As I finished Carmilla, I couldn't help but think that this book is more than just a classic; it is a precursor, much like Frankenstein is to its genre. This vampire classic has everything, EVERYTHING, needed to be recognized as one of the greatest stories in literature.

Penguin Classics edition of Carmilla

There was a coldness, it seemed to me, beyond her years, in her smiling melancholy persistent refusal to afford me the least ray of light.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla (English Edition) (p. 29). 

Carmilla, written by the Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu, is a short book (about a hundred pages) which narrates the story of Laura, a young British woman living in Styria, a fictional place in the centre of Europe, with her father, and Carmilla, a mysterious woman whom Laura and her father host after an accident. The plot unfolds inside an old castle which gives the story that old and gothic vibes. A strange illness appears and some people die around the caslte, Carmilla and Laura's relationship becomes more intimate as Laura has nightmares about the guest as she starts feeling weak and a story of a masquerade ball, you know, an element which has been used even in films (do you remember Van Helsing (2004)? That's what I mean). 

Despite it is not a long story, Carmilla has a compelling plot, a fascinating setting and I can understand that it inspired Dracula, written twenty-six years later and even Anne Rice, one of my favourite authors!

“Nevertheless life and death are mysterious states, and we know little of the resources of either.”

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla (English Edition) (p. 40). 

Le Fanu's book is absolutely delightful for readers, its mysterious and gothic atmoshpere are perfect. Laura is an innocent character, but she's suspicious about Carmilla even when her feelings don't let her see. Seductive Carmilla is enchanting; she can be perfectly described as the Mother of Vampirism, but her charming story had been living in the shadow until (maybe?) now.

Shall I recommend it? Of course. It always depends on the reader and the genres one likes to read, but for those who love classics, vampires, or even short books, it's a compelling choice

By the way, I was starting the second half of the book when I came up looking for some music on Spotify, so I found this playlist: