though it lacks the page-turning finale of its later cousin, the conclusion makes up for it with elements of terror and melancholy. ( )

This is a short and sweet classic vampire story, with a little subdued ladylovin'. The last couple of pages are kind of a distracted info dump, but the pace is good and the story better. ( )