Great Classic Vampire Stories

Seven Chilling Tales

By: M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu, James Malcolm Rymer, Aleksei Tolstoy

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Groundbreaking for the time in which they were written, the vampire stories of the 1800s have inspired many modern writers. Enjoy the thrilling stories that originated the genre of vampire fiction. Includes: "The End of My Journey", by Lord Byron (1816); "The Vampyre", by John Polidori (1819); "The Family of the Vourdalak", by Aleksei Tolstoy (1839); "Varney the Vampire", by James Malcolm Rymer (1847); "Carmilla", by Sheridan Le Fanu (1872); "A True Story of a Vampire", by Eric, Count Stenbock (1894); and "Count Magnus", by M. R. James (1904).

©2012 AudioGO (P)2012 AudioGO

An heirloom collection of the undead

"For we knew not the month was October, and we marked not the night of the year." Edgar Allan Poe.

Like many story collections, this one is uneven. Fortunately, most of the stories are good and a few may be great. You'll find your own favorites. My three are "The Vampyre," "Carmilla," and "Count Magnus."

For me, Polidori's "The Vampyre" is a particular treat. It was always fascinating to imagine details about Lord Ruthven and hearing the story read brought him to life. Almost.

Le Fanu's "Carmilla" is a must-listen for any collector of supernatural tales. The female vampire embodies a particular combination of allure and horror.

"Count Magnus" is my favorite M.R. James story, but I've never considered the eponymous character, though undead, to be a vampire. Still, whatever else he might be, he is unforgettable.

Simon Vance's narration is well-suited to the old-fashioned tone and content of this collection.

A Decent Collection

The overall selection was good. The story by Lord Byron didn't seem very vampire themed, but the rest were really good. The narration was very well done, but there were a couple of stories that it took me a second to realize that the protagonist was a woman.

Great stories, good narrator

I loved the stories in this collection, very gothic. The narrator lends a very Victorian tone to the stories. I just wish they had used a female narrator for the stories told by debacle characters.

Great Vampire Short Stories!

These short stories of early vampire stories were great! it really laid the foundations for modern vampire stories.

Great collection!

Very enjoyable stories. Highly recommend, but I couldn’t listen to Carmilla as a man so I found female narrator read a different book. I enjoy this narrator but do need to rewind a bunch as he talks fast sometimes.

Old and Spooky

If you love old spooky stories then you’ll love this! Great for beginners and anyone who’s already in love with this stuff!

classic vampire tails at their best

loved the variety of tales and variety of authors, much more interesting than modern vampire stories.

A bit dry.

A bit dry and lags at points but, a good collection of classic vampire stories.

A mixed bag. Simon Vance masterful as ever

Like most anthologies, this is a mixed bag.

I particularly liked “The Family of Vourdalak” and “Carmella.” Those two stories alone make this a good listen. Were that some of the others were as strong.

Simon Vance was outstanding as always.

More Interesting Than Terrifying

Not being up to speed on more recent iterations of vampires (Buffy, Twilight, etc.) for me the interest here is the view afforded of those creatures before the B movies, Halloween costumes and cereal boxes of my childhood.

Rather than bats, castles, and black capes, here we have vampires who walk about in broad daylight. None of them shun garlic or mirrors. Only one has a Transylvanian accent. So far from arriving, “by night, in a carriage drawn by two black horses,” writes Eric Count Stenbock, “our vampire arrived by the commonplace means of the railway train, and in the afternoon.”

Some stories are better than others, of course. Volunteer has a point: they all tend to sound somewhat similar. Vampires being vampires, that's unavoidable: they find a victim, drain their life, finis. I’m still mystified by James Malcolm Rymer’s contribution. The closest to our stock ideas of vampirism, it begins with “Chapter One” then, at the end of 15 minutes and 49 seconds (in which a victim is found and her life drained), we pass on to the next story. No Chapter Two.

I agree with Ms. Baumann that Polidori’s “The Vampyre”, Le Fanu’s “Carmilla”, and M. R. James’ “Count Magnus” are the picks of this particular litter, set apart by the variations they ring on the basic story arc. For that reason I would also add Bram Stoker's piece, the unacknowledged eighth in this collection of seven, wherein it seems Dracula actually saves a life--though I suspect only to claim it for himself later.

As always, Simon Vance hands in a superb performance.