The Vampyre; a Tale

The Vampyre began as a ghost story competition among literary friends in 1819 and became the genesis of an entire genre. Polidori, physician to Lord Byron, crafted Lord Ruthven, an aristocratic vampire whose cold seduction and predatory charm became the template for every vampire that followed. Young Aubrey meets this mysterious nobleman in London society and becomes dangerously fascinated, accompanying him on a continental journey that leads to betrayal and tragedy. When Ruthven resurfaces with designs on Aubrey's innocent sister, the horrifying truth emerges. This is the source code for Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, and every gothic vampire tale that followed. It endures not because it invented vampires, but because it invented the vampire as we understand him: seductive, aristocratic, and utterly merciless.