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So I recommended a few weeks ago The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories, edited by Michael Sims. While unfortunately his collection The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime seems to be missing from my library system, one of the branches DID have Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories.
Dracula's Guest is divided into three parts: Part I: The Roots, which are pre-Victorian era accounts of "actual" vampires and the undead, mostly situated in Hungary and further into that area of Europe; Part II: The Tree, which are Victorian stories of vampires; and Part III: The Fruit, which are the immediate descendants of the Victorian era, writing their own vampire stories up through World War I.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the detective stories collection, but I suspect that's mostly because I love detective stories much more than vampire ones. Still, there were several I thoroughly enjoyed, and reading the supposedly biographical accounts of encountering vampires was fascinating. The stories I enjoyed are also on the internet, so I thought I'd do brief reviews of my favorite stories with a link to the story.
The Vampyre by John Polidori
Iconic in that he contributed this story in the now-famous contest between him, Lord Byron (who wrote the unfinished but fairly interesting "The End of My Journey"), and Mary Shelley who wrote what would become the iconic and influential Frankenstein. Polidori's Lord Ruthven influenced many vampire characters further down the line. I enjoyed this, in that I shook my head a lot because the premise goes like this:
LORD RUTHVEN: *is dark and mysterious*
AUBREY: *is a young orphan whose only living relative is his sister*
AUBREY: Boy, Lord Ruthven is so DARK AND MYSTERIOUS! ....I want to be besties. Please be besties with me, Lord Ruthven.
RUTHVEN: ...sure, we can do a continental tour. Come on then.
RUTHVEN: *turns out to be a vampire, kills the girlfriend Aubrey gets on tour, and then 'dies'* You must promise never to tell anyone what a monster I was! Promise me!
AUBREY: Oh, Ruthven, you are so dark and tormented, and even though you killed my girlfriend, I will totally promise to never reveal you're being a vampire to ANYONE. And I will totally properly bury you!
RUTHVEN: *dies and his body must have mysteriously vanished*
AUBREY: Well, that's strange. I guess these stupid peasants must've robbed his body for his nice clothes!
AUBREY: *mucks about Europe for a bit longer, then returns home*
AUBREY'S SISTER: Aubrey, I've missed you so much! And guess who's been back for a few weeks? Your friend Lord Ruthven!
AUBREY: ....shit.
RUTHVEN: Remember your oath! You can't tell anyone!
AUBREY: Oh no, I did promise! Oh no, I can't tell anyone how you eat people. :(
RUTHVEN: ...that actually worked? I mean, right, you must keep your vow!
AUBREY: *gets sick out of despair*
AUBREY'S SISTER: Hey, Lord Ruthven's proposed to me, isn't that great?
AUBREY: ..............................but my oath.
AUBREY'S SISTER: *dies*
CORONER: I charge that this woman died of 'death by dumbass.' *stares at Aubrey*
The Deathly Lover by Théophile Gautier
ROMUALDO: *is a priest* Dude. Dude. Let me tell you. Vampires might be scary, but WOMEN. Women are even scarier! And FEMALE VAMPIRES? So terrifying. Let me tell you how women are TERRIBLE.
READERS: ....wtf, dude, calm yourself down.
ROMUALDO: Women. The WORST. *starts the story*
ROMUALDO: I am so happy to be taking my vows and getting my own parish! *begins to take his vows*
HOT MYSTERIOUS WOMAN: *appears and looks at him*
ROMUALDO: Oh no, she's hot. :( And I just took my vows.
MYSTERIOUS WOMAN: My name is Clarimonda, and while you being a priest is a downer, we can totally work around it! Come and hang out with me at my awesome chateau!
ROMAULDO: I can't, I'm a priest.
CLARIMONDA: *dies*
FATHER SERAPION: *is another priest* Man, I sure am glad Clarimonda is dead! Did you know she was courtesan and that there were rumors about her being a female vampire, but I personally think she was Beelzebub in person.
ROMAULDO: That's....interesting.
CLARIMONDA: *shows up* So now that I've died and been resurrected, we can be together forever!
ROMAULDO: ....Yes, please.
FATHER SERAPION: ....what did I just say. WHAT DID I JUST-- oh for goodness sake. *saves Romauldo's life and then saunters off, presumably to save other people from their own stupidity*
( Further Adventures With Vampires )
Dracula's Guest is divided into three parts: Part I: The Roots, which are pre-Victorian era accounts of "actual" vampires and the undead, mostly situated in Hungary and further into that area of Europe; Part II: The Tree, which are Victorian stories of vampires; and Part III: The Fruit, which are the immediate descendants of the Victorian era, writing their own vampire stories up through World War I.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the detective stories collection, but I suspect that's mostly because I love detective stories much more than vampire ones. Still, there were several I thoroughly enjoyed, and reading the supposedly biographical accounts of encountering vampires was fascinating. The stories I enjoyed are also on the internet, so I thought I'd do brief reviews of my favorite stories with a link to the story.
The Vampyre by John Polidori
Iconic in that he contributed this story in the now-famous contest between him, Lord Byron (who wrote the unfinished but fairly interesting "The End of My Journey"), and Mary Shelley who wrote what would become the iconic and influential Frankenstein. Polidori's Lord Ruthven influenced many vampire characters further down the line. I enjoyed this, in that I shook my head a lot because the premise goes like this:
LORD RUTHVEN: *is dark and mysterious*
AUBREY: *is a young orphan whose only living relative is his sister*
AUBREY: Boy, Lord Ruthven is so DARK AND MYSTERIOUS! ....I want to be besties. Please be besties with me, Lord Ruthven.
RUTHVEN: ...sure, we can do a continental tour. Come on then.
RUTHVEN: *turns out to be a vampire, kills the girlfriend Aubrey gets on tour, and then 'dies'* You must promise never to tell anyone what a monster I was! Promise me!
AUBREY: Oh, Ruthven, you are so dark and tormented, and even though you killed my girlfriend, I will totally promise to never reveal you're being a vampire to ANYONE. And I will totally properly bury you!
RUTHVEN: *dies and his body must have mysteriously vanished*
AUBREY: Well, that's strange. I guess these stupid peasants must've robbed his body for his nice clothes!
AUBREY: *mucks about Europe for a bit longer, then returns home*
AUBREY'S SISTER: Aubrey, I've missed you so much! And guess who's been back for a few weeks? Your friend Lord Ruthven!
AUBREY: ....shit.
RUTHVEN: Remember your oath! You can't tell anyone!
AUBREY: Oh no, I did promise! Oh no, I can't tell anyone how you eat people. :(
RUTHVEN: .
AUBREY: *gets sick out of despair*
AUBREY'S SISTER: Hey, Lord Ruthven's proposed to me, isn't that great?
AUBREY: ..............................
AUBREY'S SISTER: *dies*
CORONER: I charge that this woman died of 'death by dumbass.' *stares at Aubrey*
The Deathly Lover by Théophile Gautier
ROMUALDO: *is a priest* Dude. Dude. Let me tell you. Vampires might be scary, but WOMEN. Women are even scarier! And FEMALE VAMPIRES? So terrifying. Let me tell you how women are TERRIBLE.
READERS: ....wtf, dude, calm yourself down.
ROMUALDO: Women. The WORST. *starts the story*
ROMUALDO: I am so happy to be taking my vows and getting my own parish! *begins to take his vows*
HOT MYSTERIOUS WOMAN: *appears and looks at him*
ROMUALDO: Oh no, she's hot. :( And I just took my vows.
MYSTERIOUS WOMAN: My name is Clarimonda, and while you being a priest is a downer, we can totally work around it! Come and hang out with me at my awesome chateau!
ROMAULDO: I can't, I'm a priest.
CLARIMONDA: *dies*
FATHER SERAPION: *is another priest* Man, I sure am glad Clarimonda is dead! Did you know she was courtesan and that there were rumors about her being a female vampire, but I personally think she was Beelzebub in person.
ROMAULDO: That's....interesting.
CLARIMONDA: *shows up* So now that I've died and been resurrected, we can be together forever!
ROMAULDO: ....Yes, please.
FATHER SERAPION: ....what did I just say. WHAT DID I JUST-- oh for goodness sake. *saves Romauldo's life and then saunters off, presumably to save other people from their own stupidity*
( Further Adventures With Vampires )
