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. ( )

laura cannot believe that her strange night visitor is her friend Carmilla. but why is she so repelled? is there a horror concealed behind Carmilla's charming appearence? eceuile? ( )

Wow, how did I never read this story before? I was surprised by how sophisticated and intoxicating it was, despite being one of the first vampire stories. ( )

I thought this was a wonderful book and can easily see why it was the inspiration for Dracula. It's beautifully written and the descriptions of the 'schloss' and the surrounding countryside are simply mouth-watering. Having said that, I did struggle a little with the style of writing at times - I like to be challenged though!

It was always going to be interesting to read this book because Dracula became an immediate favourite of mine the first time I read it. This one stood up well, although it was perhaps lacking in some respects; because it is so much shorter than Dracula, I feel that the story and characters weren't developed as fully and I was left with some unanswered questions at the end.

One thing that surprised me a little was the graphic nature of Laura and Carmilla's relationship - I didn't expect the writing to be so risque coming from that time period! I think in this respect Carmilla was more graphic than Dracula.

I would highly recommend reading Carmilla, particularly if you have read and liked Dracula. The differences and similarities are interesting to note. ( )

Et si Dracula avait été inspiré par Carmilla, vampire femme ? Et si Dracula été resté une femme ?

... qui aurait remplacé Gary Oldman dans le rôle du Prince Dracula dans le formidable film de Francis Ford Coppola ? ( )

Geez, that vampire chick's pretty hot.

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10007

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2007/07/ca... ( )

Geez, that vampire chick's pretty hot.

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10007

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2007/07/ca... ( )

A slim little book about vampires. ( )

As vampire stories go, this is one of the best....

Before I even read Stoker’s “Dracula”, I read the introduction that came in my version. In it there were references to a lot of books Stoker took inspiration from when making his own vampire novel (which wasn’t all that original, after all). Reading through the descriptions, I knew before I even started Dracula that I wanted to read these books, as well!

One of those books mentioned—in fact the only one I have gotten around to reading—was “Carmilla”.

It starts off when a girl and her father find themselves with an unexpected, mysterious guest at their home—named Carmilla. Carmilla and the girl become friends, but eventually it becomes known by Carmilla’s strangeness that she is, in fact, a vampire. And, of course, what can you do with vampires but seek to kill them?

To sum up the novel, I guess you could say it’s kind of like Stoker’s Dracula, only shorter and more to the point, while still retaining most, if not all of, the suspense and mystery. The novel has been described as a “lesbian vampire novel” because both vampire and potential victim are female, but the characters only seemed to slightly lean towards being “lesbian”, at best (and all in my opinion, of course).

I don’t think there was anything I disliked about the novel; the atmosphere, the writing, etc, was everything I had expected it to be! ( )