Information about The Vampyre

"The Vampyre"

Author	John William Polidori
Country	England
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror short story
Publication type	Magazine
Publisher	New Monthly magazine and universal register; London: H. Colburn, 1814-1820. Vol. 1, No. 63.
Media type	Print (Periodical & Paperback)
Publication date	1 April 1819

"The Vampyre" is a short story written by John William Polidori and is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction.

"The Vampyre" was first published on April 1, 1819, by Colburn in the New Monthly Magazine with the false attribution "A Tale by Lord Byron." The name of the work's protagonist, "Lord Ruthven", added to this assumption, for that name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven. Despite repeated denials by Byron and Polidori, the authorship often went unclarified.

The story was an immediate popular success, partly because of the Byron attribution and partly because it exploited the gothic horror predilections of the public. Polidori transformed the vampire from a character in folklore into the form we recognize today - an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.

Plot introduction

The story has its genesis in the summer of 1816, the Year Without a Summer, when Europe and parts of North America suffered under a severe climate abnormality. Lord Byron and his young physician John Polidori were staying at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva and were visited by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and Claire Clairmont. Kept indoors by the "incessant rain" of that "wet, ungenial summer," over three days in June the five turned to telling fantastical stories, and then writing their own. Fueled by ghost stories such as the Fantasmagoriana, William Beckford's Vathek and quantities of laudanum, Mary Shelley produced what would become Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. Polidori was inspired by a fragmentary story of Byron's and in "two or three idle mornings" produced "The Vampire".

Polidori's work had an immense impact on contemporary sensibilities and ran through numerous editions and translations. An adaptation appeared in 1820 with Cyprien Bérard’s novel, Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires, falsely attributed to Charles Nodier, who himself then wrote his own version, Le Vampire, a play which had enormous success and sparked a "vampire craze" across Europe. Edgar Allan Poe, Gogol, Alexandre Dumas, père and Tolstoy all produced vampire tales, and themes in Polidori's tale would continue to influence Bram Stoker's Dracula and eventually the whole vampire genre.

Plot summary

In the early 1800s, a strange nobleman appears in the London high society, named Lord Ruthven (pronounced “Riven” with a short ‘i’). He is very introverted, which, of course, causes everyone to notice him. He is noted by all for his cool demeanor, his cool grey eyes, and his pale face. Several women make passes at him but to no avail. However, he has the reputation of being intelligent, and his apparent lack of vice make him accepted by the virtuous women of society.

About the same time, a young gentleman named Aubrey enters London high society. He was an orphan since childhood, and was raised, with his younger sister, by guardians. Highly romantic, he is somewhat disappointed by London high life until he meets Lord Ruthven. He becomes interested in Lord Ruthven’s mannerism, and wishes to learn more about him. Upon learning that Lord Ruthven is soon to travel, Aubrey requests his guardians to take his “tour”, the customary trip of young aristocratic males after leaving the university. His guardians agree. Aubrey then mentions his intention to travel to Lord Ruthven who, to Aubrey’s surprise, allows him to join his lordship in his travels.

Upon leaving Europe, Aubrey discovers that Lord Ruthven is very different in private than he seems in public. He gives money generously to beggars, but not to the virtuous down on their luck. However, Aubrey notices that those who were recipients of the lordship's generosity often sink even deeper into depravity, sometimes to death.

Eventually the companions reach Rome, where they split up. Lord Ruthven is often seen in the company of an Italian Countess, while Aubrey visits ancient ruins in the proximity of Rome. Aubrey soon receives a letter from his guardians who voice concern at his companion, since the virtuous ladies with whom he had once socialized had now become seekers of vice in his absence.

Aubrey then tries to invent a reason to leave the lord, and upon discovering that the lord is having an affair with the young Italian countess, he writes a letter declining to accompany the lord on the rest of the tour, and then reports the lord’s intentions to the countess' parents. The next day, Aubrey receives a note from his lordship, agreeing on their separation.

Aubrey travels on alone to Greece, ending up in the city of Athens. There he begins to study archeology, as he did in Rome, but is often distracted by Ianthe, the beautiful daughter of Aubrey's innkeeper. She warns Aubrey vehemently about vampyres, whom she claims suck the blood of the living to attain longer life. Aubrey is skeptical, but when she begins to describe the vampyres, she paints a perfect description of Lord Ruthven, and Aubrey is shaken. However, he refuses to believe in such things and tries to convince Ianthe otherwise.

One night, when returning after sunset from one of his excursions, Aubrey is caught in a thunderstorm and is driven to take shelter in a dark forest. While in the forest he stumbles upon a hut, thinking to ask for directions to town, or maybe to shelter in. However, he hears the scream of a woman emanate from inside, followed by a mocking laugh. He subsequently rushes inside and is attacked by a being with superhuman strength, who throws him to the ground and grabs his throat. However, the approach of others scare away the villain. When these new arrivals enter the hut, their torches illuminate the pale corpse of Ianthe lying next to Aubrey, her throat bearing the mark of teeth and covered in blood. As the rescuers remove the horrified Aubrey, he finds a dagger from the floor of the hut.

After returning to Athens, Aubrey comes down with a violent fever and is bedridden. Around the same time, Lord Ruthven arrives in Athens and upon hearing about his former companion’s state of health, takes up room in the same inn as Aubrey, and becomes his constant attendant. He apologizes to Aubrey for their previous separation, and through his caring for the ill Aubrey, they reconcile.

After recovering from his illness, Aubrey becomes as introverted as Ruthven, and leaves Athens with Ruthven to rid himself of memories of his former love. While traveling to their next destination, they are attacked by robbers, and Lord Ruthven is shot in the shoulder. With a healthy bribe, Aubrey is able to ensure their safety. However, Lord Ruthven’s wound becomes infected, and he begins to die. In Ruthven’s last throes of life, he makes Aubrey swear that he will tell no one of his death for 366 days, which Aubrey complies to. Ruthven dies smiling. The body is not buried, as it vanishes before Aubrey is able to do so, who believes that the robbers have stolen the clothes and hidden the body, and thus thinks nothing of it.

Aubrey leaves Greece, and while waiting in Turkey for a ship to take him to England, discovers in Ruthven’s effects the sheath to the dagger from the hut where Ianthe was killed. Later, in Rome, he discovers that the family of the countess that Ruthven had associated with has fallen into ruin, and that the countess herself has disappeared after the Lord’s departure. Aubrey believes it was the same being who has killed Ianthe. He continues home on a favorable tail wind, and finally returns to his home, where he is rejoined with his sister; a vibrant youth of eighteen years. She is planning to be introduced into society, but has been awaiting her brother’s return.

During his sister’s début, Aubrey is standing in a crowd when someone grabs him by his arm and a familiar voice whispers nearby, “Remember your oath.” Moments later, Aubrey observes Lord Ruthven not far from him. Aubrey, fearful, leaves early with a friend and returns to his home. Once at home, he calms himself, and, convinced it was just his imagination, returns to society. A few nights later, however, Aubrey runs into Ruthven again, this time conversing with his sister. He grabs his sister and tries to pull her out of the building. Servants hold him up at the door, and again he hears the whisper in his ear, more intensely: “Remember your oath!”

Aubrey’s mental health quickly declines, and after spending a few nights sleeping in gutters around London, his guardians make him remain in the home under the watchful eyes of physicians. Slowly, he becomes more and more withdrawn; however, as a year begins to pass, he increases in health. On the last day of the year since Aubrey had sworn his oath, one of his guardians visits him in his room. The guardian informs him of his sister getting married, which makes Aubrey curious as to the identity of her fiancé. They tell him she is to be married to the Earl of Marsden, which delights Aubrey, who requests to his guardian that he be present at the wedding, and also that he may have an audience with his sister. His sister comes, and is overjoyed to see her brother in such good spirits. However, Aubrey soon discovers, to his horror, that the Earl of Marsden is none other than Lord Ruthven. He begs his sister not to marry him, for reasons he cannot explain. His physicians note that his mania has returned, and consequently lead his sister from the room.

It had so happened that Lord Ruthven, upon finding Aubrey considered insane and knowing he was the cause of it, began to visit Aubrey’s home, and, as such, captures the fancy of his sister. Ruthven soon after gains his title, and as such, asks that the marriage be immediate, even though Ruthven planned to leave on a trip the day after.

The day of the wedding, Aubrey escapes from his bedchamber and runs into the room where the wedding is to be held. Ruthven is the first to notice him and drags him from the room, reminding Aubrey not only of his oath, but of the fact that if Ruthven walks away from the marriage, Aubrey’s sister would be dishonored. Aubrey is then taken away by his attendants. Aubrey is filled with rage at Ruthven, which, as he is unable to find a psychological vent, causes him to burst a blood vessel. The marriage goes on as planned, and afterwards, the married couple leave London.

The bursting of Aubrey’s blood vessel quickly renders him terminally ill, and he requests the audience of his guardians. At the stroke of midnight, he weakly tells his guardians the tale of Ruthven’s rebirth abroad, and Aubrey passes away soon after. His guardians rush to protect his sister, but they discover her too late, blood-sucked to death by Lord Ruthven, the vampire.

Characters in "The Vampire"

• Lord Ruthven – a suave British nobleman, the vampire
• Aubrey – a young gentleman, an orphan
• Ianthe – a beautiful woman Aubrey meets on his journeys with Ruthven.
• Aubrey's sister – who becomes engaged to the Earl of Marsden
• Earl of Marsden – who is also Lord Ruthven

See also

• Medieval revenant for the medieval origins of vampire-like stories.

Further reading

• Christopher Frayling; Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula 1992. ISBN 0-571-16792-6

External links

• The Vampyre, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Text of Byron's fragmentary story at sff.net
• NY Times article on the famed night