IT'S THE VAMPIRE RENAISSANCE Y'ALL.

From goodreads:

A classic Victorian vampire novella, which influenced Bram Stoker's later treatment of the vampire mythos in Dracula.

Yah, goodreads doesn't have a lot to say. That and "LESBIANS???" was all I kinda knew before reading it.
A bit more, from wikipedia:

Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Irish author, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 26 years. First published as a serial in The Dark Blue (1871–72), the story is narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla [...]

Laura, the teenage protagonist, narrates, beginning with her childhood in a "picturesque and solitary" castle amid an extensive forest in Styria, where she lives with her father, a wealthy English widower retired from service to the Austrian Empire. When she was six, Laura had a vision of a beautiful visitor in her bedchamber. She later claims to have been punctured in her breast, although no wound was found.

Twelve years later [...] a carriage accident outside Laura's home unexpectedly brings a girl of Laura's age into the family's care. Her name is Carmilla. Both girls instantly recognize the other from the "dream" they both had when they were young...

It's a very short read, y'all can do it in no time if you haven't already! In the meantime, a couple of (super optional!) discussion questions:

• If you have read Dracula, or read/watched/consumed any other vampire or gothic literature, how did this compare re: tropes, style, vampire mythology?
  
• What did you make of the plot / characterisation / narrative style?
  

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This is a discussion thread for people who have read or are reading the book in question. With that in mind, there are likely to be spoilers throughout. However, in the event of major twists or “how it ends”, please wrap content in spoiler tags.