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The Vampyre: A Tale

John William Polidori

3.31 · Rating details · 7,191 ratings · 779 reviews

This classic vampire story has inspired generations of authors, from Bram Stoker to Charlaine Harris.

A young English gentleman of means, Aubrey is immediately intrigued by Lord Ruthven, the mysterious newcomer among society’s elite. His unknown origin and curious behavior tantalizes Aubrey’s imagination. But the young man soon discovers a sinister character hidden behind

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Paperback, Large Print, 72 pages

Published January 2nd 2006 by Echo Library (first published April 1st 1819)

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· 7,191 ratings · 779 reviews

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May 30, 2011 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fang-bangers, audiobook, 1800s, gothic, horror, literature

Before DRACULA...
Before NOSFERATU...
Even before BUFFY...

There was LORD RUTHVEN in John Polidori’s 1819 short story, The Vampyre. Originally attributed to Lord Byron, this is an exceptional gothic story and I was quite surprised at the amount of like I found myself feeling for this little gem.

Besides being double plus good, this atmospheric tale is historically important as it is the earliest example of the romantic vampire genre. Thus it is a classic of both gothic and vampire fiction.
...more

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Oct 30, 2017 Sean Barrs rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-star-reads, darkness-horror-gothic, romantic-movement

This is one of those weird bits of fiction where the story behind its creation is actually more interesting than the work itself: it was the result of a writing challenge between Mary Shelley, Byron and Polidori, the very same challenge that resulted in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

The tale begins with a vampire arriving in London; he catches the eyes of the citizens with his uniqueness. They are drawn to him like a moth to a flame; they are enamoured by his sharp, striking, eyes. Everyone wants ...more

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Jul 15, 2019 Carol rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, dark, gothic, horror, short-stories, read-2019, vampires

Believe it or not.... this real oldie of a vampyre tale has no bloody gore. First published in 1819, it provides a very interesting introduction pertaining to historic vampyre beliefs around the world, one I had never heard, about how to rid yourself of the evil.

THE VAMPYRE is also a product of the competition that produced Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN.

As the story begins, we first meet Aubrey, a handsome recently orphaned and now wealthy young man and his only sister....ready to come out. Not

...more

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Dec 19, 2016 Alex ☣ Deranged KittyCat ☣ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audiobooks, vampires, less-than-100-pages, mystery-thriller-horror, short-stories-novellas, least-favorites

While the story itself is intriguing, the way it is told is so boring. That's why I try and avoid classics most of the time. I prefer something fast-paced, or something that (at least) doesn't make me fall asleep. Old authors had a way about descriptions and making the most exciting things appear soulless.

I felt nothing for Lord Ruthven, just as I felt nothing for Aubrey. And why did Ruthven leave Aubrey alive? All the mental torture did nothing for me. I could not see the vampire's reasons, nor ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Charles van Buren rated it liked it · review of another edition

The progenitor of the modern vampire

Review of free Kindle edition
A Public Domain Book
Publication date: May 12, 2012
Language: English
ASIN: B0082U0CS0
65 pages

Long misattributed to Lord Byron this story was actually written by his then friend and personal physician, John Polidori. It was wriiten during the same time frame as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's FRANKENSTEIN. Both were written as a result of Byron's suggestion that each of the group at his Swiss villa write a ghost story. He himself wrote a ...more

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Nov 08, 2018 Peter rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror

One of the earliest vampire tales ever! I really enjoyed this romantic story. At first Aubrey admires Lord Ruthven and follows him through Europe. Then things turn and the vampire starts haunting the main character. While reading it I sensed that this story had influence on Bram Stoker. Certain aspects of Lord Ruthven can be found again in Dracula. The Vampyre is a groundbreaking work worth reading. Even if some settings or behaviours seem to be dated to us modern readers it has some eerie momen ...more

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Oct 03, 2015 Annie rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2015, short-stories

I love vampires. There, I said it! Ever since I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I have been fascinated by this creature of the shadows, the undead. Never mind a certain series that threatened to spoil the ‘monster’ for me, but now that the last of that smoke is on its way out, I can demurely admit to this without my declaration to be succeeded by ‘Oh! Twilight.’ Cringe!

No. My fascination rests with the creature of the undead, shrouded in darkness and legend, surrounded by hushed voices and hear-says

No. My fascination rests with the creature of the undead, shrouded in darkness and legend, surrounded by hushed voices and hear-says. This probably runs in the same strain of thoughts, as my undying love (yes. That was intentional) for the DC and Marvel universe. But with the vampyr lore there is a danger that is almost delicious. My vampire has hair growing out of his palms and calls sweetly to the wolves at midnight.

Children of the night
Oh! What music to my ears

We, in India, have our own vampyr legend known as Baital. This incarnation of the legend appears in a text called The Kathasartsagaraa, which translates into Oceans of the Streams of Stories’ by a Kashmiri Somadeva, for Queen Suryamati of Kashmir. The 11th century collection of works is believed to have been derived from an ever older and now lost piece of work called Brihatkatha, which was written in a language Paisachi that is all but lost and rarely appears in antique works written in old Sanskrit. There are various versions of this story in existence, the most popular one being the one televised as a children’s programme called Vikram and Baital , in which Baital ( the pisaach/ the vampyr)is shown hanging upside down from a tree, similar in manner to that of a bat and drinks the blood of humans(obviously!).

But Polidori’s Vampyr is something else entirely. By all accounts this short story is the first English vampire story and is written with a young man named Aubrey narrating his encounters with a certain gentleman, Lord Ruthven, whose peculiar disposition and disdainful mannerisms give flight to many a maiden’s heart. He is ruthless and wealthy, and wherever he leaves there a trail of destruction follows. The Vampyr lays the groundwork and establishes many of the themes that we have now come to associate with this legend. The sophisticated stranger, the learned and distinguished gentleman, the dead eyes and pallor of the skin, the bloodlust, the ruiner of virgins, etc have all been taken birth from the inked pages of Polidori's The Vampyr.

The origins of the tale has been known to all. One fateful holiday with the Shelleys, Byron and his physician Polidori and a journey that produced two original compositions that has since inspired an entire genre. Polidori is said to have been inspired from an abandoned work of Byron himself and had allegedly based the character of Lord Ruthven on him. There was no love lost between them. Amidst the various public humiliations suffered by Polidori at the hands of Lord Byron, the latter is even rumoured to have threatened to subject him to ‘a damned good thrashing’. From there to the life sucking monster in The Vampyr, it is a straight line. The tale was first attributed to Lord Byron himself, and it gained immense popularity. Some even went so far as to say that it was Byron's greatest work. Of course the work wasn't Byron's and Polidori had a merry chase trying to establish the correct authorship of the work. Polidori is said to have committed suicide, but even this fact is shrouded in mystery.

...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it liked it

Shelves: gothic-fiction, short-story, vampire, classic-horror, 19th-century, moral-decadence

The history of this short story might be even more intriguing than the actual writing itself. Mr. Polidori was the personal physician of the infamous Lord Byron, and this work of fiction was conceived on that famous holiday event in which Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Mary Godwin (who would later become Mary Shelley) issued a challenge to each other to write Gothic stories. This was Mr. Polidori's result.

My thoughts:

I have little doubt that Lord Ruthven was inspired by Lord Byron. Polidori's fe The history of this short story might be even more intriguing than the actual writing itself. Mr. Polidori was the personal physician of the infamous Lord Byron, and this work of fiction was conceived on that famous holiday event in which Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Mary Godwin (who would later become Mary Shelley) issued a challenge to each other to write Gothic stories. This was Mr. Polidori's result.

My thoughts:

I have little doubt that Lord Ruthven was inspired by Lord Byron. Polidori's feelings towards his debauched past employer are quite clear. In this case, Lord Ruthven has a supernatural ability to ruin, damage, and destroy anything he lays his hands on, and enjoys doing so in the process. This does not speak well of Lord Byron, and based of what I have read of him, I can see some echoes of him in this character. Lord Caroline Lamb, the incredibly outrageous for her times, cast-off mistress of Byron is immortalized in a character who appears briefly in the beginning of the story, at least in my opinion.

As far as the writing, I didn't feel that it was particularly inspired or brilliant. This short story is all telling and little showing. This created a distance between the characters in this story and myself. It was hard to feel much sympathy for Aubrey, his sister Miss Aubrey, Ianthe, or anyone else because the narrative was too much like a bland newspaper article, with little connection to the intense emotions of the persons involved. I had a distant feeling of dislike and disgust for Lord Ruthven, which with more active, vivid writing could have been outright disgust. That is a sadly wasted opportunity for a writer, in my opinion.

It's hard to say much overall about this story. It wasn't bad. I can't say I was disappointed, because I didn't have high expectations. Regardless of the issues as far as the writing, Mr. Polidori has earned his place in the vampire fiction canon. Sadly, he lived a short, disappointing (to himself) life. Although he could not be aware of the famous status of this story, it is some comfort to me that he has created something that endured two hundred years later. For that I will respect and appreciate The Vampyre. And also for its commentary of Lord Byron, a man whose antics pretty much created its own character archetype in literature, the Byronic hero. Admittedly in this case, there is nothing at all to recommend Lord Ruthven. Lord Byron himself, I cannot say yay or nay to that question.

End verdict: Any vampire fiction aficionado should take the opportunity to read this story at least for its historical value. ...more

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Jan 06, 2017 Sr3yas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-story-novellas

A historical milestone. That's what 'Vampyre' is. Written in 1819, this short fiction is considered as (one of the) first story to successfully use vampire as an antagonist.

History aside, the story itself started strong, but fell short towards the end.

I particularly enjoyed the first encounter of vampyre in Greece. However, the actions of characters became illogical after that incident.

In my edition (project Guttenberg), I found an extract which serves as an introduction to the story. I'm going ...more

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Apr 01, 2016 Peter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

It's 1:32 am and I am half asleep. So yep it freaked me a bit.
Best advice; never read after an anti migraine tablet and a cup of tea when everyone is asleep and the rooms outside your library door are in darkness... Ok, I scared myself witless!

10 STARS for working so well! ...more

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May 03, 2020 Olivia-Savannah rated it it was ok

I found this story to be fairly pointless and pretty boring. The main character is incredibly weak and useless, and the ending is very abrupt.

I credit this because it brought on vampires (and I tend to love everything vampires.)

This short story though, was a disappointment.

I read this for university.

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Mar 07, 2008 Werner rated it it was ok

Shelves: supernatural-fiction, vampires

Note, April 13, 2014: I've just updated this review slightly to correct some factual inaccuracy in the account of the tale's origin.

Personal physician to Lord Byron, Polidori was present for the same challenge to the Byron-Shelley households to write a scary story that produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but apparently didn't immediately take part in it. He later produced this literary treatment of the vampire legend (the first one to be published in English) using Byron's story, which the fam Note, April 13, 2014: I've just updated this review slightly to correct some factual inaccuracy in the account of the tale's origin.

Personal physician to Lord Byron, Polidori was present for the same challenge to the Byron-Shelley households to write a scary story that produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but apparently didn't immediately take part in it. He later produced this literary treatment of the vampire legend (the first one to be published in English) using Byron's story, which the famed poet started but left incomplete, as a basis, but re-writing it completely. (The edition of The Vampyre that I read, which is different from this one, reproduces that fragment as well, and it is superior in style and treatment to Polidori's effort.) Really a glorified short story, with a thin, melodramatic plot and sketchy characterizations, this novella succeeded as well as it did because of the novelty of its theme (and the rumor that Byron actually wrote it).

Ruthven is an amoral, egoistic, aloof character supposedly seductively appealing to women, and can be seen as a Byronic antihero in something of the typical Romantic mold, into which his vampirism fits very well; and he set a kind of pattern for the aristocratic male vampires in the classical vampire fiction tradition that would follow. But, like all the vampires in that tradition, he is not a dynamic character.

The central conflict in the story proves to be internal for the hero: does he expose his own sister to mortal danger, or break his word, given to Ruthven, not to disclose something that he knows. This probably strikes modern readers as a false conflict, since most of them wouldn't take their own word that seriously; but while this novella has plenty of implausible melodramatic elements, for Polidori's generation this dilemma would seem genuine: gentlemen of that day were expected to take their given word very seriously, even when it proved to be against their interest. (Whether we've "progressed" or devolved since then is an open question.) ...more

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Jun 27, 2017 Perry Lake rated it really liked it

Shelves: vampires, horror

I read this many years ago. While there could be more background into the mysterious Lord Ruthven, the story is written in the style of its time and is still effective today. This is considered the earliest vampire tale in the English language (there's some debate over that, however) and it was extremely influential on later works such as Varney, Carmilla, and, of course, Dracula. ...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Sesana rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, fantasy, horror, monsters, folklore, mental-illness

The main significance of of The Vampyre is historical: this is the first published work about vampires in English. Nearly everything that followed in the English language can be traced back to here. Amazing that such a short story (20 pages in the book I read) can be so influential.

What's most important is good, very good. The plot itself, though a little slow to start, ramps up fairly quickly and ends brilliantly. (It does rely on one character valuing his word of honor above all else, includin The main significance of of The Vampyre is historical: this is the first published work about vampires in English. Nearly everything that followed in the English language can be traced back to here. Amazing that such a short story (20 pages in the book I read) can be so influential.

What's most important is good, very good. The plot itself, though a little slow to start, ramps up fairly quickly and ends brilliantly. (It does rely on one character valuing his word of honor above all else, including another's life, but I'm willing to accept that as an historical artifact.) Few authors would have the courage to end their story as Polidori does, which is a shame.

The vampire here is Lord Ruthven, who is everything one can ask of a non-sparkling vampire. He's outwardly cultured, dangerously magnetic, and, in the end, entirely ruthless. He's a frequent seducer of women, but only those who are perfectly chaste when he meets them, and they always vanish without a trace when he is done with them. He gives generously, but only to those who will use his generosity to put themselves in an even worse situation. And he is an enemy who is worse than deadly if crossed. It's easy to see the blueprint of Dracula and Angelus here. Of course, Ruthven is based on Byron.

The bones of the story are good, but the writing itself is less than exciting. Polidori either didn't know how or didn't trust himself to write dialog, because there's virtually none. Most conversations are recorded in narrative, in very long and tedious paragraphs. But Polidori was not a writer by profession, he was a doctor, and he cranked this out in a couple of days. For all of that, it's quite good, it just needs an extra layer of polish and a defter hand with words.

My copy includes an incredibly short (5 pages) fragment by Byron himself, from which Polidori based his Vampyre. The editor in my edition flatly accuses him of plagiarism, and it's a fair cop. Byron's version if unfinished, so it's impossible to tell how much of what eventually happened in The Vampyre is directly from the brain of Byron and how much was Polidori's invention. But there's enough to make me sad that Byron didn't finish it himself. His version is much better than Polidori's.

I read The Vampyre solely for the historical significance of the work, and it ended up being much better than I had expected. It's a chilling story with one of the most memorable fictional vampires in literature, and if Polidori had been a slightly better writer, it would still be remembered as fondly as Dracula. ...more

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Dec 31, 2017 Jess rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2018, 2020, you-n-me-could-write-a-bad-romance, re-reads

This is another piece I respect more than I enjoyed - The Vampyre; A Tale is, after all, the first account of vampires in English prose. So it seems we have John William Polidori to ~~blame~~ thank for the likes of Edward Cullen.

Before anyone criticises Polidori's writing (which I've seen described as 'clunky') can we just remember that he was a doctor by profession, not a writer. And not just any doctor either; he was Lord Byron’s personal physician... and travelling companion throughout his sex to ...more

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Oct 04, 2015 Amy (Other Amy) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: x-free-in-public-domain, 2015, reviewed, vampires, retold-remade-continued-or-fan-ficd, x-kindle, one-for-the-x-files, 2-stars-just-ok, eat-the-rich

Hitherto, Aubrey had had no opportunity of studying Lord Ruthven's character, and now he found, that, though many more of his actions were exposed to his view, the results offered different conclusions from the apparent motives to his conduct. His companion was profuse in his liberality; -- the idle, the vagabond, and the beggar, received from his hand more than enough to relieve their immediate wants. But Aubrey could not avoid remarking, that it was not upon the virtuous, reduced to indigence ...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Madly Jane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: mythic, 2019-read, 2019-read-favorites, vampire, poets-as-characters-in-fiction, revenants, the-haunted-mind, the-demon-lover-myth, shelleyana-2

This is the first vampire story in the English language, and Polidori based the character on Lord Byron, which was not a stretch, since Byron was pretty much an emotional vampire to those around him. Polidori is an interesting character himself. In films, he is always portrayed as crazy or ugly, some little fiend hanging on to Byron, etc. But it's not true. He was smart as can be, young, young, and very handsome. He was also educated and a physican and a member of the Polidori family that went o ...more

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Sep 10, 2019 Plateresca rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

My mom read this story to me when I was little, and I lost my sleep for nights as a result. I dreamt she married a vampyre, of course, although in my dreams I was not sure whether it was my stern and distant father or somebody else.
(I am happy to remark that it takes more to make my own daughter lose sleep, e. g., a foreign cat accidentally locked in our garage and protesting about it. Also, I am myself as of now unmarried to any vampire, although I've certainly known more than one energy vampi ...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Sam Quixote rated it did not like it

John Polidori was Lord Byron's physician who followed Byron about. The two met up with Percy and Mary Shelley on the shores of Lake Geneva and one night decided upon a ghost story writing competition. Percy and Byron, two of the Romantic movement's shining stars, gave up early on claiming prose was nothing to poetry, but Mary Shelley and John Polidori went ahead. Mary wrote "Frankenstein" while Polidori wrote "The Vampyre", a significantly smaller and less famous story.

"The Vampyre" tells the s John Polidori was Lord Byron's physician who followed Byron about. The two met up with Percy and Mary Shelley on the shores of Lake Geneva and one night decided upon a ghost story writing competition. Percy and Byron, two of the Romantic movement's shining stars, gave up early on claiming prose was nothing to poetry, but Mary Shelley and John Polidori went ahead. Mary wrote "Frankenstein" while Polidori wrote "The Vampyre", a significantly smaller and less famous story.

"The Vampyre" tells the story of the charismatic Lord Ruthven about Europe with the impressionable Aubrey following him everywhere. Here we notice some of the attributes famous to vampires these days. Ruthven has "irresistible powers of seduction" (p.4), "night gives him power" (p.7), "superhuman strength" (p.8) and the light "disturbs him" (p.8). It's also suggested he has power over minds though that might just be the character's weakness. I'm not going to say Polidori deserves a lot of credit in bringing the vampire into popular culture as his short story is largely forgotten. It was Stoker's novel "Dracula" that combined the attributes of a vampire along with others with a powerful story with a compelling central character. "The Vampyre" serves only as fodder that might have inspired Stoker.

Polidori can't write, his prose is laborious and dull. Even though it's a 20 page short story, "The Vampyre" is a hell of a long tale. The curiosity factor is what keeps this story published and the fact of Polidori's connections to Byron and the vampire myth. Ruthven is clearly Byron who, like Ruthven, travels about Europe "corrupting" young women using his charms. Polidori is the helpless Aubrey who follows Ruthven/Byron about.

The story is: Aubrey follows Ruthven about until after Ruthven kills Aubrey's love in Greece. Aubrey then goes back to England to protect his young sister from Ruthven. Too late, and Aubrey's sister is doomed. The end.

Boring for readers of gothic fiction, unknown and rightly so for the general reader, it's a footnote in the vampire myth and nothing more. For fans of historical gothic fiction only, otherwise you will be tremendously bored. ...more

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Apr 02, 2019 Sheri rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

So I am waiting for several holds to come in and rather than just grab something from a library shelf, went playing on Gutenberg yesterday. I have a slew of gothic novels to keep me busy. :)

The first was this, the original English vampire story; originating from a contest between Byron, Shelly, a physician and two others (as noted by many others, but certainly interesting, the same contest was the impetus for Frankenstein) in 1819. The Gutenberg version that I read contained the original Byron s ...more

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Aug 08, 2017 leynes rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Sure, it's fun to see Lord Byron being portrayed as a bloodthirsty 'vampyre' but apart from that this tale was utter trash and had nothing to offer. ...more

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Dec 02, 2014 Linda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-literature, gothic-fiction, historical-fiction, classic, horror

"The Vampyre", published 1819, is considered the first vampyre story in English literature and the one turning the vampyre folklore into the classic tale, the mythical vampyre into the aristocratic, cultivated, intellectual and seductive creature. A young man, Aubrey, becomes fascinated with the mysterious Lord Ruthven that has entered London society. They travel to Rome, but Aubrey leaves Lord Ruthven due to certain circumstances. The next time they met, Aubrey's view of him would change irrevo "The Vampyre", published 1819, is considered the first vampyre story in English literature and the one turning the vampyre folklore into the classic tale, the mythical vampyre into the aristocratic, cultivated, intellectual and seductive creature. A young man, Aubrey, becomes fascinated with the mysterious Lord Ruthven that has entered London society. They travel to Rome, but Aubrey leaves Lord Ruthven due to certain circumstances. The next time they met, Aubrey's view of him would change irrevocable.

In this short story, the vampyre isn't charming as in later stories. He's egoistical, sadistic, ruthless and without empathy. He doesn't want to be a nice person. He wants to use people for his benefit. He is very generous when giving to people, with the seemingly good purpose of charity, but only to people that will use his money to end up in an even worse situation.

A great issue for Aubrey is whether to keep his word or save the one he cares about - which can seem absurd since most people would break their promises to save their loved ones. A word isn't always that much worth today. Back then, giving someone your word was probably something highly valued and irreversible.

There is not so much character development, as in many short stories, but the main characters are very interesting. Despite an almost non-existent dialogue the prose isn't heavy at all. The story is thrilling and Aubrey's anxiety and fear are felt by the reader.

This short story is immensely influential. It began in the early 1800's when the author elite - Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, and Claire Clairmont - came together at the Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Among these authors were Byron's physician, John William Polidori. They decided to write a horror-story. This is a historical moment. Lord Byron and Percy Shelley discarded their stories, perhaps because they thought nothing could compare to poetry. Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein" and Polidori used Byron's discarded attempt and wrote "The vampyre". Thus, this story is a work by both of them, and furthermore, the characters Lord Ruthven and Aubrey are based on Lord Byron and Polidori. Neither of them wanted it to be published, but nevertheless, it was.

It's impossible to describe the impact these people had and still have on authors and readers. What did they talk about? What fascinated them? These works of literature are only a small part, a tiny glimpse, of their strong imagination. ...more

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Sep 26, 2020 Jenny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, classics, romantics

This had the potential to be absolutely incredible but it had no room to breathe. My edition came in at 25 pages—barely a short story but it wanted to tell a novel’s plot. If everything had been fleshed out, the relationships could have developed and thus, the action and the horror would have been more impactful. Still, it’s difficult to be so hard on it, knowing that this launched the modern vampire genre as a whole. Also knowing how hard Polidori struggled to get his name attached to the work ...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Juushika rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-horror, status-owned, genre-gothic, genre-classic, format-free-ebook, trope-vampire

The young Lord Aubrey meets the strange and compelling Lord Ruthven, who seems to spread moral and mortal suffering wherever he goes. The confusing history--the story was originally attributed to Lord Byron, but was written by his physician John Polidori--that surrounds The Vampyre threatens to overshadow the text itself (especially as the Gutenberg edition reprints the 1819 imprint containing an unconnected account of Lord Byron's residence in Greece) but ultimately only adds to The Vampyre's m ...more

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Aug 24, 2017 Andrew rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Andrew by: Perry Lake

Shelves: ebooks

Since the first time I read Dracula, I have heard of this short gothic story as the first example of the modern figure of the vampire. I has been written by Polidori in the famous summer spent near Geneva, where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.

In this case, the vampire is an English nobleman, Lord Ruthven, apparently devoted to a dissolute life, but actually interested to feeding on the women of the London upper class. Opposed to him, there is another noble, the young Aubrey, initially naive and ...more

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Aug 07, 2016 Rachel Bea rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, books-of-2016, horror-i-read-in-2016, go-gothic, under-100-pages

strange that this counts as a book as its a pretty short tale. anyway, it took me a while to get used to this language and style of writing! but once i got into the rhythm and was able to focus on the story, I was wrapped in it and also think it's quite creepy. definitely a good read for fans of horror (and obviously if you're into vampire lore this is a must read).

please excuse any typos as I typed this on the app. ...more

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Apr 11, 2014 Ana rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, fiction, 19th-century, paranormal, european-literature, british-literature, horror, italian-literature

While I can appreciate the importance of this text as the first vampire story, I'm glad it was a short read, since it's lost most of its tension over the years. It's interesting to know that while Lord Ruthven does fulfill the traditional model of a vampire, he's an aristocrat with strange hypnotic and powers of attraction, but he is immune to the sun. ...more

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Sep 15, 2015 Kushnuma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This is one of the first published stories relating to vampyre's. ...more

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Nov 10, 2018 jaz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-clássicos, vampires

10 ways lord byron can suck the life out of you

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Dec 06, 2020 Francesca Calarco rated it liked it

In the early 1800s a group of wealthy friends infamously spent a summer together in Geneva that led to a writing contest of sorts. Unequivocally, Mary Shelley won this contest with Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, one of the most influential horror and sci-fi novels of all time. This is more-or-less the first legacy that overshadows John William Polidori’s The Vampyre; A Tale. The second and third would be the future and more influential vampire stories of Carmilla and Dracula.

Admittedly, the origin ...more

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About John William Polidori

John William Polidori

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John William Polidori was an Italian English physician and writer, known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction.

Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.

He was one of the earliest pupils at recen ...more

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“his character was dreadfully vicious, for that the possession of irresistible powers of seduction, rendered his licentious habits more dangerous to society.” — 11 likes

“In many parts of Greece it is considered as a sort of punishment after death, for some heinous crime committed whilst in existence, that the deceased is not only doomed to vampyrise, but compelled to confine his infernal visitations solely to those beings he loved most while upon earth—those to whom he was bound by ties of kindred and affection.—A supposition alluded to in the "Giaour.” — 5 likes

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