The Vampyre

By John William Polidori

A Short and Chilling Romantic tale of the Legends of the Vampire

“In many parts of Greece it is considered as a sort of punishment after death, for some heinous crime committed whilst in existence, that the deceased is not only doomed to vampyrise, but compelled to confine his infernal visitations solely to those beings he loved most while upon earth—those to whom he was bound by ties of kindred and affection.—A supposition alluded to in the "Giaour.” ― John William Polidori, The Vampyre; a Tale William Polidori is credited with creating the literary genre of romantic vampire fiction with his short story, The Vampyre. When Aubrey, a young Englishman, meets the mysterious Lord Ruthven, he discovers a horrible secret that threatens everyone he knows and loves.
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xist Publishing
• Release date: Apr 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781623959968

John William Polidori

John William Polidori (1795–1821) is credited as the creator of the modern vampire story and the fantasy subgenre. Polidori received his degree as a doctor of medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and soon afterward, he became the personal physician of writer Lord Byron. One night in 1816, Polidori, Byron, Mary Shelley, and Percy Shelley decided to write ghost stories together. On this night, Polidori’s classic novella The Vampyre was conceived. The story was published anonymously without Polidori’s permission in New Monthly Magazine, but he later took credit for the work. Polidori spent his later years deeply depressed and fell into debt from gambling. It is rumored that Polidori committed suicide at the age of twenty-six. His revolutionary treatment of vampire as a romantic figure continues to inspire writers in the romantic and horror genres.   

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Reviews for The Vampyre

[jrissman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori is a short, tightly-written short story about Lord Ruthven, a charming vampyre, and the wealthy but young and inexperienced aristocrat Aubrey. Aubrey meets Ruthven in England and is struck by the older man's unusual style and magnetism. Aubrey resolves to travel the continent of Europe with Lord Ruthven, aware of neither the dark powers nor darker intentions of his companion."The Vampyre" reminded me of Frankenstein, in that both stories feature a villain whose greatest capability is not supernatural strength, magic, or the like, but the ability to cause psychological distress and the determination to ruin the lives of others. Lord Ruthven doesn't have the same depth of character as Frankenstein's monster, but he does have a certain diabolical charm that comes through, despite the sparse dialogue. Polidori's plot is predictable but sufficiently engaging nonetheless. I wonder if Polidori's story might be the first literary example of the handsome, charming, seductive vampire that has been popularized in recent works like "Twilight." At least, it surely is an early example.I think Polidori's story would be improved by a little more length and specific detail about the means and methods used by Lord Ruthven. The reader is made aware of the vampyre's apparent objectives and the ultimate results of his handiwork, but (apart from one confused and interrupted scene), we never see him take action. While it's easy to imagine that Ruthven might bite and drink the blood of some victims, it's unclear how he manages to effect some of his other atrocities, such as bringing families to financial ruin.The version of the story I read (an eBook from Project Gutenberg) included substantial material before and after the story describing the author's (real or fictional) travel in Europe, seeking out the former abodes and artifacts owned by famous writers and poets, especially Lord Byron. This detracted from the work, so if these sections are included in your copy, I'd suggest skipping them and spending your time on the actual story, "The Vampyre."

[h_d_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dark, creepy, over the top and a rather fun read. I wasn't really expecting this to be any good, but it turned out be very enjoyable. Even if the last paragraph was so hilariously over the top that it made the tension that came before deflate like a badly made flan :D

[faedemon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i enjoyed this! aubrey's naivete and ruthven's eagerness to capitalize on it makes for some delicious character dynamics. plus the inherent homoeroticism of a vampire and his companion

[AugustoPolitti11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful tale that introduces a character like DRACULA. (Translated from Spanish)

[irishbooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was a short read... very short for my taste. I felt that the author got too distracted with other things instead of the central plot.

The characters needed a little more development and personality... I don't know, to be honest, I don't have much to say about this story because I simply didn't like it at all.

I was expecting something like Bram Stoker's Dracula; although I know the comparison is absurd, I expected more from this story. (Translated from Spanish)

[GustavoIGG · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As I prepare to read Dracula by Bram Stoker and Carmilla again, I decided to start with Polidori, who was the first to write about these beings. This story was written at Villa Diodati, where due to bad weather in the area, Polidori, Lord Byron, Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein), Percy Shelley (future husband of Mary), and Clair Claymont (Lord Byron's lover) took refuge. To pass the time, Lord Byron proposes a competition in which they must write scary stories. It is here that the outline of Modern Prometheus (Frankenstein) and Polidori's vampire are conceived. It is a short story but it captivates you and leaves you wanting to keep reading on this topic, plus several of its characters remind you of classic novels of today, like The Count of Monte Cristo. (Translated from Spanish)

[Jasmiau.cl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have wanted to read this book for a long time ❤️ As a loyal lover of vampires in my adolescence, I was filled with curiosity to know the first vampire story in history. John William Polidori wrote this tale in 1816, the same cold summer in which Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. That night was one of the most important in literature, as two classics of horror and science fiction were born ? "The Vampire" introduces us to the intimidating yet captivating Lord Ruthven, a pale man with a cold gaze, yet he manages to capture the curiosity of Aubrey, who accompanies him on a journey through Europe to get to know him better. As days pass, he realizes that the mystery behind Lord Ruthven is much darker than he expected. A light story that, despite there being many writings about vampires up to today, does not have an obvious ending and keeps you in suspense until the end. (Translated from Spanish)

[UrquiHola · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Famine-like, mysterious, and particularly seductive is Lord Ruthven, the vampire who brings misfortune and disaster to Aubrey, a young Englishman on the rise. A very cruel ending leaves the bitter taste of the monster's triumph. (Translated from Spanish)

[unatallectora · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The only thing I take from this book is the little introduction that is discussed at the beginning, how this story came about, which was practically at the exact moment as that of the famous Frankenstein. In fact, that is what made me want to discover this story; however, I found it too boring because very few interesting things happen, it is very monotonous and very, very descriptive. Even though it is very short, I found it too heavy, and I even had to reread some parts because I had already lost interest and didn't know what was being talked about. It's curious that although it was written many years ago, there was already talk of the prototype of the "handsome" vampire, which is how it describes its character. But overall, I didn't enjoy much of what this author offered with this classic... (Translated from Spanish)

[Mario 1971 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A great story. A terrible translation. It's a very basic book but it started a whole genre. The same Joseph Sheridan LeFanu was influenced by "this" vampire. Essential. (Translated from Spanish)

[la2bkk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having read Brom Stoker’s Dracula, I came to this earlier work as I was interested in learning more about the first English novel based upon a vampire. This Gothic short story is interesting both for its history, and as a source of comparison between the original version of a vampire and the more commonly known Dracula. As can be expected, the verbiage is a bit dated yet the story itself flows well enough and comes to a quite interesting conclusion.

Well worth a read.

[Paco Garrido · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A short story born on those summer nights of 1816 at Villa Diodati, this precursor of the romantic vampire as we know it - before Stoker's own Dracula - is the most popular writing that emerged from that group of personalities alongside Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN. Polidori seeks to expose the power of the myth through its deep-rooted cultural formalism, endowing it with great seductive capacity and an aristocratic aspect, the classic stereotype of the vampire as a folkloric character.

Seen from a contemporary perspective, it may come across as a worn-out story, due to the popular ubiquity of the romantic vampire in all cultural domains, but it should not be forgotten that this "psychic vampire" named Lord Ruthven, son of the doctor Polidori, is the root of it all. A very short story, with simple prose that starts from an intuitive and linear plot where it does not convey constant fear but plays very well with psychology. (Translated from Spanish)

[lgandt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good Vampire tale. Love the setting.

I can see clearly again how and where Stoker got most of his ideas.

More backstory would have been nice, but just for a short read this is a great way to spend some time.

[arkrayder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Vampyre surprised me. It started off a little dull and I believed it was a typical classic story, stuck in its era and not really able to communicate to modern day readers. I was wrong. This short story had more depth to it than say, the Twilight series or most modern vampire tales. This little story doesn't dwell on the protagonist, he is left in the shadows, left for the readers imagination to conjure up a suitably hideous inhuman creature. Instead the victim is focused on. His befriending of a person he doesn't really know or understand and his slow descent into madness is carefully described and the reader gets to witness the affect on the victims themselves. A great story and an appropriate genesis for the vampire genre.

[pretear_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It always feels wrong to rate and review classics, especially classics, such as this short story, that are said to be transformative or revolutionary in their genre. With that said, I just didn't enjoy this. It's not scary. The story and the characters seem muddled. It just wasn't what I was expecting. I'm glad I read it for the experience of reading it, but that's the only positive thing I can say about it.

[cynical_ames · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written before Bram Stoker's Dracula, this is a short story centred on one of the first vampires in literature.

[baswood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

That infamous night, sometime in 1816 at Byron's Villa Diodati, when the assembled guests were challenged to tell a ghost story resulted in Mary Shelley's [Frankenstein] It also led to the publication of The Vampyre , the first vampire tale to feature an aristocrat as a blood sucking fiend. The story's inception and it later publication history is probably more intriguing than the short story itself. John Polidori was a working guest at the villa; apparently Byron's physician and it is probably Byron's story that ended up being published by Polidori although it did originally appear under Byron's name. Byron later claimed not to have written it. A clever deception then by Polidori is enhanced by an extract from a so-called anonymous letter, that appears before the introduction to the book. The letter tells a little about that night at the villa Diodati and then intriguingly paints a portrait of Lord Byron himself:

I have gathered from
their accounts some excellent traits of his lordship's character,
which I will relate to you at some future opportunity. I must,
however, free him from one imputation attached to him--of having in
his house two sisters as the partakers of his revels. This is, like
many other charges which have been brought against his lordship,
entirely destitute of truth. His only companion was the physician I
have already mentioned...... I found a servant there who had lived with him;
she, however, gave me but little information. She pointed out his
bed-chamber upon the same level as the saloon and dining-room, and
informed me that he retired to rest at three, got up at two, and
employed himself a long time over his toilette; that he never went to
sleep without a pair of pistols and a dagger by his side, and that he
never eat animal food.

The above makes Byron sound like a candidate for being a vampire and Polidori followed this up with a quote from Byron's poem [Giaour]:

But first on earth, as Vampyre sent,
Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent;
Then ghastly haunt the native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race;
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corse,
Thy victims, ere they yet expire,
Shall know the demon for their sire;............

The anonymous letter is steeped in irony and adds greatly to the mystery of the tale. If Polidori thought he could shift copies of his little book by continual references to Byron then he was not wrong. The Vampyre sold well and the central character Lord Ruthven was a dead ringer for Lord Byron. An aristocrat who feeds off the charms of young virginal women and who succeeds in tormenting the young Aubrey into despair and madness; when he kills Aubrey's innocent Greek girlfriend and then schemes to marry his innocent sister. The story has some of the elements that you would expect in a vampire tale and it is well told, it is mysterious and dark and inexorably moves to its conclusion. It is worth reading and I would rate it at 3.5 stars mainly because of the mystery in which it is surrounded.

[jarandel · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Lawful Stupid protagonist (let's keep a 'deathbed promise' to a fiend even when he turns out not to have died at all) and later plot shaping up to "woman at risk of becoming damaged goods (nevermind dying, that's apparently not so important even to her purported loved ones)" that had me hit the delete button in a convulsive twitch.

[devenish_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The writing of this story came about with the meeting at Lake Geneva of five people who decided to each write a Ghost Story. These were Mary Shelley who wrote her masterpiece,'Frankenstein',Percy Shelley and a Claire Clairmont,neither as far as I can find out,wrote anything on this occasion,Lord Byron wrote a fragment of a novel before getting bored with the task. (as he tells in his "Letters & Journals) Polidori was the fifth person and he produced "The Vampyre.
Ok.it is short and rather slight,but for all that it has a certain importance in vampire fiction,not least because of the story behind the conception of it.It has been said that the idea was in fact Byron's and that there was something of Byron in the character Lord Ruthven.
If you are at all interested in Vampire or indeed Supernatural Fiction of any kind,then you really ought to read it.