Children of the Night: Classic Vampire Stories

by David Stuart Davies

Vampires, those dark children of the night, who rise from their coffins to suck the blood of the living, continue to hold a strange fascination and dread. In this unique collection of vampire stories you will find some of the earliest depictions of these fearful creatures as in John Polidori's 'The Vampyre' and James Malcolm Rymer's 'Varney, the Vampyre', a tale which held readers in thrall when it was first published in the mid-nineteenth century. As well as these rare stories and those featuring the more well known bloodsuckers such as Le Fanu's 'Carmilla' and Stoker's 'Dracula', there is a clutch of lesser known but equally frightening tales written by expert practitioners in the art of raising goose pimples. Children of the Night is a volume filled with the rich blood of chilling vampire fiction.

Original cover art version.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Classics, Fiction, Gothic, Short Stories, Supernatural

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

David Stuart Davies was a British writer. He worked as a teacher of English before becoming a full-time editor, writer, and playwright. Davies wrote extensively about Sherlock Holmes, both fiction and non-fiction. He was the editor of Red Herrings, the monthly in-house publication of the Crime Writers' Association, and a member of The Baker Street Irregulars and the Detection Club.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this collection of vampire themed shorts at the weekend. Some I had read previously, such as Le Fanu's classic 'Carmilla', M.R. James' 'An Episode of Cathedral History', de Maupassant's 'The Horla' as well as obvious texts such as the extract from Stoker's 'Dracula' which defines the genre.

I have rated individual stories separately where possible.

I found it rather conceited - given that this is a collection of 'classic' vampire stories - that the editor decided to include a contemporary story written by himself. It certainly didn't work alongside the rest of the collection and I saw little point including it other than self aggrandizement!

This would be a good starting point for people interested in the vampire genre as it does include many classic and key texts.

[Ravenskya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vampire, more than any other creature of gothic folklore, has been defined by the fiction written about it. This book contains many of the short stories that were defining moments in Vampire lore. The first to mention staking a vampire, the first female vamp, talk of burying them at a crossroads minus their heads, the first where they shapeshift. For true vampire lovers, this book is a must read.

There are a total of 12 tales in this book beginning with the "Vampire of Croglin Hall", and then moving on to such famous tales as "Varney the Vampyre," "The Curse of the Vourdalack," "Carmilla", and "The Horla." There is even an excerpt from Stoker's "Dracula" titled "Dracula and the Three Brides" which is in my oppinion, one of the most horrific scenes in that illustrious novel. Each of these tales is by a different author, and they range in time from the mid 1800's through Edith Wharton's Bewitched which was written in the 1900's. I am not counting the story of "The Welcome Visitor" which was written by the man who compiled these tales... it is not up to the quality of the other stories that inhabit this fine collection.

My personal favorite is "The Curse of the Vourdalak" which I immediately recognized as the foundation for the beginning of almost every modern Vampire tale (you can see it is almost identical to the opening of McCammon's Vampire tale "They Thirst"). I also had a fondness for "Carmilla" which was odd because it was so clear to me what would happen. I could not even imagine the horror readers must have felt reading these stories for the first time back when they were written. In this day and age we have been bombarded by Vampire tales and movies... but the horror that readers must have felt back in the 1800's when they read these for the first time must have been amazing.

Each of these stories is deserving of a read by itself, but to have them all compiled together in a single book makes this a must own for any fan of the Vampire legend. You will not find your debonair, suave vampires who woo women with their charms... instead you will find the horror of destroyed villages, children hiding in their beds as beasts lurk through their towns, women wasting away in terror from unknown assailants, men being stalked by invisible beings who drain their life as they sleep.

If you are looking for a quick and easy read, this is not it... having been written in the late 1800's through early 1900's, the language will take a bit to sink in. Once it does you will regret that we have long ago lost the beauty of our language.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of vampire fiction that chronicles the rise of the most popular genre in horror - starting with an early account of a "real-life" encounter in "The Vampire of Croglin Hall". The editor has selected some brilliant lesser known works, alongside traditional vampire canon including Sheridan le Fanu's "Carmilla" and what happens to be my favourite passage of Stoker's "Dracula" in which Jonathan Harker finds himself a prisoner in the Count's castle. Guy de Maupassant's tale "The Horla" and "The Curse of the Vourdalak" by Alexis Tolstoy are two stand-out inclusions that I am very glad I came across. This is a comprehensive and enjoyable collection of stories, marred only by the editor's own contribution which was as cheesy as "Varney the Vampire" but without the historical importance.

[Hannelore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of stories. Love the inclusion of the stories pre Bram Stoker.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of Vampire stories? Yes, please!

Notable shorts:
1. The Curse of tje Vourdalak ⭐⭐⭐
A story about generational trauma, passed down from father to son, son to grandson.
That's what I like about these stories, they're so much to pick apart and understand. This one is no exception.

2. Carmilla, J. Sheridan Le Fanu 🩸🩸🩸🩸
Beautiful! And psychologically unnerving. This is a dive into the uncanny. What bothers me is that the narrator (she has no name in the story! Her name is not Laura!), is surrounded by people who love her deeply but sadly, no one listens to her, no one BELIEVES what she says. And that is the horror in this story...
Mmm. Well, apart from SA. ☠️ Nobody believed her after that incident which is messed up. ☠️
Anyway. The way it's written... Such a wonderful, WONDERFUL piece of literature.
And repeating this (well, it's not a fact, but sort of a common knowledge, I think): this story has predates Dracula and the fact it inspired one of the greatest works of classic literature, says a lot about this book. ❤️

3. Good Lady Ducayne, Elizabeth Braddon ⭐⭐⭐
I only mentioned this because the threat in this story can be very real and... Fucking scary. I cannot (will not, even) imaging being "taken advantage of" while helpless. Fucking. Scary.

4. The Horla, Guy du Maupassant ⭐⭐⭐.5
Another masterpiece. What can we expect, its du Maupassant who wrote it!
There’s that psychological tension running through the story and that's what makes it unnerving. I shiver, reading through this. Because I think it was depression the narrator caught while waving at the ship. And again, the threat is real, making it more frightening. ☠️

5. Bewitched, Edit Wharton ⭐⭐⭐
Another good one. A sad story this time. Because it's the horror of not letting go. And again, another predicament we don't want to be caught in.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. All twelve stories were great, although two were long winded. They were Carmilla and An Episode of Cathedral History. Could have shortened both stories. Otherwise a great read.

[Sean Hannifin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection. Honestly thought most of these old tales were actually kind of boring; maybe readers didn't need much to be creeped out back when they were written since they weren't competing with TV and movies. However, I did enjoy The Curse of the Vourdalak and The Horla.

[桂河 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it 4 stars solely for the story Carmilla by Le Fanu. All other stories seem inferior to me. Actually Carmilla alone deserves 5 stars.

[Niamh Ennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good collection with only a few duds.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of vampire tales, comprising fiction, myths, and retellings of urban legends. Should please most fans of the subgenre.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Wordsworth Library of Mystery and the Supernatural, this is a nice compendium of shorter pieces of vampire fiction from the 19th and early 20th Centuries. There is nothing really new here, but editor Davies has made some judicious choices that make for diverting reading. The best story in the collection is, of course, Le Fanu's "Carmilla", which is for my money the finest vampire story ever written outside of "Dracula". The biggest and most pleasant surprise is Alexei Tolstoy's "The Curse of the Vourdelaks", which is wonderfully original and creepy.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories and extracts of classic vampire fiction. As a fang-lit afficionado, I have read some of these before but it was good to revisit such well-written tales as Carmilla , The Vampyre and Dracula.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

the vampire of croglin hall: 3/5
they vampyre; a tale: 2/5
the curse of the vourdalak: 5/5

still unread:
varney the vampyre; carmilla; for the blood is life; good lady duacayne; an episode of cathedral history; the horla; bewitched; the welcome visitor

[Lainy · Rating 4 out of 5]

collection of short vampire stories

[Christoph Weber · Rating 1 out of 5]

didn't finish, too boring, too longwinded