The following letter fragment was discovered during the renovations of Hale Library at Kansas State University after a fire damaged much of the building’s interior in May 2018. The aged and smoke-damaged parchment was found pressed firmly between the burnt, crumbling pages of a copy of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire novella, Carmilla. After careful inspection and testing, forensic experts can confirm that the document is authentic. We can only assume then, that it was written by Carmilla herself, the Countess Mircalla of Karnstein, a discovery that catapults Le Fanu’s work from fiction to history. I have painstakingly transcribed the found text here and included my own notes on the content. When possible, I have linked additional research on the topics for your perusal.

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                                                                                               Summer 1---[1]

      Millie[2],

            It is time to return to the girl—Laura—the one I visited in her dreams so long ago. She is ready now, ready to meet me, and I am ready to begin. There have been others over the years, as you know, all girls[3]…but Laura is special. I feel so connected to her already, and I sense our relationship will be different than the others[4]. I have orchestrated the whole plot: I will stage a carriage accident outside her family’s home, and my “mother”—a dear old bat whom I have…recruited…into my service        will plead with Laura’s father to take me into their care until she can return. My name shall be                 Carmilla, and I will be a girl of Laura’s own age. We will become fast friends, and I will wait for    the proper moment to begin my pursuit of her. If all goes according to plan, she will fall ill and perish   just before my “mother” returns to “collect me.” I have executed this plan so often that it is a calculated endeavor for me to undertake. I try to put as much time between my victims as possible, but whenever I feel the insatiable urge, I cannot resist. [5]That is how I know it is time now. I must find her. She             must die. It may be some time before I can write again.[6] I cannot risk Laura discovering my       writings while I play the role of Carmilla.

Until then,

M[7]

 

 

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[1] We know from Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella that Carmilla arrived at Laura’s house on a “sweet summer evening” (11), though a year is never explicitly mentioned. The novella itself, entitled Carmilla,  was published serially in 1871 and 1872. Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, was not published until 1897, but readers will notice similarities between the two, suggesting that Stoker was inspired by Le Fanu.

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[2] Textually, we do not know who “Millie” is, though, after much debate, scholars propose that this is a letter the Countess wrote to herself, perhaps as a journal of sorts, with Millie as a nickname for “Carmilla.”

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[3] The Countess, as readers come to find out, is a vampire who only targets girls. This idea has prompted many scholars to view her as a model of the Victorian New Woman. The New Woman movement encouraged women to explore their sexuality. Some characteristics of a “New Woman” that the Countess shares are that she is unmarried, never given birth, comes from a wealthy, upper-class family, curates a persona of social independence, and is uninvolved with men, often assuming power in traditionally masculine roles. (For more information on the Victorian New Woman, see the "Historical Context" page.)  But other scholars, like Ardel Haefele-Thomas, argue that Le Fanu’s portrayal of Carmilla as an aggressive, lesbian vampire is, at best, indicative of his apathy toward queerness. In Chaper 5 of his book Queer Others in Victorian Gothic : Transgressing Monstrosity, Thomas writes, “Part of what makes Laura’s ‘fear and disgust’ [of Carmilla] even more potent are the underlying connotations of the mother-daughter incest linked with the monstrosities of miscegenation and queer sexuality” (104) and that Laura’s suggestion that her sexual encounters with Carmilla are because Carmilla is a man disguised as a woman “epitomizes the way that same-sex desire often gets mapped back onto the heterosexual paradigm; it also demonstrates Le Fanu’s uncertainty toward the homoeroticism at the heart of his tale.” Thomas, though, asserts that “the romance is definitely queer” (105).

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[4] The Countess was correct. Laura would be her last target. The Countess was killed by before she could kill Laura.

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[5] Here, Carmilla seems to confirm Lord Byron’s idea from his epic poem “The Giaour” that vampires cannot resist the urge to kill, that it is a bestial desire (see “Historical Context” for excerpt). Her language in this sentence also suggests a sexual connotation with words like “victim” and “urge.” To an extent, she seems to recognize the monstrosity within her.

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[6] We have no way of knowing if the Countess continued her entries. This letter is seemingly unique in its existence. Whether the other pages burned in the Hale fire or have been lost to other ravages of time, we may never know.

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[7] I consulted with numerous scholars who agree that the “M” signature most likely refers to “Mircalla.” Known samples of the Countess’ handwriting were obtained for comparison, and, on occasion, she would sign her letters as “M” or “MK.”

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