The Vampyre

A Tale

By John William Polidori

Narrated by Gregory Sheridan

John William Polidori (1795-1821) was an English physician and an associate of Byron and Shelley.

On a tour with the two poets and Mary Godwin (later Shelley), Polidori participated in a competition to write a short ghost story. Polidori's contribution was The Vampyre, which is considered to be the first modern work of vampire fiction.

The central figures in the plot are the mysterious and sinister Lord Ruthven, and a naïve and wealthy young man named Aubrey. The latter forms a friendship with Ruthven, and the two set off on a European tour together. However, Aubrey soon becomes disgusted with Ruthven's manipulative and vicious behavior and leaves him to explore antiquities in Greece, where he falls in love with Ianthe, the daughter of an innkeeper.

Shortly afterward, Ianthe is found dead, with her throat torn open, and the locals claim that her death is the work of a vampire. Aubrey falls dangerously ill, and discovers, to his dismay, that Ruthven has joined him and is nursing him back to health. On resuming their travels the pair are attacked by bandits and Ruthven is killed. Aubrey returns to London and later finds, to his amazement, that Ruthven has been restored to life. Eventually, Ruthven marries Aubrey's sister, who is later found dead, with her body drained of blood.

Polidori's tale proved very influential. Prominent authors like Gogol, Dumas, and Tolstoy produced vampire stories, and later in the century, Bram Stoker wrote the most famous vampire story of all, Dracula.