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{{about|the novella|other uses}}

{{Infobox book
| name              = Carmilla
| author            = [[Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu]]
| language          = English
| country           = [[Ireland]]
| genre             = [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]], [[horror fiction|horror]], [[vampire literature]]
| publisher         = British & Colonial Publishing, London
| isbn              = 
| title_orig        = 
| translator        = 
| image             = Carmilla.jpg
| caption           = Illustration from ''The Dark Blue'' by [[D. H. Friston]] (1872)
| illustrator       = D. H. Friston 
| cover_artist      = 
| series            = ''[[The Dark Blue]]''
| set_in            = [[Duchy of Styria|Styria, 19th century]]
| release_date      = 1871–1872
| english_release_date = 
| media_type        = 
| pages             = 108
| dewey             = 823.8
| congress          = PR4879 .L7
| wikisource        = Carmilla
| preceded_by       = 
| followed_by       = 
}}

'''''Carmilla''''' is an 1872 [[Gothic fiction|Gothic novella]] by Irish author [[Sheridan Le Fanu|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu]]. A foundational work of [[English literature|English]]-language [[vampire literature]], it predated [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'' (1897) by 25 years. First published as a [[Serial (literature)|serial]] in ''[[The Dark Blue]]'' from 1871–72,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Le Fanu |first=Sheridan |date=1871–72 |title=Carmilla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ra82AQAAMAAJ |journal=The Dark Blue |volume=2 |issue=September 1871 to February 1872 |pages=434–448, 592–606, 701–714}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Le Fanu |first=Sheridan |date=1872 |title=Carmilla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tUgxAQAAMAAJ&q=the+dark+blue+fanu&pg=PA59 |journal=The Dark Blue |volume=3 |issue=March |pages=59–78}}</ref> the novella subsequently appeared in Le Fanu’s short story collection ''[[In a Glass Darkly]]'' in 1872. Set in 19th century [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]], it is the story of a young woman who is pursued by the [[vampire]] Carmilla. Since its initial publication, ''Carmilla'' has often been regarded as one of the most influential vampire stories of all time, and popularized the [[lesbian vampire]] trope.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48536059|title=The Lady Who Munched|first1=David John |last1=Skal|publisher=Swan River Press|journal=The Green Book: Writings on Irish Gothic, Supernatural and Fantastic Literature|volume=4|location=Dublin|date=November 2014|issue=4 |pages=57–68|jstor=48536059 |issn=2009-6089}}</ref>

The work is narrated by Laura, a young woman living in a secluded Austrian castle, who becomes the object of both affection and predation by the enigmatic Carmilla, leading to a complex and dangerous relationship marked by both romantic desires and vampiric violence. The narrative explores themes of [[sexual identity]], the [[supernatural]], and the tension between innocence and corruption, while maintaining a sense of dread and suspense. 

The novella was one of the first works of Gothic fiction to portray [[Women's empowerment|female empowerment]], as Carmilla is the opposite of male vampires, since she is actually involved with her victims both emotionally and physically. In the novella, Le Fanu challenges the Victorian view of women as merely being useful possessions of men, depending on them and needing their guardianship. The character is also one of the first fictional figures to represent the concept of [[dualism]], which is presented in the story through the repeated contrasting natures of both vampires and humans, as well as lesbian and heterosexual traits. Critics have stated that ''Carmilla'' exhibits many of the early traits of Gothic fiction, including a supernatural figure, an old castle, a strange atmosphere, and ominous elements.

''Carmilla'' deeply defined the vampire fiction genre and Gothic horror in general, and established Le Fanu as a major writer in the genre. The novella directly influenced later horror and mystery writers such as [[Bram Stoker]], [[M. R. James]], [[Henry James]], and others. Due to its popularity, the work has been [[Anthology|anthologised]], having been adapted extensively for [[:Category:Films based on Carmilla|films]], operas, video games, [[Halloween]] plays, comics, cartoons, radio, and other media since the late 19th century.

[[File:Fitzgerald, funeral from Carmilla.jpg|thumb|Illustration by Michael Fitzgerald for Le Fanu's story ''Carmilla'' in "The Dark Blue" (January 1872), electrotype after wood-engraving, reproduced in Best Ghost Stories, ed. Bleiler.]]

==Publication==
''Carmilla'', serialised in the literary magazine ''[[The Dark Blue]]'' in late 1871 and early 1872,<ref>The story ran in one issue of 1871 (December, pp. 434–448) and in three issues of 1872 (January, pp. 592–606; February, pp. 701–714; and March, pp. 59–78).</ref> was reprinted in Le Fanu's short-story collection ''[[In a Glass Darkly]]'' (1872). Comparing the work of two [[illustrators]] of the story, [[David Henry Friston]] and Michael Fitzgerald—whose work appears in the magazine article but not in modern printings of the book—reveals inconsistencies in the characters' depictions. Consequently, confusion has arisen relating the pictures to the plot.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haslam|first=Richard|date=September 1, 2011|title=Theory, empiricism, and "providential hermeneutics": reading and misreading Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla and "Schalke the painter"|url=http://up7af9tu5s.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Theory%2C+empiricism%2C+and+%27providential+hermeneutics%27%3A+reading+and+misreading+Sheridan+Le+Fanu%27s+Carmilla+and+Schalken+the+Painter&rft.jtitle=Papers+on+Language+%26+Literature%3A+a+quarterly+journal+for+scholars+and+critics+of+language+and+literature+%28Southern+Illinois+Univ.%2C+Edwardsville%29&rft.au=Haslam%2C+Richard&rft.date=2011&rft.issn=0031-1294&rft.volume=47&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=339&rft.externalDocID=R04619526&paramdict=en-US|journal=Papers on Language & Literature|volume=47, 4|pages=339–362|via=OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson)}}</ref>

''Carmilla'' has frequently been republished, including as a standalone work.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Lázaro |first=Alberto |date=2017-12-22 |title=The Dark Side of British Horror Fiction: Politics, Taboos and Censorship |url=https://journals.uni-lj.si/elope/article/view/7524 |journal=ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=73–76 |doi=10.4312/elope.14.2.69-81 |issn=2386-0316|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Nagle |first=Antonia M. |title="In a moment I am perfectly myself": A study of the lesbian vampire as crip-queer subject |date=April 12, 2021 |access-date=February 16, 2026 |degree=MA |publisher=Georgetown University |url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/moment-i-am-perfectly-myself-study-lesbian/docview/2555415765/se-2}}</ref> It has often been shared via private queer publications.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Ranahan |first=Dennis |title=“The profoundest arcana of our dual existence, and its intermediates”: The technology of monstrously gendered bodies in “Carmilla” and Havelock Ellis |date=May 2021 |access-date=February 16, 2026 |degree=MA |publisher=Clemson University |url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/profoundest-arcana-our-dual-existence/docview/2540606255/se-2 |page=43}}</ref> It has also been translated into Spanish.<ref name=":2" /> Isabella Mazzanti illustrated the book's 2014 edition, published by Editions Soleil and translated by Gaid Girard.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Le Fanu|first1=Sheridan|last2=Girard|first2=Gaid (trans.)|last3=Mazzanti|first3=Isabella (illus.)|title=Carmilla|date=2014|language=fr|publisher=Editions Soleil}}</ref>

The 2019 edition of ''Carmilla'', edited and introduced by [[Carmen Maria Machado]], adds an additional framing story to the narrative. Her introduction claims that the story in ''Carmilla'' copied and [[Queer erasure|censored]] the story of a real romance between two women. Machado claims the story is based on under-studied letters from Veronika Hausle to Pierre Fontenot, purportedly detailing a romance between Hausle and Marcia Marén.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=February 16, 2019 |title=Carmilla |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/j-sheridan-lefanu/carmilla/ |access-date=February 16, 2026 |website=[[Kirkus Reviews]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Danika |date=August 20, 2020 |title=Bringing the Lesbian Vampire Home: Carmen Maria Machado's Reclamation of CARMILLA |url=https://bookriot.com/carmilla-lesbian-vampire-carmen-maria-machado/ |access-date=2026-02-16 |website=[[Book Riot]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McCombs |first=Theodore |date=April 18, 2019 |title=A Perfectly Normal Interview with Carmen Maria Machado Where Everything Is Fine |url=https://electricliterature.com/carmen-maria-machado-carmilla-lefanu-vampire-interview/ |access-date=2026-02-16 |website=[[Electric Literature]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The edition includes footnotes and limited textual changes by Machado, as well as illustrations by Robert Kraiza.<ref name=":1" /> These changes humanize Carmilla, aligning with an artistic tradition that reclaims [[queer]] villains.<ref name=":1" /> Major themes of the work include questioning authority, reading for truth in stories altered by [[heterosexism]], and uncovering silenced voices.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

==Plot summary==
The story is presented as part of the casebook of Dr. Hesselius.{{efn|Hesselius's departures from medical orthodoxy rank him as the first [[occult detective]] in literature.<ref>{{cite web|website=gwthomas.org|url=http://www.gwthomas.org/hesselius.htm|title=Dr Martin Hesselius|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113160200/http://www.gwthomas.org/hesselius.htm|archive-date=2009-01-13}}</ref>}}

A woman named Laura narrates, beginning with her childhood in a "picturesque and solitary" castle amid an extensive forest in [[Styria]], where she lives with her father, a wealthy [[English people|English]] widower retired from service to the [[Austrian Empire]]. When she was six, Laura had a vision of a beautiful visitor in her bedchamber. She later claims to have been punctured in her breast, although no wound was found. All the household assure Laura that it was just a dream, but they step up security as well and there is no subsequent vision or visitation.

Twelve years later, Laura's father tells her of a letter from his friend, General Spielsdorf. The General was supposed to visit them with his niece, Bertha Rheinfeldt, but she died under mysterious circumstances. The General promises to discuss the circumstances in detail when they meet later.

Laura, saddened by the loss of a potential friend, longs for a companion. A carriage accident outside Laura's home unexpectedly brings Carmilla, a girl of Laura's age, into the family's care. Both girls instantly recognise each other from the "dream" they both had when they were young.

Carmilla appears injured after her carriage accident, but her mysterious mother informs Laura's father that her journey is urgent and cannot be delayed. She arranges to leave Carmilla with Laura and her father until she can return in three months. Before leaving, she notes that Carmilla will not disclose any information whatsoever about her family, her past, or herself.

Carmilla and Laura grow to be close friends, but occasionally Carmilla's mood abruptly changes. She sometimes makes romantic advances towards Laura. Carmilla refuses to tell anything about herself, despite questioning by Laura. Her secrecy is not the only mysterious thing about Carmilla; she never joins the household in its prayers, she sleeps much of the day, and she seems to sleepwalk outside at night.

Meanwhile, young women and girls in the nearby towns have begun dying from an unknown malady. When the funeral procession of one such victim passes by the two girls, Laura joins in the funeral hymn. Carmilla bursts out in rage and scolds Laura, complaining that the hymn hurts her ears.

When a shipment of restored [[heirloom]] paintings arrives, Laura finds a portrait of her ancestor, Countess Mircalla Karnstein, dated 1698. The portrait resembles Carmilla exactly, down to the mole on her neck. Carmilla suggests that she might be descended from the Karnsteins, though the family died out centuries before.

During Carmilla's stay, Laura has nightmares of a large, cat-like beast entering her room. The beast springs onto the bed and Laura feels something like two needles, an inch or two apart, darting deep into her breast. The beast then takes the form of a female figure and disappears through the door without opening it. In another nightmare, Laura hears a voice say, "Your mother warns you to beware of the assassin," and a light reveals Carmilla standing at the foot of her bed, her nightdress drenched in blood. Laura's health declines, and her father has a doctor examine her. He finds a small, blue spot, an inch or two below her collar, where the creature in her dream bit her, and speaks privately with her father, only asking that Laura never be unattended.

Her father sets out with Laura in a carriage for the ruined village of Karnstein, three miles distant. They leave a message behind asking Carmilla and a governess to follow once the perpetually late-sleeping Carmilla awakes. En route to Karnstein, Laura and her father encounter Spielsdorf, who tells them his story.

At a costume ball, Spielsdorf and Bertha had met a beautiful young woman named Millarca and her enigmatic mother. Bertha was immediately taken with Millarca. The mother convinced Spielsdorf that she was an old friend of his and asked that Millarca be allowed to stay with them for three weeks while she attended to a secret matter of great importance.

Bertha fell mysteriously ill, suffering the same symptoms as Laura. After consulting with a specially ordered priestly doctor, Spielsdorf realised that Bertha was being visited by a vampire. He hid with a sword and waited until a large, black creature crawled onto Bertha's bed and spread itself onto her throat. He leapt from his hiding place and attacked the creature, which had then taken the form of Millarca. She fled through the locked door, unharmed. Bertha died before the morning dawned.

Upon arriving at Karnstein, Spielsdorf asks a woodman where he can find the tomb of Mircalla Karnstein. The woodman says the tomb was relocated long ago by a Moravian nobleman who vanquished the vampires haunting the region.

While Spielsdorf and Laura are alone in the ruined chapel, Carmilla appears. Spielsdorf attacks her with an axe. Carmilla disarms Spielsdorf and disappears. Spielsdorf explains that Carmilla is also Millarca, both anagrams for the original name of the vampire Mircalla, Countess Karnstein.

The party is joined by Baron Vordenburg, the descendant of the hero who rid the area of vampires. Vordenburg, an authority on vampires, has discovered that his ancestor was romantically involved with Mircalla before she died. Using his forefather's notes, he locates Mircalla's hidden tomb. An imperial commission exhumes the body of Mircalla. Immersed in blood, it seems to be breathing faintly, its heart beating, its eyes open. A stake is driven through its heart, and it gives a corresponding shriek; then, the head is struck off. The body and head are burned to ashes, which are thrown into a river.

Afterwards, Laura's father takes his daughter on a year-long tour through Italy to regain her health and recover from the trauma, but she never fully does.

==Motifs==
[[File:Riegersburg Burg.JPG|thumb|[[Riegersburg Castle]], [[Styria]], suggested as a possible inspiration for Laura's ''Schloss''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHuJDAAAQBAJ&q=Riegersburg&pg=PA59|title=Dracula and the Eastern Question: British and French Vampire Narratives of the Nineteenth-Century Near East|first=M.|last=Gibson|date=July 14, 2006|publisher=Springer|isbn=9780230627680|via=Google Books}}</ref>]]
''Carmilla'' exhibits the primary characteristics of Gothic fiction. It includes a supernatural figure, a dark setting of an old castle, a mysterious atmosphere, and ominous or superstitious elements.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nethercot |first=Arthur |date=1949 |title= Coleridge's "Christabel" and Lefanu's "Carmilla" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/435571 |journal=Modern Philology |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=32–38 |doi=10.1086/388819 |jstor=435571 |s2cid=58920174 |access-date=3 February 2021|url-access=subscription }} pp. 32-34.</ref>

In the novella, Le Fanu opposes the Victorian view of women as merely useful possessions of men, relying on men and needing their constant guardianship. The male characters of the story, such as Laura's father and General Spielsdorf, are exposed as being the opposite of the putative Victorian males—helpless and unproductive.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Veeder |first=William |date=1980 |title= Carmilla: The Arts of Repression |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40754606 |journal=Texas Studies in Literature and Language |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=197–223 |jstor=40754606 |access-date=3 February 2021}} pp. 203-204.</ref> The nameless father reaches an agreement with Carmilla's mother, whereas Spielsdorf cannot control the faith of his niece, Bertha. Both of these scenes portray women as equal, if not superior to men.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Signorotti |first=Elizabeth |date=1996 |title=Repossessing the Body: Transgressive Desire in "Carmilla" and "Dracula" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23118160 |journal=Criticism |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=607–632 |jstor=23118160 |access-date=3 February 2021}} pp. 613-615.</ref> This female empowerment is even more clear if we consider Carmilla's vampiric predecessors and their relationship with their prey.<ref>Signorotti, p. 609.</ref> Carmilla is the opposite of those male vampires—she is actually involved with her victims both emotionally and (theoretically) sexually. Moreover, she is able to exceed even more limitations by dominating death. In the end, her immortality is suggested to be sustained by the river where her ashes had been scattered.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jönsson |first=Gabriella |date=2006 |title= The Second Vampire: "filles fatales" in J. Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla" and Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44809191 |journal=Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=33–48 |jstor=44809191 |access-date=3 February 2021}} pp. 34-38.</ref>

Le Fanu also departs from the negative idea of female parasitism and lesbianism by depicting a mutual and irresistible connection between Carmilla and Laura.<ref>Signorotti, pp. 610-611.</ref> The latter, along with other female characters, becomes a symbol of all Victorian women—restrained and judged for their emotional reflexes. The ambiguity of Laura's speech and behaviour reveals her struggles with being fully expressive of her concerns and desires.<ref>Veeder, pp. 198-200.</ref>

Another important element of "Carmilla" is the concept of dualism presented through the juxtaposition of vampire and human, as well as lesbian and heterosexual.<ref>Veeder, p. 197.</ref> It is also vivid in Laura's irresolution, since she "feels both attraction and repulsion" towards Carmilla.<ref>Veeder, pp. 211.</ref> The duality of Carmilla's character is suggested by her human attributes, the lack of predatory demeanour, and her shared experience with Laura.<ref>Veeder, pp. 211-213.</ref> According to Gabriella Jönsson, Carmilla can be seen as a representation of the dark side of all mankind.<ref>Jönsson, p. 43.</ref>

==Sources==
[[File:Dom Augustin Calmet.jpeg|thumb|right|upright|[[Dom Calmet]]]]
As with ''[[Dracula]]'', critics have looked for the sources used in the writing of ''Carmilla''. One source used was from a dissertation on magic, vampires, and the apparitions of spirits written by [[Antoine Augustin Calmet|Dom Augustin Calmet]] entitled ''[[Traité sur les apparitions des esprits et sur les vampires ou les revenans de Hongrie, de Moravie, &c.|Traité sur les apparitions des esprits et sur les vampires ou les revenants de Hongrie, de Moravie, &c.]]'' (1751). This is evidenced by a report analysed by Calmet, from a priest who learned information of a town being tormented by a vampiric entity three years earlier. Having travelled to the town to investigate and collecting information of the various inhabitants there, the priest learned that a vampire had tormented many of the inhabitants at night by coming from the nearby cemetery and would haunt many of the residents on their beds. An unknown Hungarian traveller came to the town during this period and helped the town by setting a trap at the cemetery and decapitating the vampire that resided there, curing the town of their torment. This story was retold by Le Fanu and adapted into the thirteenth chapter of ''Carmilla''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=LeFanu|first1=J. Sheridan|title=Carmilla: Annotated with Notes|date=2016|isbn=978-1-5394-0617-4|pages=114–115;146–147|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Calmet, Antoine Augustin|date=1746|url=https://archive.org/details/dissertationssu00conggoog |title=Dissertations sur les apparitions des anges, des demons et des esprits, et sur les revenants et vampires de Hongrie, de Boheme, de Moravie, et de Silesie|location=Paris|publisher= De Bure l'aîné|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Calmet|first1=Augustin|title=Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants: of Hungary, Moravia, et al. The Complete Volumes I & II. 2016|isbn=978-1-5331-4568-0|date=2015-12-30|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=J. Sheridan LeFanu|title=Carmilla: Annotated|date=15 December 2015 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=978-1539406174}}</ref>

According to Matthew Gibson, [[Sabine Baring-Gould|the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould]]'s ''The Book of Were-wolves'' (1863) and his account of [[Elizabeth Báthory]], [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge|Coleridge]]'s ''[[Christabel (poem)|Christabel]]'' (Part 1, 1797 and Part 2, 1800), and Captain [[Basil Hall (naval officer)|Basil Hall]]'s ''[[Schloss]] [[Leitersdorf im Raabtal|Hainfeld]]; or a Winter in [[Lower Styria]]'' (London and Edinburgh, 1836) are other sources for Le Fanu's ''Carmilla''. Hall's account provides much of the Styrian background and, in particular, a model for both Carmilla and Laura in the figure of [[Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall|Jane Anne Cranstoun, Countess Purgstall]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Gibson, Matthew |url=http://www.jslefanu.com/gibson.html |title=Jane Cranstoun, Countess Purgstall: A Possible Inspiration for Le Fanu's ''Carmilla'' |journal=Le Fanu Studies |date=November 2007 |issn=1932-9598 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304171734/http://www.jslefanu.com/gibson.html |archive-date=2009-03-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gibson, Matthew |date=2006|title=Dracula and the Eastern Question: British and French Vampire Narratives of the Nineteenth-century Near East|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=1-4039-9477-3 }}</ref>

==Influence==
Carmilla, the title character, is the original prototype for a legion of female and [[lesbian vampire]]s. Although Le Fanu portrays his vampire's [[Human sexuality|sexuality]] with the circumspection that one would expect for his time, lesbian attraction evidently is the main dynamic between Carmilla and the narrator of the story:<ref name="KEESEY">{{cite book|author=Keesey, Pam|date=1993|title=Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories|publisher=Cleis|isbn=0-939416-78-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/daughtersofdarkn00kees}}</ref><ref name="SEXUALITY">{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/7342924|title=Female Sexuality as Vampiric in Le Fanu's Carmilla|access-date=2016-09-04}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

{{blockquote|Sometimes after an hour of apathy, my strange and beautiful companion would take my hand and hold it with a fond pressure, renewed again and again; blushing softly, gazing in my face with languid and burning eyes, and breathing so fast that her dress rose and fell with the tumultuous respiration. It was like the ardour of a lover; it embarrassed me; it was hateful and yet overpowering; and with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips travelled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, "You are mine, you ''shall'' be mine, and you and I are one for ever." (''Carmilla'', Chapter 4).}}

When compared to other literary vampires of the 19th century, Carmilla is a similar product of a culture with strict sexual mores and tangible religious fear. While Carmilla selected exclusively female victims, she only becomes emotionally involved with a few. Carmilla had [[nocturnal]] habits, but was not confined to the darkness. She had unearthly beauty, and was able to change her form and to pass through solid walls. Her animal alter ego was a monstrous black cat, not a large dog as in ''Dracula''. She did, however, sleep in a coffin. ''Carmilla'' works as a [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]] horror story because her victims are portrayed as succumbing to a perverse and unholy temptation that has severe metaphysical consequences for them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Auerbach |first=Nina |title=Our Vampires, Ourselves |publisher=Chicago: University of Chicago Press |year=1995 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ourvampiresourse00auer/page/42 42] |isbn=0-2260-3202-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/ourvampiresourse00auer/page/42 }}</ref>

Some critics, among them [[William Veeder]], suggest that ''Carmilla'', notably in its outlandish use of narrative frames, was an important influence on [[Henry James]]' ''[[The Turn of the Screw]]'' (1898).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Veeder|first1=William|title=Carmilla: The Art of Repression|journal=Texas Studies in Literature and Language|volume=22|issue=2|pages=197–223|date=1980|publisher=University of Texas Press|edition=Vol. 22, No. 2|jstor=40754606}}</ref>

===Bram Stoker's ''Dracula''===
Le Fanu's work has been noted as an influence on Bram Stoker's masterwork of the genre, ''Dracula'': 
* Both stories are told in the [[first-person narrative|first person]]. ''Dracula'' expands on the idea of a first person account by creating a series of journal entries and logs of different persons and creating a plausible background story for their having been compiled. 
* Both authors indulge the air of mystery, though Stoker takes it further than Le Fanu by allowing the characters to solve the enigma of the vampire along with the reader.
* The descriptions of the title character in ''Carmilla'' and of Lucy in ''Dracula'' are similar. Additionally, both women [[Sleepwalking|sleepwalk]].
* Stoker's Dr. [[Abraham Van Helsing]] is similar to Le Fanu's vampire expert Baron Vordenburg: both characters investigate and catalyze actions in opposition to the vampire.
* The symptoms described in ''Carmilla'' and ''Dracula'' are highly comparable.<ref name="pmid31713762">{{cite journal |author=Tranekær S |title=Malignant but not maleficent: acute leukaemia as a possible explanation of disease and death in vampire victims. |journal=Ir J Med Sci | year=2019 |pmid=31713762|doi=10.1007/s11845-019-02124-2 | author2= Marcher CW | author3= Frederiksen H |author4=Hansen DL|s2cid=207964528 |volume=189 |issue=2 |pages=627–631 |url=https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/512de8cd-5d3f-4bca-853a-ce55c856e020 }}</ref>
* Both the titular antagonists—Carmilla and Dracula, respectively—pretend to be the descendants of much older nobles bearing the same names, but are eventually revealed to have the same identities. However, with Dracula, this is left ambiguous. Although it is stated by Van Helsing (a character with a slightly awkward grasp of the English language) that he "must, indeed, have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land", the next statement begins with "If it be so", thereby leaving a thin margin of ambiguity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Page:Dracula.djvu/282 - Wikisource, the free online library|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Dracula.djvu/282|access-date=2021-08-02|website=en.wikisource.org|language=en}}</ref>
* "[[Dracula's Guest]]", a short story by Stoker believed to have been a deleted prologue to ''Dracula'', is also set in Styria, where an unnamed Englishman takes shelter in a mausoleum from a storm. There, he meets a female vampire, named Countess Dolingen von Gratz.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bram Stoker: Dracula|editor-first=Roger|editor-last=Luckhurst|chapter=Appendix: 'Dracula's Guest'|page=352|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2011|isbn=9780199564095}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
===Books===
* The novella ''Carmilla and Laura'' by S.D. Simper is a reimagining of the original novella. In ''Carmilla and Laura'', the two women develop a true romantic relationship.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZYMvgEACAAJ|last1=Simper|first1=S.D|last2=Le Fanu|first2=Sheridan|date=2018|title=Carmilla and Laura|publisher=Endless Night Publications|isbn=978-1732461147}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themarysue.com/10-best-fantasy-books-with-lesbians-ranked/|title=10 best fantasy books with lesbians, ranked|last=Fimm|first=Sarah|website=[[The Mary Sue]]|date=April 17, 2025|access-date=April 18, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250418163455/https://www.themarysue.com/10-best-fantasy-books-with-lesbians-ranked/|archive-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>
* The novel ''Carmilla: The Wolves of Styria'' is a re-imagining of the original story. It is a derivative re-working, listed as being authored by [[J.S. Le Fanu]] and David Brian.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Brian, David |author2=Le Fanu, J.S.|date=2013|title= The Wolves of Styria|publisher= Night-Flyer|isbn= 978-1481952217}}</ref>
* [[Theodora Goss]]' 2018 novel ''European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman'' (the second in ''The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club'' series) features a heroic Carmilla and her partner Laura Jennings aiding The Athena Club in their fight against a villainous Abraham Van Helsing.
* [[Rachel Klein (novelist)|Rachel Klein's]] 2002 novel ''[[The Moth Diaries]]'' features several excerpts from ''Carmilla'', as the novel figures into the plot of Klein's story, and both deal with similar subject matter and themes. The book was adapted in a [[The Moth Diaries (film)|feature film]] in 2011 written and directed by [[Mary Harron]].<ref name="slashfilm">{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/915464/year-of-the-vampire-the-moth-diaries-puts-a-teen-girl-twist-on-traditional-vampire-tropes/|title=Year Of The Vampire: The Moth Diaries Puts A Teen Girl Twist On Traditional|last=Madden|first=Caroline|website=[[/Film]]|date=July 3, 2022|access-date=March 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702210605/https://www.slashfilm.com/915464/year-of-the-vampire-the-moth-diaries-puts-a-teen-girl-twist-on-traditional-vampire-tropes/|archive-date=July 2, 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[Undead Girl Murder Farce]]'' is a Japanese light novel series by Yugo Aosaki that began publication in 2015. Many of the characters in the series are from 19th-century European literature. Carmilla is a recurring antagonist. This also has manga and anime adaptations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-05-23/undead-girl-murder-farce-anime-casts-reina-kondo/.198355|title=Undead Girl Murder Farce Anime Casts Tomokazu Sugita as Aleister Crowley|last=Cayanan|first=Joanna|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=May 23, 2023|date=May 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523132722/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-05-23/undead-girl-murder-farce-anime-casts-reina-kondo/.198355|archive-date=May 23, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''An Education in Malice'' by S.T. Gibson retells Carmilla in [[Massachusetts]] at a 1960s college.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reactormag.com/book-review-an-education-in-malice-by-s-t-gibson/|title=Sapphic Obsession and Rivalry: An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson|last=Schulz|first=Cassie|website=[[Reactor (magazine)|Reactor]]|date=May 1, 2024|access-date=May 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502080227/https://reactormag.com/book-review-an-education-in-malice-by-s-t-gibson/|archive-date=May 2, 2024}}</ref>
* ''Hungerstone'' by Kat Dunn (2025) tells the story of Lenore, a troubled Victorian wife, whose life is changed after meeting Carmilla. The book contains many elements from the original story.

===Comics===
* In 1991, [[Aircel Comics]] published a six-issue black and white miniseries of ''Carmilla'' by Steven Jones and [[John Ross (artist)|John Ross]]. It was based on Le Fanu's story and billed as "The Erotic Horror Classic of Female Vampirism". The first issue was printed in February 1991. The first three issues adapted the original story, while the latter three were a sequel set in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fuziondigital.com/SPJ/creditscomics.htm |author=Jones, Steven Philip |title=Previous Credits in comics |website=Fuzi On Digital |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704062031/http://fuziondigital.com/SPJ/creditscomics.htm |archive-date=2008-07-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comics.org/series.lasso?SeriesID=28117 |website=The Grand Comics Database Team|title= Carmilla (1991 Series)}}</ref>
* In 2023, [[Dark Horse Comics]]'s Berger Books imprint published ''Carmilla: The First Vampire'' written by [[Amy Chu]] with art by Soo Lee and set in 1990s New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carmilla: The First Vampire TPB :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics |url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3010-192/Carmilla-The-First-Vampire-TPB |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=www.darkhorse.com}}</ref> Snippets from the original story are used as the main character consults the original story while investigating a series of murders.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chu |first=Amy |title=Carmilla : the first vampire |date=2023 |others=Soo Lee, Sal Cipriano |isbn=978-1-5067-3464-4 |edition=First |location=Milwaukie, OR |oclc=1336708491}}</ref> The collected edition went on to win the [[Bram Stoker Award]] for [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel|Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel]]<ref name="2023Locus">{{Cite web |date=June 3, 2024 |title=2023 Stoker Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2024/06/2023-stoker-awards-winners/ |access-date=June 11, 2024 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Film===
* [[Danes|Danish]] director [[Carl Dreyer]] loosely adapted ''Carmilla'' for his film ''[[Vampyr]]'' (1932) but deleted any references to lesbian sexuality.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Barry Keith |last2=Sharrett |first2=Christopher |title=Planks of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2004 |page=73 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=QHg7m_ESR54C |isbn=0-8108-5013-3}}</ref> The credits of the original film say that the film is based on ''In a Glass Darkly''. This collection contains five tales, one of which is ''Carmilla''. The film draws its central character, Allan Gray, from Le Fanu's Dr. Hesselius; and the scene in which Gray is buried alive is drawn from "The Room in the Dragon Volant".
* ''[[Dracula's Daughter]]'' (1936), [[Universal Pictures]]' sequel to 1931 Dracula film, was loosely based on ''Carmilla''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/draculas-daughter-movie/|title=The Universal Horror Classic 'Abigail' Is Based On Was Ruined by the Hays Code|last=Malas|first=Rhianna|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=January 26, 2024|access-date=March 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301004203/https://collider.com/draculas-daughter-movie/|archive-date=March 1, 2024}}</ref>
* [[French people|French]] director [[Roger Vadim]]'s ''[[Blood and Roses|Et mourir de plaisir]]'' (shown in the UK and US as ''Blood and Roses'', 1960) is based on ''Carmilla''. The Vadim film thoroughly explores the lesbian implications behind Carmilla's selection of victims, and boasts cinematography by [[Claude Renoir]]. The film's lesbian eroticism was, however, significantly cut for its US release. [[Annette Stroyberg]], [[Elsa Martinelli]] and [[Mel Ferrer]] star in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/the-forgotten-blood-and-roses-1960|title=The Forgotten: "Blood and Roses" (1960)|last=Cairns|first=David|website=[[Mubi (streaming service)|Mubi]]|date=June 12, 2014|access-date=March 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329210806/https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/the-forgotten-blood-and-roses-1960|archive-date=March 29, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/news/749899-go-pussycat-go-examining-j-sheridan-le-fanus-carmilla-film|title=Go, Pussycat! Go! Examining J. Sheridan Le Fanu's CARMILLA in Film|last=Ellinger|first=Kat|website=[[ComingSoon]]|date= July 12, 2016|access-date=March 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331235520/https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/news/749899-go-pussycat-go-examining-j-sheridan-le-fanus-carmilla-film|archive-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref>
* A more-or-less faithful adaptation starring [[Christopher Lee]] was produced in Italy in 1963 under the title ''[[La cripta e l'incubo]]'' (''Crypt of the Vampire'' in English). The character of Laura, played by [[Adriana Ambesi]], fears herself possessed by the spirit of a dead ancestor, played by Ursula Davis (also known as Pier Anna Quaglia).<ref>{{cite book|last=Curti|first=Roberto|title=Italian Gothic Horror Films: 1957-1969|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1476619897|year=2015}}</ref>
* ''[[The Vampire Lovers]]'' (1970), the first of film in ''[[The Karnstein Trilogy]]''<ref>{{cite book|last=Cotter |first=Robert Michael|title=Ingrid Pitt, Queen of Horror|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2010|page=128|isbn=9780786461899}}</ref> was based on the novel and featured [[Ingrid Pitt]] as Carmilla.<ref>{{cite web|last=Arrigo|first=Anthony|title='The Vampire Lovers' Blu-ray Review – Hammer's Beautiful Bloodsuckers Get Remastered|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/430004/the-vampire-lovers-blu-ray-review-hammers-beautiful-bloodsuckers-get-remastered/|website=[[Dread Central]]|date=4 June 2022|access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="pitt">{{cite magazine|date=29 November 2025|access-date=29 November 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/not-quite-movie-stars-ingrid-pitt/|title=Not Quite Movie Stars: Ingrid Pitt}}</ref>
* ''[[The Blood Spattered Bride]]'' (1972) (''La novia ensangrentada'') is a 1972 Spanish [[horror film]] written and directed by [[Vicente Aranda]], is based on the text. The film has reached cult status for its mix of horror, vampirism and seduction with lesbian overtones. British actress [[Alexandra Bastedo]] plays Mircalla Karnstein, and [[Maribel Martín (actress)|Maribel Martín]] is her victim.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/6131/La-Novia-Ensangrentada/overview|title=La Novia Ensangrentada (1972)|accessdate=2013-09-01|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104082947/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/6131/La-Novia-Ensangrentada/overview|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Robert Firsching|date=2012|archive-date=2012-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3718302/the-blood-spattered-bride-politics-and-vampirism-intersect-in-francoist-spanish-cult-film-horrors-elsewhere/|title=The Blood Spattered Bride: Politics and Vampirism Intersect in Francoist Spanish Cult Film|last=Lê|first=Tim|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=June 10, 2022|access-date=March 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624030402/https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3718302/the-blood-spattered-bride-politics-and-vampirism-intersect-in-francoist-spanish-cult-film-horrors-elsewhere/|archive-date=June 24, 2022}}</ref>
* The 2000 Japanese anime film ''[[Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust]]'' features Carmilla "the Bloody Countess" as its primary antagonist. Having been slain by Dracula for her vain and gluttonous tyranny, Carmilla's ghost attempts to use the blood of a virgin to bring about her own resurrection.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://butwhytho.net/2021/10/vampire-hunter-d-bloodlust-is-the-best-gothic-horror-youve-never-seen/|title='Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust' Is The Best Gothic Horror You've Never Seen|last=Hartford|first=Charles|website=But Why Tho?|date=October 1, 2021|access-date=April 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030035301/https://butwhytho.net/2021/10/vampire-hunter-d-bloodlust-is-the-best-gothic-horror-youve-never-seen/|archive-date=October 30, 2023}}</ref> She was voiced by [[Julia Fletcher]] in English and [[Beverly Maeda]] in Japanese.<ref name="btva">{{cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Vampire-Hunter-D/Carmila/|title=Voice Of Carmilla - Vampire Hunter D|publisher=Behind The Voice Actors|access-date=April 5, 2024|postscript=. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources}}</ref> 
* In the direct-to-video movie ''[[The Batman vs. Dracula]]'' (2005), Carmilla Karnstein is mentioned as [[Count Dracula]]'s bride, who had been incinerated by sunlight years ago. Dracula hoped to revive her by sacrificing [[Vicki Vale]]'s soul, but the ritual was stopped by the [[Batman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/the-batman-vs-dracula-review-cartoon-halloween|title='The Batman vs. Dracula' review: The scariest Joker of all time?|last=Kelly|first=Laura|website=[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]]|date=October 31, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101015251/https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/the-batman-vs-dracula-review-cartoon-halloween|archive-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref>
* Carmilla is featured as the main antagonist in the movie ''[[Lesbian Vampire Killers]]'' (2009), a comedy starring [[Paul McGann]] and [[James Corden]], with [[Silvia Colloca]] as Carmilla.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/films/lesbian-vampire-killers-15---88084|title=Lesbian Vampire Killers (15) - as funny as a pain in the neck|last=Young|first=Graham|website=[[Birmingham Mail]]|date=March 20, 2009|access-date=April 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518041016/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/films/lesbian-vampire-killers-15---88084|archive-date=May 18, 2017}}</ref>
* The book is directly referenced several times in the 2011 film, ''[[The Moth Diaries (film)|The Moth Diaries]]'', the film version of [[Rachel Klein (novelist)|Rachel Klein's]] novel. There are conspicuous similarities between the characters in "Carmilla" and those in the film, and the book figures into the film's plot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2012/04/the-moth-diaries-is-better-than-its-vampire-marketing-campaign-070728|title='The Moth Diaries' is better than its vampire marketing campaign|last=Abrams|first=Simon|website=[[Politico]]|date=April 22, 2012|access-date=April 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304230934/https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2012/04/the-moth-diaries-is-better-than-its-vampire-marketing-campaign-070728|archive-date=March 4, 2024}}</ref><ref name="slashfilm" />
* ''[[The Unwanted]]'' (2014) from writer/director Brent Wood relocates the story to the contemporary southern United States, with [[Hannah Fierman]] as Laura, Christen Orr as Carmilla, and Kylie Brown as Millarca.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3354148/blu-ray-review-unwanted-starring-hannah-fierman/|title=[Blu-ray Review] 'The Unwanted,' Starring Hannah Fierman|last=Coffel|first=Chris|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=July 22, 2015|access-date=April 5, 2024}}</ref>
* ''The Curse of Styria'' (2014), alternately titled ''Angels of Darkness'' is an adaptation of the novel set in late 1980s with [[Julia Pietrucha]] as Carmilla and [[Eleanor Tomlinson]] as Lara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2013/10/24/review-curse-styria |website=[[KPBS (TV)|KPBS]] |title=Review: 'The Curse Of Styria'|date=24 October 2013|access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref>
* In 2017 ''[[The Carmilla Movie]]'', based on the 2015 web series of the same name was released. Directed by Spencer Maybee and produced by Steph Ouaknine, the movie follows up the web series five years after the finale.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/the-carmilla-movie-premiere-date-streaming-theatrical-1202574486/|title='The Carmilla Movie' Sets Streaming, Theatrical Premiere Dates|last=Spangler|first=Todd|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 27, 2017|access-date=April 5, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/carmilla-web-series-movie-1.4367622|title=How a little Canadian web series about a lesbian vampire became a worldwide hit|last=vanKampen|first=Stephanie|website=[[CBC.ca|CBC]]|date=October 24, 2017|access-date=April 5, 2024}}</ref>
*''[[Carmilla (film)|Carmilla]]'' (2019), written and directed by Emily Harris, was inspired by the novella. Fifteen-year-old Lara ([[Hannah Rae]]) develops feelings for Carmilla (Devrim Lingnau), but her strict governess believes their strange houseguest is a vampire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/carmilla-edinburgh-review/5140749.article|title='Carmilla': Edinburgh Review|last=Ward|first=Sarah|website=Screen|language=en|access-date=2019-11-09}}</ref> Harris says she "stripped back" the supernatural layers to consider the story as a "derailed love story" and "a story about our tendency as humans to demonize the other".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://womenandhollywood.com/eiff-2019-women-directors-meet-emily-harris-carmilla/|title=EIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Emily Harris – "Carmilla"|website=womenandhollywood.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-09|archive-date=20 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220130257/https://womenandhollywood.com/eiff-2019-women-directors-meet-emily-harris-carmilla/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Music===

====Opera====
* A [[chamber opera]] version of ''Carmilla'' appeared in ''Carmilla: A Vampire Tale'' (1970), music by [[Ben Johnston (composer)|Ben Johnston]], script by [[Wilford Leach]]. Seated on a sofa, Laura and Carmilla recount the story retrospectively in song.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rockwell|first1=John|title=Music: 'Carmilla: a Vampire Tale' at La Mama|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/05/arts/music-carmilla-a-vampire-tale-at-la-mama.html|access-date=January 25, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 5, 1986}}</ref>

====Rock music====
* [[Jon English]] released a song named "Carmilla", inspired by the short story, on his 1980 album ''[[Calm Before the Storm (Jon English album)|Calm Before the Storm]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://australianstage.com.au/201201015043/features/adelaide/jon-english.html|title=Jon English - Feature|last=Bowen|first=Joanna|website=Australian Stage|date=January 2, 2012|access-date=April 22, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120124234/https://australianstage.com.au/201201015043/features/adelaide/jon-english.html|archive-date=January 20, 2012}}</ref>
* The title track of the album ''[[Symphonies of the Night]]'' (2013), by the German/Norwegian band [[Leaves' Eyes]], was inspired by ''Carmilla''.<ref>{{cite web|website=LeavesEyes.de|url=http://www.leaveseyes.de/the-stories-of-symphonies-of-the-night/|title=The Stories of ''Symphonies of the Night''}}</ref>

===Periodicals===
* A Japanese lesbian magazine is named after Carmilla, as Carmilla "draws hetero women into the world of love between women".<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue12/welker2.html |title=Celebrating Lesbian Sexuality: An Interview with Inoue Meimy, Editor of Japanese Lesbian Erotic Lifestyle Magazine ''Carmilla'' |journal=Intersections|issue=12}}</ref>

===Radio===
* The ''[[Columbia Workshop]]'' presented an adaptation (CBS, July 28, 1940, 30 min.). [[Lucille Fletcher]]'s script, directed by Earle McGill, relocated the story to contemporary New York state and allows Carmilla ([[Jeanette Nolan]]) to claim her victim Helen ([[Joan Tetzel]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title = Generic Radio Workshop OTR Script: Columbia Workshop|url = http://www.genericradio.com/show.php?id=VXUQ0YE52|website = www.genericradio.com|access-date = 2015-11-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/ColumbiaWorkshop400728Carmilla_201610 |title=Carmilla |website=Columbia Workshop |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=2018-02-05 }}</ref>
* In 1975, the ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' broadcast an adaptation by [[Ian Martin (writer)|Ian Martin]] (CBS, July 31, 1975, rebroadcast December 10, 1975). [[Mercedes McCambridge]] played Laura Stanton, [[Marian Seldes]] played Carmilla.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The CBS Radio Mystery Theater: An Episode Guide and Handbook to Nine Years of Broadcasting, 1974–1982|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wSqSCgAAQBAJ|publisher = McFarland|date = 2004-01-01|isbn = 9780786418909|first1 = Gordon|last1 = Payton|first2 = Martin Jr|last2 = Grams|page = 105}}</ref> 
* [[Vincent Price]] hosted an adaptation (reset to 1922 Vienna) by Brainard Duffield, produced and directed by [[Fletcher Markle]], on the ''[[Sears Radio Theater]]'' (CBS, March 7, 1979), with [[Antoinette Bower]] and Anne Gibbon.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Sears Radio Theater|url = https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/Home/RadioGoldin_Records?searchString=Sears%20Radio%20Theatre&type=Programs|website = www.radiogoldindex.com|access-date = 2015-11-12|archive-date = 27 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151227103355/http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=Sears+Radio+Theatre|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1_-EtQwxAP4C&q=antoinette+bower+carmilla&pg=PA82|publisher = McFarland|date = 2010-01-11|isbn = 9780786457298|first = Ronald L.|last = Smith|page = 82}}</ref> 
* [[BBC Radio 4]] broadcast Don McCamphill's ''[[Afternoon Play]]'' dramatisation June 5, 2003, with [[Anne-Marie Duff]] as Laura, [[Brana Bajic]] as Carmilla and [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]] as Laura's father.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Afternoon Play: Carmilla - BBC Radio 4 FM - 5 June 2003 - BBC Genome|url = http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/20cba3e633dd4eaa92586f059b61cc4f|website = genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|date = 5 June 2003|access-date = 2015-11-14|archive-date = 17 November 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033041/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/20cba3e633dd4eaa92586f059b61cc4f|url-status = dead}}</ref>

===Stage===
* A [[German language]] adaptation of ''Carmilla'' by Friedhelm Schneidewind, from Studio-Theatre Saarbruecken, toured Germany and other European countries (including Romania) from April 1994 until 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.carmilla.de/|title=CARMILLA – das vampireske Kultstück|website=www.carmilla.de}}</ref>
* The [[Theatre in Chicago#Itinerant theater companies|Wildclaw Theater]] in [[Chicago]] performed a full-length adaptation of ''Carmilla'' by Aly Renee Amidei in January and February 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2011/01/18/carmilla-review-wildclaw-theatre-chicago/|work=Chicago Theater Beat|date=January 18, 2011|title=''Carmilla'' Review, Wildclaw Theatre Chicago|access-date=27 March 2014|archive-date=8 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708002627/http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2011/01/18/carmilla-review-wildclaw-theatre-chicago/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group in [[North Hollywood]] performed an hour-long adaptation of ''Carmilla'', by David MacDowell Blue, in February and March 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/2014/03/03/carmilla-zombies-joes-underground-83-sweet/|title=Carmilla: Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group|website=Los Angeles Bitter Lemons|date=March 3, 2014|access-date=March 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524010933/http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/2014/03/03/carmilla-zombies-joes-underground-83-sweet/|archive-date=May 24, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Television===
* In 1989, [[Gabrielle Beaumont]] directed Jonathan Furst's adaptation of ''Carmilla'' as an episode of the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] television series ''[[Nightmare Classics]]'', featuring [[Meg Tilly]] as the vampire and [[Ione Skye]] as her victim Marie. Furst relocated the story to an American [[History of the Southern United States|antebellum]] southern [[Plantations in the American South|plantation]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Carmilla - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com|url = https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/8295/Carmilla/overview|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307053416/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/8295/Carmilla/overview|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2016-03-07|department = Movies & TV Dept.|work = [[The New York Times]]|author = Cavett Binion|date = 2016|access-date = 2015-11-10}}</ref>
* "Carmilla" directed by Janusz Kondratiuk was a television spectacle aired on Polish Television Channel 1 on 13 November 1980.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?film=522482 | title=FilmPolski.pl }}</ref>
* Carmilla is a major antagonist in the ''[[Castlevania (TV series)|Castlevania]]'' animated series, where she was first introduced in Season 2 as a secondary antagonist, acting as a sly and ambitious general on Dracula's War Council. Unlike her video-game counterpart, who is immensely faithful to her leader, Carmilla takes issue with Dracula's plan to kill off their only source of food and has designs to take Dracula's place and build her own army to subjugate humanity alongside her Council of Sisters, Lenore (inspired by Laura), Striga, and Morana. Her plans are bolstered by Dracula's death at the hands of his son, Alucard, and her kidnapping of the Devil Forgemaster, Hector. She is later personally confronted by Isaac, Dracula's other loyal Devil Forgemaster, when he and his Night Creature horde invade her castle in Styria to rescue Hector and put an end to her ambitions. After singlehandedly fighting him and his host of demons, she commits suicide in Season 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/562488/castlevania-season-2-villain/|title='Castlevania' Season 2 Introduced One Of The Best New Villains Of 2018|last=Dickens|first=Donna|website=[[/Film]]|date=November 20, 2018|access-date=May 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017100206/https://www.slashfilm.com/562488/castlevania-season-2-villain/|archive-date=October 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/castlevania-lenore/|title=I Don't Care What You Say About 'Castlevania's Lenore, I Love Her|last=Jennings|first=Collier|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=May 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520203203/https://collider.com/castlevania-lenore/|archive-date=May 20, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themarysue.com/netflix-castlevania-carmilla-girl-boss-ending/|title=Netflix's Castlevania Gave Carmilla the Ultimate Girl Boss Ending|last=Weekes|first=Princess|website=[[The Mary Sue]]|date=May 16, 2021|access-date=May 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923033410/https://www.themarysue.com/netflix-castlevania-carmilla-girl-boss-ending/|archive-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref>

===Web series===
* ''[[Carmilla (series)|Carmilla]]'' is a [[web series]] on [[YouTube]] starring [[Natasha Negovanlis]] as Carmilla and [[Elise Bauman]] as Laura. First released on August 19, 2014, it is a comedic, modern adaptation of the novella which takes place at a modern-day university, where both girls are students. They become roommates after Laura's first roommate mysteriously disappears and Carmilla moves in, taking her place. The final episode of the web series was released on October 13, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Carmilla (TV Series 2014 - 2016) IMDB|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4127260/|access-date=October 9, 2020|website=IMDB}}</ref> In 2017, a movie was made based on the series. ''[[The Carmilla Movie]]'' was initially released on October 26, 2017, to Canadian audiences through Cineplex theatres for one night only. A digital streaming version was also pre-released on October 26, 2017, for fans who had pre-ordered the film on VHX.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Reid|first=Regan|date=September 28, 2017|title=The Carmilla Movie to hit theatres in October|work=Playback|url=https://playbackonline.ca/2017/09/28/the-carmilla-movie-to-hit-theatres-in-october/|access-date=October 9, 2020}}</ref> The following day the movie enjoyed a wide release on streaming platform Fullscreen.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Klein|first=Jessica|date=October 6, 2017|title='The Carmilla Movie' Set To Debut In Theaters October 26, Then On Fullscreen|work=Tubefilter|url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2017/10/06/carmilla-movie-debut-theaters-october-26/|access-date=October 9, 2020}}</ref>

===Video games===
* Carmilla is a recurring character in ''[[Castlevania]]'', a [[gothic horror]] [[action-adventure]] [[video game series]] and [[media franchise]] about Dracula, created and developed by [[Konami]]. ''Castlevania'' has also been expanded into [[comic books]] and an [[animated television series]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gamerant.com/castlevania-carmilla-netflix-games/|title=Castlevania: Who is Carmilla?|last=Kristian McCoy|first=Joshua|website=Gamerant|date=March 7, 2024|access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref>
* Carmilla is a summonable 4 star servant in the Assassin class and one of the possible free starting servants you can receive in the Fate/Grand Order mobile game
* In the Japanese action game series ''[[Onechanbara]]'', Carmilla is the matriarch of the Vampiric clan. She appears in the 2011 title ''Onechanbara Z ~ Kagura ~'' as the manipulator & main antagonist of sister heroines Kagura and Saaya, first using them to attack her rivals before trying (and failing) to eliminate them as pawns.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.godisageek.com/reviews/onechanbara-z2-chaos-review/|title=Onechanbara Z2: Chaos Review |last=Fraser|first=Mike|website=GodisaGeek|date=August 23, 2015|access-date=May 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824124305/https://www.godisageek.com/reviews/onechanbara-z2-chaos-review/|archive-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref>
* Carmilla is a playable character in Ravenswatch, a fantasy action game which features a variety of cultural and literary characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/ravenswatch-1-0-update-steam-early-access|title=Carmilla will join Ravenswatch in version 1.0, releasing in September|last=Mateș|first=Bogdan Robert|website=Gamewatcher|date=August 21, 2024|access-date=February 3, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240821233857/https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/ravenswatch-1-0-update-steam-early-access|archive-date=August 21, 2024}}</ref>
* In ''[[Limbus Company]]'', one of the enemies the player can fight, called "Four-hundred Roses", references Carmilla. The references are both direct, as represented by the E.G.O. gifts related to said enemy that are called "Carmilla" and "Millarca", and indirect, as its abilities all revolve around blood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://limbuscompany.wiki.gg/wiki/Four-hundred_Roses|title=Four-hundred Roses|website=Limbus Company Wiki|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref>

== Censorship ==
During the 20th century, Spanish censors allowed ''Carmilla'' to be imported from Argentina in 1941 and republished in the 1960s and 1970s without requiring edits. The censors did not comment on erotic elements of the story or the book's illustrations of naked women in suggestive poses. Alberto Lázaro suggests that the censors did not perceive the book's lesbian themes. Lázaro states that displays of affection between women were unlikely to be perceived as sexual or romantic in Spain and England until later in the 20th century, in contrast to similar displays between men.<ref name=":2" />

In April 2025, the Government of Belarus added the book to the list of printed publications containing information messages and materials, the distribution of which could harm the [[national interest]]s of [[Belarus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://euroradio.fm/minifarm-belarusi-zabaraniu-voblachny-atlas|title=Мініфарм Беларусі забараніў "Воблачны атлас" {{!}} Навіны Беларусі {{!}} euroradio.fm|language=be|website=euroradio.fm|date=2025-04-01|access-date=2025-04-01}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* 
* {{gutenberg|no=10007|name=Carmilla}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170327101732/http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0060845/ Carmilla] on [[IMDb]]
* {{cite book|url=http://www.inkitt.com/stories/10565 |title=Carmilla|date=15 March 2015 |edition= Mobile|publisher=Inkitt.com}}
* {{librivox book | title=Carmilla | author=Joseph Sheridan LE FANU}}

{{Carmilla}}
{{Sheridan Le Fanu}}

[[Category:19th-century Irish novels]]
[[Category:1872 fantasy novels]]
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[[Category:1870s LGBTQ novels]]
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[[Category:Irish LGBTQ novels]]
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[[Category:LGBTQ speculative fiction novels]]
[[Category:Supernatural novels]]
[[Category:Novels about vampires]]
[[Category:Lesbian fiction]]
[[Category:Occult detective fiction]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related horror literature]]
[[Category:Lesbian vampire media]]
[[Category:Female literary villains]]
[[Category:Fictional counts and countesses]]
[[Category:Fictional vampires]]
[[Category:Novels set in Austria]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1698]]
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[[Category:Carmilla| ]]
[[Category:Novels by Sheridan Le Fanu]]
[[Category:Horror novellas]]
[[Category:Gothic novels adapted into films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Carmilla|access_date=2026-02-28}}