Carmilla

Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 Gothic tale, Carmilla, is one of the earliest examples of vampire literature and was published 26 years before Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). The narrative, which was first serialised in The Dark Blue between 1871 and 1872, is told from the perspective of a young woman who has been preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla, subsequently identified as Countess Karnstein (the name Carmilla is an anagram of Mircalla). The character expresses romantic feelings for the main character, making her a textbook case of a lesbian vampire. Notably, the novella never refers to homosexuality as a negative characteristic, keeping it subtly and morally ambiguous. The tale has been often adapted for television, the big screen, and other forms of media.