“The Vampyre” (1819)

This story by John William Polidori is considered by some to be the first vampire story, but the claim is more about literary history, as vampire monsters appear to date well back into antiquity and oral traditions. Pu Songling’s “Blood-Drinking Corpse,” written at least 150 years earlier in China, alone provides evidence. Polidori’s story now has more interest as coming from the same writing session in June 1816 with Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley and Lord Byron that produced Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel. Polidori, who would die a few years later at the age of 25, was there as Lord Byron’s attending physician—perhaps the source of laudanum that reportedly may have fueled the writing session, along with the thunderstorms that kept them housebound. Polidori was only 20 and, honestly, it shows in the quality of the writing. It is alternately rushed and slow and he often has trouble composing even competent sentences. “The Vampyre” is thus not an easy read, the language exasperatingly both antiquated and inexpert. Even Songling’s much shorter version feels more vampire-like. Polidori’s one innovation, and admittedly it’s an important one, was to make his vampire a debonair gentleman—certainly the aristocratic origins of Count Dracula are here in Lord Ruthven (later reincarnating himself as the Earl of Marsden). Lord Ruthven, with or without further aliases, went on to his own life in tales, plays, operas, and novels, notably including Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo. In “The Vampyre,” he’s more of a silently operating louche Lothario figure, taking advantage of women. Most of the vampire stories I’ve read feature female vampires, which might be why I resist crediting this story’s influence, but it’s there and it’s big, of course. Lord Ruthven is more mysterious rake than uncanny monster, though he does have a murderous side. I kept hoping he would take advantage of Aubrey, his young protégé who rejects him and then reunites with him. But no, it’s more Aubrey’s sister that he is after. “Miss Aubrey” has little discernible personality, but the story does come most alive when she is in danger, which is not often enough. The language is antique, Polidori is not a bit of an experienced writer, and my kindle version is riddled with OCR typos. Historically important, yes, I can see that, but it’s a tough sled to read even without the typos.

Vampire Tales: The Big Collection, pub. Dark Chaos
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