I can’t think of a better guide through this ethereal, infuriating book than Carmen Machado-whose Borgesian imagination unearths for us the possibilities buried in its pages. And at its core, a pair of indelible female characters, whose attraction to each other is so undeniable that the text itself seems unable to contain them. Alluring, macabre, oneiric-the novella unfolds in endlessly strange directions every time I revisit it. Carmilla was originally serialized from 1871 to 1872 and went on to inspire adaptations in film, opera, and beyond, including the cult classic web series by the same name.Ĭarmilla kicks Dracula’s ass. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s compelling tale of a young woman’s seduction by a female vampire was a source of influence for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which it predates by over a quarter century. As Carmilla’s actions become more puzzling and volatile, Laura develops bizarre symptoms, and as her health goes into decline, Laura and her father discover something monstrous. Isolated in a remote mansion in a central European forest, Laura longs for companionship-until a carriage accident brings another young woman into her life: the secretive and sometimes erratic Carmilla.
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