Tag: carmilla

“My Wild Heart Bleeds” Carmilla Conference Rundown

This past weekend I attended “‘My Wild Heart Bleeds’: 150 Years of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla,” an online conference organized by Romancing the Gothic. If you’ve been following my blog, you may have seen me mention Romancing the Gothic (RtG) in some of my book reviews and year-end wrap-ups over the past couple of years. RtG is an online education project that was started by Dr. Sam Hirst at the beginning of the pandemic and brings together scholars and enthusiasts alike from all over the world to share our love for and deepen our understanding of Gothic, romance, and horror literature and other media. RtG offers free weekly lectures and book club meetings over Zoom, and last year they organized their first academic conference: “‘My Poor Devil’: Georgette Heyer’s The Black Moth at 100.” This year, our conference was themed around another literary milestone—the 150th anniversary of the publication of the vampire novella Carmilla. 

Romancing the Gothic presents 'My Wild Heart Bleeds: 150 Years of Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla' 3rd and 4th September In the image a black haired woman is biting a naked auburn-haired woman whose back is towards us. Her butt is modestly being blocked from sight by a slightly annoyed looking cat.
The conference’s official flyer

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Gothic Tropes: Found Document Framing Device

Usually, when discussing tropes in Gothic literature, I talk about certain recurring themes and plot elements (such as madness, prophecies, or burning houses) or character types (like the Creepy Housekeeper, Corrupted Clergy, or First Wife). But the genre also makes use of particular structural or stylistic techniques. One of my favorite stylistic tropes in Gothic literature is the found document framing device.

old handwritten book
Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash

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The Ever-Changing Characteristics of Vampires

Vampires have been a staple of Gothic and horror literature since they first came to Western Europe’s attention in the mid-eighteenth century. And yet, they never seem to be depicted the same way twice. Can they transform into bats or pass through locked doors? Do they kill with every bite or coexist peacefully with humans? Every author that tackles the vampire must first lay out some ground rules, picking and choosing from contradictory elements of the vampire mythos. Below are just a few of the characteristics that vary from vampire to vampire:

Images of film versions of Dracula, Akasha, and Edward Cullen side by side Continue reading The Ever-Changing Characteristics of Vampires

Female Friendships in Gothic Literature

With Valentine’s Day coming up, it feels like we’re getting constantly hit in the face with commercialized images of heteronormative romantic love. It’s enough to make anyone feel a little disenchanted, but I’ve always loved the holiday. For me, Valentine’s Day is about more than just purchasing materialistic expressions of affection for your significant other. It’s about celebrating love in all its forms. And, personally, some of the most important relationships in my life are my friendships with other women. Growing up, my female friends and I always took this time of year as an opportunity to send each other flowers, give out chocolate, and be extra vocal with our love and support. That’s why this Valentine’s Day, I want to take a moment to celebrate some of my favorite female friendships in Gothic literature. Continue reading Female Friendships in Gothic Literature

Modern Takes on the Vampire Classic, Carmilla (Part Two)

Last week, I reviewed a modern illustrated edition of the vampire classic, Carmilla. As you can see from my last post, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story of a teenage girl who discovers her friendly new houseguest may not be as innocent as she looks. However, if reading books from the 1870s still isn’t your thing, even after it’s been disguised as a modern paranormal romance—or if you’re just a huge fan of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and love seeing classic texts brought to life in front of the webcam—then I definitely suggest that you check out the Carmilla web series.

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Modern Takes on the Vampire Classic, Carmilla (Part One)

Now you may remember that back when I wrote my Vampire Literary Canon post, I had yet to read one of the celebrated classics of vampire literature—Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. An early vampire tale, this novella was written decades before Bram Stoker dreamed up Dracula. And now that I’ve finally gotten around to reading it, I can say that in my personal opinion, it’s significantly better than Dracula, too. Perhaps simply because it doesn’t drag on as much. And it also seems somewhat better suited to a modern context. For those of you that don’t normally spend your Sundays reading tomes from two centuries ago, you can still enjoy this charming vampiric classic. In this post, I will review the fun illustrated version I found, which would fit in on your bookshelf right beside your twenty-first century vampire novels. If reading the classics still isn’t your thing, stay tuned next week for my post on the modernized Carmilla webseries! Continue reading Modern Takes on the Vampire Classic, Carmilla (Part One)

The Vampire Literary Canon

"Carmilla" by David Henry Friston
“Carmilla” by David Henry Friston

Now, how can we possibly talk about gothic literature without mentioning the vampire genre? Of all the creatures that go bump in the night, vampires have long been a favorite of writers and readers alike. Today of course, the word brings to mind the type of teenage vampire love story popularized by Stephanie Meyer. To have a true appreciation of the genre however, I urge you to check out some of the classic stories that established the concept of vampires as we think of them today and informed the countless vampire novels that followed:

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