"Carmilla" is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla. "Carmilla" predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by twenty five years, had a strong influence on Stoker's famous novel and has been adapted many times for cinema. Carmilla, the title character, is the original prototype for a legion of female and lesbian vampires.