Folk Cited Recap: Vampire Birthday and Carmilla

It’s never a bad time to talk about vampires (especially during the sunniest parts of the year)! For the August Folk Cited episode, as part of a tongue-in-cheek nod to Dr. Jared’s birthday and his vampiric-scholarship, we discuss the incredibly influential 19th c. Gothic novella, “Carmilla,” written by Sheridan Le Fanu, in the August edition of Folk Cited.

Dr. Jared provides us with a version of his lecture about Carmilla, bringing his classroom to your living room, that is, if you invite us in! The first half of this episode provides historical background about the author and novella. As we work our way through the story, Dr. Jared provides cultural, historical, and literary context, as well as a key examination of the sexually transgressive nature of this story about Laura and her mysterious guest, the female vampire Carmilla and the lesbian-themes throughout.

In the second half, we are joined by the Jell-O master himself, Jim Seaver, whose complete lack of knowledge concerning all things vampiric adds a bit of chaos and fun to the show. Dr. Jared leads us through the lasting legacy of Carmilla from how Le Fanu’s story influenced Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, to cinematic adaptations of the novella, and her presence as a gay vampire icon.

You can watch this Folk Cited episode in two parts: Parts 1 & 2 are available to  $5+ patrons on our Patreon. Give us a like and a shoutout if you found the content entertaining and would like us to continue making Folk Cited episodes like this one!

                                                                                                                                Dr. Jared Schmidt

Text Recommendations Inspired by this Episode

• Auerbach, Nina. 1995. Our Vampires, Ourselves. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
• Groom, Nick. 2018. The Vampire: A New History. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Holte, James Craig. 1999. “Not all Fangs are Phallic: Female Film Vampires.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 10, no 2(38), pp. 163-173.
• Ulin, Julienn. 2013. “Sheridan Le Fanu’s Vampires and Ireland’s Invited Invasion.” In Open Graves, Open Minds: Representations of Vampires and the Undead from the Enlightenment to the Present Day, edited by Sam George and Bill Hughes, 39-55. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.