Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu - Carmilla

Annotation

Pearson English Active Readers Level 3

Laura and her father live quietly in a castle in the middle of a thick forest, but their lives change when beautiful, strange Carmilla becomes their guest. People start dying, and Laura also becomes ill. Laura's father is worried. Will his daughter die too? Or can the deaths be stopped?

CHAPTER 1
A Bad Dream

Something new came into my life that night terror. And it still lives with me now.

My name is Laura and I live in a castle. The castle is in a lonely place in Styria, in Austria. My family is not an important family, but we are not poor either. My father is English, and I have an English name, but I have never been to England. My father worked for many years for the Austrian government, but he is getting old now. When he left his job, he bought this castle and some of the land around it.

As I say, it is a lonely place. The castle stands on high ground in the middle of thick forest. A very old and narrow road passes in front of the castle gates. On one side of the castle is a steep bridge over a little river. The river runs off into the dark shadows of the forest.

The castle is built of grey stone and has tall windows all along the front. There are lovely gardens and a small church to the side of the castle. It is very pretty.

The nearest village is two hours drive away. Well, that is not quite true. There is a village only half an hour away, but nobody lives there. It has a small church, but the church has no roof. There, in the church, lie the graves of the Karnstein family. There are no more Karnsteins today, and their great castle, behind the church, is falling down. The village houses are all empty too. Later in my story, you will learn the reason why.

My story begins when I was a young child. Then, as now, I lived in the castle with my father, the kindest man on earth. My mother, a Styrian lady, died soon after I was born. A Swiss woman, Madame Perrodon, was employed to look after me. Her round, smiling face was always at my side, and she ate with my father and me. Another, younger lady, Mademoiselle De Lafontaine, lived with us. She was my teacher, and she also joined us for dinner. Madame Perrodon spoke French and a little English, Mademoiselle De Lafontaine spoke French and German. My father and I spoke English too. Visitors laughed at all the languages at our dinner table.

I have one terrible memory from when I was a child. I have never forgotten it because my life changed that night. I will never forget it. It may seem unimportant to you now, but it plays a part in my story.

I was six years old. My bedroom then was on the top floor of the castle, under a steep roof. One night, I woke up suddenly. I looked around the room for Madame Perrodon. She was not there, but I was not frightened. I knew nothing of ghosts and monsters in those days. When a dying candle made strange shadows on the bedroom wall, to me it was pretty. But I was unhappy because I was alone. I began to cry.

Suddenly, I stopped in surprise. There was someone next to my bed a lovely young lady with a serious face. She touched me softly with her hands and lay next to me on the bed. Then she pulled me towards her, smiling. I felt warm and happy, and fell deeply asleep. In my sleep I felt two sharp needles go deep into my neck. I woke and cried loudly. The lady moved back. She kept her eyes on me, and then quickly disappeared under the bed.

Now I was frightened. I cried out again. I screamed. Madame Perrodon, Mademoiselle De Lafontaine and two servants ran into the room.

They listened to my story and held my hand.

It was nothing, my dear child, they said.

But it was not nothing, and they knew it. Their faces were pale and worried as they searched the room. They looked under the bed and in the cupboards. Madame Perrodon spoke quietly to a servant, but I heard her words.

Feel the bed here - someone was here, she said. The place is still warm.

They looked at my neck, but they found nothing there. Madame Perrodon, Mademoiselle De Lafontaine and one of the servants stayed in my room all night. From that time, until I was about fourteen, there was always a servant there with me. Something new came into my life that night - terror. And it still lives with me now.

The next morning, my father came to visit me in my room. He sat on my bed and kissed me. He made jokes and laughed with Madame Perrodon and Mademoiselle De Lafontaine.

Do not be frightened, he said to me. It was just a bad dream. Nothing is going to hurt you.

It was only me, said Mademoiselle De Lafontaine. I lay next to you on the bed. You were half dreaming and you did not see me clearly.

But I knew that it was not a dream. I knew that the woman was not Mademoiselle De Lafontaine. And I was very frightened.

The doctor came. He was pale and old, and he looked more ill than me. He gave me some medicine and of course I hated it.

Later that day, I had another visitor. An old priest came into my room with Madame Perrodon. His hair was white and he wore black clothes. He had a sweet, kind face. He spoke quietly. I listened and remembered his words. And from that time, I often repeated them at my bedside, before I went to sleep.

Twelve years passed after that terrible night and the bad dream did not return. I lived a quiet life. It was an easy life too. Most of the time, I did what I wanted. I learned my lessons, I went for long walks and I read books. There were a few girls of my age in the area. I visited them sometimes, or they visited me.

Now I will tell you a very strange story. You will find it hard to believe. But it is true. I was there.

One sweet summer evening, my father and I went for a long walk. Some visitors were coming the next day, but my father had some bad news.

General Spielsdorf cannot visit us until later in the year, he said.

Oh, but I want to meet Bertha! She is exactly my age and I have never met her! I said.

The General had no children of his own. Bertha was his sisters daughter. When his sister died, Bertha moved into the Generals house. Her visit was an important day for me. Perhaps it does not sound exciting to you, but I lived a very quiet life in the country.

When are they coming? I asked.

The General is not coming until the autumn. But I am very glad that you and Bertha never met.

How can you say that! I said, surprised. You know that I have thought about this visit for weeks!

Because the poor young lady is dead, he said sadly.

I was very shocked. My father showed me the Generals letter.

I am afraid the General is very unhappy. He says in his letter that he is going crazy, said my father.

We sat down under some beautiful old trees near the river. The sun was beginning to go down and its bright reds and yellows shone in the water.

I read the letter and my eyes filled with tears.

I have lost my dearest girl. Bertha was my sisters child, but she was like my own daughter. She was in danger and I had no idea. Now I know everything, and it is too late. A monster was in our house and she has killed my child. I was stupid! I am only glad that Bertha knew nothing of the reason for her terrible suffering. She knew she was ill, but not why. For the rest of my days on this earth, I will search for that terrible monster. There is almost no light to guide me. I cannot write or talk sensibly -I am going crazy. Perhaps in the autumn, if I am still alive, I will see you.

Your friend, Roland Spielsdorf

The sun was now disappearing behind the trees, and we were still far from home. We talked about the Generals strange letter as we walked slowly along the road.

When we were close to the castle, we saw Madame Perrodon and Mademoiselle De Lafontaine. They were coming down the road to meet us.

The view was lovely in the moonlight. To the left of our castle, the narrow road disappears into the forest. To the right it crosses a bridge over the river and then climbs up steeply into more trees. Dark shadows fall across the road there. That night, the moon lit up the river. There was no sweeter picture. It felt sad too, because I was still thinking about the Generals shocking news.