← Back

The Vampyre: A Tale

Dr. John William Polidori

First published 1819
Type Short Fiction
Length Novelette
Series Lord Ruthven

  • First published April 1819 in The New Monthly Magazine v11 n63, p195-206, under the heading (two lines, large and small caps):   The Vampyre.   A Tale by Lord Byron. (viewed at HathiTrust, see below)
  • The Vampyre was conceived during the same competitive story-telling evening as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and was written by Byron's doctor, John William Polidori (1795-1821). It is the first story about vampires in the English language. --unknown source Byron, Polidori, and their visitors by Lake Geneva told stories "over three days in June" 1816, according to Wikipedia. The April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine begins under the heading "Original Communications" with • "Extract of a Letter from Geneva, with Anecdotes of Lord Byron, &c." (pp. 193-95) (viewed at HathiTrust) • "The Vampyre. A Tale by Lord Byron." (pp. 195-206) According to the editor's opening note, the Tale accompanied the letter from Geneva, whose published portion ends (p195) with the report of supernatural story-telling by Byron, his physician, "Miss M. W. Godwin" ({{a|Mary Shelley}}), and others.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1819 The Vampyre: A Tale Related by Lord Byron to Dr. Polidori Henry Colburn Chapbook
March 1819 The Vampyre: A Tale Sherwood, Neely, and Jones Chapbook 27
March 1819 The Vampyre: A Tale Sherwood, Neely, and Jones Chapbook 27
1840 The Romancist and Novelist's Library: The Best Works of the Best Authors; Volume III J. Clements Anthology 285
November 1936 Cover The Grimoire and Other Supernatural Stories Fortune Press Anthology 1
April 1939 Cover Nouvelles histoires de fantômes anglais Gallimard Anthology
1961 Cover Histoires de vampires Robert Laffont Anthology 93
November 1962 Cover Histoires de fantômes anglais: suivies de: Nouvelles histoires de fantômes anglais Gallimard Omnibus 213
1963 Cover Cuentos de terror Taurus Anthology 129
1966 Cover Macabre Mysteries and Horrors K & G Publications Anthology 7
June 1966 Three Gothic Novels Dover Publications Omnibus 255
April 1967 Cover A Feast of Blood Avon Anthology 57
1968 Cover The Midnight People Leslie Frewin Anthology 26
1968 Cover Von denen Vampiren oder Menschensaugern: Dichtungen und Dokumente Hanser Anthology |110
1970 Cover The Curse of the Undead Fawcett Gold Medal Anthology 37
1970 Cover Vampires at Midnight Grosset & Dunlap Anthology 26
August 1970 Cover The Dark Shadows Book of Vampires and Werewolves Paperback Library Anthology 13
1972 Cover Gothic Tales of Terror: Classic Horror Stories from Great Britain, Europe, and the United States, 1765-1840 Taplinger Anthology 250
February 1972 Cover Great British Tales of Terror: Gothic Stories of Horror & Romance 1765–1840 Gollancz Anthology 250
April 1972 Cover Nouvelles histoires de vampires Le Livre de Poche Anthology 11
1973 Cover Great British Tales of Terror: Gothic Stories of Horror and Romance 1765–1840 Penguin Books Anthology 286
1973 Cover Gothic Tales of Terror, Volume One: Classic Horror Stories from Great Britain Penguin Books (US) Anthology 286
1974 Cover The Midnight People Ensign Books Anthology 26
1974 Cover Gothic Tales of Terror, Volume One: Classic Horror Stories from Great Britain Penguin Books (US) Anthology 286
November 1974 Cover Stunde der Vampire Fischer Taschenbuch Anthology 19
November 1975 Cover The Midnight People Everest Books Anthology 26
1976 Cover Mørkets demoner Fredhøis Forlag A/S Anthology 19
January 1978 Cover 14 Vampir-Stories Heyne Anthology |2
August 1978 Cover The Vampyre: Lord Ruthven to Count Dracula Gollancz Anthology 105
1980 Cover The Count Dracula Fan Club Book of Vampire Stories Adams Press Anthology 33
June 1981 Cover The Evil Image: Two Centuries of Gothic Short Fiction and Poetry NAL Meridian Anthology 94
1983 Cover Great British Tales of Terror: Gothic Stories of Horror and Romance 1765–1840 Penguin Books Anthology 286
April 1987 Cover Vampires Doubleday / SFBC Anthology 7
July 1987 Cover Vampires Doubleday Anthology 7
October 1988 Cover The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories Penguin Books Anthology 7
October 1989 Cover The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories Penguin Books Anthology 7
January 1991 Cover Horror Story 5 Garden Editoriale Anthology 203
November 1991 Cover Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula Faber and Faber Anthology 107
1992 Cover Great Vampires & Other Horrors Chancellor Press Anthology 22
1992 Cover Frankenstein Penguin Books Novel 233
October 1992 Cover Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula Faber and Faber Anthology 107
November 1992 Cover Blood & Roses: The Vampire in 19th Century Literature Creation Press Anthology 29
April 1993 Cover Vampires at Midnight Warner Books UK Anthology 26
October 1993 Cover I grandi romanzi gotici Newton Compton Omnibus 999
1994 Cover Von denen Vampiren oder Menschensaugern: Dichtungen und Dokumente Suhrkamp Anthology 45
August 1995 Cover Vampires Christian de Bartillat Anthology 37
December 1997 Cover The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre Oxford University Press Anthology 1
October 1999 Cover Blood & Roses: The Vampire in 19th Century Literature Creation Books Anthology 27
October 2001 Cover Vampires: Encounters with the Undead Black Dog & Leventhal Anthology 37
2002 Cover Great Vampire Stories Chancellor Press Anthology 22
February 2002 Cover Three Vampire Tales Houghton Mifflin Omnibus 68
January 2003 Cover Frankenstein Penguin Books Novel
September 2004 Cover Lord Ruthven the Vampire Black Coat Press Anthology |1
2005 The Vampyre; A Tale Dead Letter Press Anthology
February 2006 Cover Von denen Vampiren oder Menschensaugern: Dichtungen und Dokumente Area Anthology 63
April 2007 Cover Vampires Viking Australia Anthology 1
September 2007 Cover Children of the Night: Classic Vampire Stories Wordsworth Editions Anthology 7
June 2008 Cover Legendary Horrors Bards and Sages Publishing Anthology
June 2008 Cover Legendary Horrors Bards and Sages Publishing Anthology 33
September 2008 Cover The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre Oxford University Press Anthology 1
May 2009 Cover The Vampyre, The Werewolf and Other Gothic Tales of Horror Dover Publications Anthology 1
September 2009 Cover Traité de vampirologie France Loisirs Novel 353
2010 Cover Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories Walker & Co. Anthology
June 2010 Cover Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories Walker & Co. Anthology 47
June 2010 Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories Walker & Co. / SFBC Anthology 47
October 2010 Cover Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories Bloomsbury Anthology
November 2010 Cover Short Ghost and Horror Story Collection 11 LibriVox Anthology |15
January 2011 Cover The Vampyer Wilder Publications Chapbook
June 2011 Cover I grandi romanzi gotici Newton Compton Omnibus |18
August 2011 Cover The Vampyre: A Tale Spastic Cat Press Chapbook
September 2011 Cover Vampires: The Original Stories—Back in Time to the First Darkness Watkins Publishing Anthology
October 2011 Cover Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories Bloomsbury Anthology
October 2011 Cover Vampire Horror! BBC Audiobooks Anthology
October 2011 Cover The Vampyre: A Tale Weiser Books Chapbook |4
November 2011 Cover In the Shadow of Dracula: Classic Vampire Fiction 1816-1914 IDW Publishing Anthology 5
2012 Cover The Vampyre and Other Macabre Tales The Folio Society Anthology 3
February 2012 Cover The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Vampire Anthology Bottletree Books Anthology 13
July 2012 Cover Collected Vampire Stories: Volume I Spastic Cat Press Anthology
January 2013 Cover A Dark and Stormy Night Wilder Publications Anthology
February 2013 Cover The Vampyre CreateSpace Chapbook
February 2013 Cover The Horror of Dracula BearManor Media Novel
March 2013 Cover The Vampyre: A Tale CreateSpace Chapbook 14
August 2013 Cover Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Other Gothic Classics Pearl Necklace Books Omnibus 184
October 2013 Cover Frankenstein Penguin Books Novel
May 2014 Cover Blessings from the Condemned: A Horror Legacy Darkness & Despair Anthology 217
November 2015 Cover The Vampyre: A Tale Gateway / Orion Chapbook
2016 Cover H. P. Lovecraft Selects: Classic Horror Stories Fall River Press Omnibus 28
February 2017 Cover The Vampyre: A Tale Open Road Integrated Media Chapbook
April 2017 Cover Classic Horror Tales Canterbury Classics Anthology |9
August 2017 Cover Supernatural Horror Short Stories Flame Tree Publishing Anthology 372
April 2018 Cover Supernatural Short Stories Arcturus Publishing Anthology |3
June 2018 Cover Supernatural Short Stories Sirius / Arcturus Publishing Anthology |3
December 2018 Cover Horror Stories Flame Tree Publishing Anthology 137
December 2018 Cover Supernatural Horror Short Stories Flame Tree Publishing Anthology
December 2018 Cover Horror Stories Flame Tree Press Anthology |137
April 2019 Cover Dracula et autres écrits vampiriques Gallimard Anthology 25
July 2019 Cover The Vampire Lords Basilisk Books Anthology 50
July 2019 Cover The Vampire Lords Basilisk Books Anthology |6
June 2021 Cover One Stormy Night: A Story Challenge That Created the Gothic Horror Genre WordFire Press Anthology |2
June 2021 Cover One Stormy Night: A Story Challenge That Created the Gothic Horror Genre WordFire Press Anthology |2
June 2021 Cover One Stormy Night: A Story Challenge That Created the Gothic Horror Genre WordFire Press Anthology |2
October 2021 Cover Легендата за Слийпи Холоу и други мрачни истории Асеневци Anthology
October 2022 Cover Horror Historia Red CSRC Storytelling Anthology 21
July 2023 Cover Night's Black Agents: An Anthology of Vampire Fiction Snuggly Books Anthology
September 2023 Cover The Tales of Villa Diodati: The Origins of Iconic Science Fiction & Gothic Horror Dover Publications Anthology 11
June 2024 Cover The Vampire of Vourla and Other Greek Vampire Tales, 1819-1846 Valancourt Books Anthology |3
October 2025 Cover The Vampyre and Carmilla Penguin Books Anthology 6