Carmilla

Laura lives alone with her father in an isolated castle in Styria, far from any neighbours. A carriage accident brings a young guest under their roof, Carmilla, whose beauty and languor win over the household at once. As their friendship grows more intense, Laura weakens, while unexplained deaths strike the villages nearby. The story explores forbidden desire, the hold exerted over a young girl and the fear that settles into an enclosed place. A quarter of a century before Dracula, Le Fanu fixes lasting features of the literary vampire.