Carmilla

Le Fanu's novella arrived in 1872, twenty five years ahead of Dracula, and it set most of the rules that vampire fiction has followed since. Laura lives with her father in a lonely castle in Styria, starved of company, until a carriage overturns at their gate and leaves a beautiful guest named Carmilla in their care. The friendship that follows is ardent, possessive and openly romantic, and Laura cannot decide whether she is flattered or frightened by it. Meanwhile village girls sicken and die, Laura's own health fades, and her dreams fill with something moving in the dark. The horror stays close to tenderness, which is why the story still unsettles. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.

Available edition: text of Project Gutenberg eBook #10007. The cover is an original BDeBooks design. The PDF has 89 pages; the EPUB is reflowable. Project Gutenberg credits and license are kept.