The Vampyre

The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori is a short gothic horror story famous as a foundational text for vampire literature. The short story follows the fraught friendship of two men and the mysterious murders that occur in their wake: Lord Ruthven, a suave and sinister nobleman who is secretly a vampire, and Aubrey, his naive young companion. This guide refers to the first edition of the story published by Sherwood, Neely, and Jones in 1819 available through Project Gutenberg.

Lord Ruthven comes to the attention of London society one winter as an attendee of high-society parties. The aloof Ruthven intrigues the jaded aristocrats who invite him regularly to their homes. Among those fascinated by Ruthven is Aubrey, a wealthy young man orphaned in childhood. Aubrey impulsively asks Ruthven to accompany him on his grand tour of the continent. Much to Aubrey’s delight, Ruthven consents.

Aubrey notes that Ruthven is often charitable with the wealthy and gamblers, who always ruin themselves after Ruthven’s intervention. At the outset of their travels, Aubrey also notices Ruthven’s eagerness to seek out “the centres of all fashionable vice” (34) at each of their stops. Upon reaching Rome, Aubrey receives letters from his guardians advising him to cut ties with Ruthven, who has seduced and ruined the reputation of many high-society women. Aubrey cuts ties after discovering that Ruthven has been seducing a young local woman whose house he visits frequently.

Aubrey travels by himself to Greece where he makes the acquaintance of a young local girl, Ianthe. Aubrey is so smitten by her innocence, youth, and beauty that he considers marrying her. Ianthe tells him local stories about the vampire, a figure who lives among mortal men and sates his appetite on the blood of young women to sustain his immortal life. Aubrey is unnerved by Ianthe’s description of the vampire’s demeanor, which immediately reminds him of Ruthven.

Aubrey fails to heed Ianthe’s warning that he should return before sundown from an excursion that will take him near a forest rumored to be used by vampires. A storm drives him to seek shelter in a nearby hovel. When he enters its darkened interior, he interrupts a struggle between a screaming woman and her attacker, who then attacks him. Aubrey is saved from death when a crowd of torch-bearing villagers drives his assailant away. He is horrified to discover that the woman, now dead, was Ianthe. Her bloodied throat shows the teeth marks of a vampire’s bite.

While Aubrey recovers from his shock, Ruthven reappears and nurses him back to health. Aubrey proposes that the two visit Greece together, despite Aubrey’s reservations about Ruthven. During their travels they are set upon by thieves, who plan to extort a ransom for their release. Ruthven is mortally wounded by their gunfire. On his deathbed, Ruthven compels Aubrey to swear that he will not speak of Ruthven for a year and a day.

The next morning Aubrey attempts to visit Ruthven’s corpse only to be told it was conveyed, at Ruthven’s request, to a nearby mountaintop during the night to be exposed to moonlight. When Aubrey ascends the summit himself, he finds that the corpse is no longer there. Organizing Ruthven’s belongings for a return to England, he finds evidence among them that connects Ruthven to Ianthe’s death. When he returns home through Rome, Aubrey further discovers that the young woman Ruthven seduced disappeared, and her family is ruined.

Upon his return to England, Aubrey attends to his younger sister, who is now 18 years old and preparing for a coming-of-age celebration. Aubrey sees Ruthven among her guests and recalls his oath. Aubrey is shocked at what appears to be Ruthven’s resurrection from the dead. In the days that follow, Aubrey becomes increasingly distracted and disheveled. His guardians engage the services of a physician to keep watch over him, believing that Aubrey is dealing with mental illness.

Aubrey becomes lucid when he learns that his sister will be wed to the Earl of Marsden the following day. Overjoyed at his sister’s good fortune, Aubrey meets with her to offer his congratulations only to discover from a photograph that Ruthven is the Earl of Marsden. Ruthven’s oath keeps Aubrey bound to silence through the day of his sister’s wedding.

Aubrey protests vehemently that the wedding cannot proceed. His caretakers interpret this outburst as a symptom of his mental illness and they confine him again. Aubrey writes a letter begging his sister to postpone her marriage by a day, but it goes undelivered. Aubrey breaks free of his confinement and intrudes upon the apartment where the wedding party is assembled, only to be confronted by Ruthven who warns him to remember his oath. Ruthven reminds him that, if the wedding is called off, his sister will face dishonor and shame while Ruthven will suffer no consequences.

Aubrey’s ensuing rage ruptures a blood vessel, leaving him near death. He begs his guardians at midnight to check on his sister with his dying breath. His request is in vain; the guardians arrive to find that “Aubrey's sister had glutted the thirst of a Vampyre!” (72)