Carmilla and Other Tales of Mystery: And 12 Other Classic Tales of Mystery

by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Leonard Wolf (Editor)

An anthology of stories by the Victorian writer widely considered the inventor of the ghost story includes the story of a young woman seduced by a dead man

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

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M.R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House by the Churchyard.

Reviews

[Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think le Fanu was scared of cats

[pennyg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read Carmilla of the collection published in 1871 by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu. It's a short gothic vampire tale written in a very distinctive flowery 'comma heavy' style. It was written over 20 years before Dracula but with similar outcomes but vastly different take on vampires as in the gender of the vampire giving a completely different take on the story.

[Chere · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read another collection of Le Fanu's stories late last year, and some of the stories from that book overlap with this one. Like the previous book, it took a bit of effort for me to read because of the language, but the stories were mostly chilling. What truly stands out for me, however, was the title story Carmilla, a classic vampire tale pre-dating Bram Stoker's Dracula. The story is sensual and compelling, and it is easy to see why it's become a classic! (Incidentally, I bought the book 12 years ago, at the height of my vampire obsession, just for that story.)

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carmilla is wonderful. Much better than Dracula (which was writted years later). Apparently, the first writing where the act of vampirism is given a sexuality of its own.
Other favorites in the collection : Schalken the Painter, The Evil Guest and Green Tea.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I have only read the title story, Carmilla. If you don't know anything about this classic tale, then I won't spoil it in any way. Just read it, and don't read anything about it if you can help it. If you are interested in classic horror fiction, you'll be fascinated.

[Ashley Thompson]

Carmilla and 12 Other Classic Tales of Mystery by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1996)

[Burns Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The vampire tale before Dracula
Before I read Carmilla, I was expecting it to be similar to the Lucy chapters in Dracula, where the story follows everyday life that is altered by the influence of a vampire. For the first half of Carmilla, that was exactly what happened. However, as soon as Carmilla’s backstory is revealed things get wild. The last 20-30 pages of Carmilla are more action-oriented, similar to the end of Dracula, and this ending really elevated my opinion of the story. Depending on your taste, you might find the beginning of Carmilla to be a little slow, but the story is so short that I don’t think you would regret reading it.
I would highly recommend reading Carmilla and Dracula as a double feature!