The Family of the Vourdalak by Fedor Nikanov (1969) have been retained. This thesis concerns vampires -the bloodthirsty revenants of the folk tales that by the end of the nineteenth century became one of the most appealing literary metaphors reflecting the. Vampires Stories of the Supernatural (The Vampire; The Family of a Vourdalak; The Reunion after Three. Hundred Years; Amena) by Alexis Tolstoy Free PDF.

I’ve got a bit of buzz going on with my supernatural mystery writing these days, so here’s a quick update.After Winning an Eric Hoffer Book Award, Night Sea Journey, A Tale of the Supernatura l just got a review from U.S. Review of Books. “Stunning and absorbing plot on par with—if not better than—a Dan Brown novel. Truly an outstanding read, Night Sea Journey is one book that is hard to put down!” You can read more atThe Dazzling Darkness is holding its Amazon Kindle Best Seller status, in ghost genre, for 14 weeks now. This story has really connected to a healthy number of ghost story lovers.Midwest Book Review ★★★★★ “Paula Cappa is a master of the metaphysical mystery genrean extraordinary and original storyteller of the first rank.

Very highly recommended.”I have three short stories available on Amazon Kindle (99 cents), Hildie at the Ghost Shore; The Haunting of Jezebeth; Between the Darkness and the Dawn. See links and book covers to the right.What’s coming up?The Magic of the Loons, a short story of magical realism, a little bit sexy and a little bit fantasy. Will release on Amazon in September for 99 cents.

This story was previously published at Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine.And my third novel, Greylock, is in it final stages of editorial revisions (5 years’ work). Music, the supernatural, and the power of desire. Murder, lies, betrayal, romance—and the phantasm.Mt.

Greylock, MassachusettsPhoto by Elisabeth Zguta“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin,another’s voice, another’s soul.” — Joyce Carol Oates. The Family of Vourdalak by Aleksei Tolstoy ( published 1884)Tuesday’s Tale of Terror May 19, 2015Let’s go to the castle of the Dowager Princess of Schwarzenberg in Hitzing, in the dark and silent woods of Vienna. The Deserted House by E.T.A.

Hoffmann (1909)Tuesday’s Tale of Terror March 31, 2015The subject of this story is the mysterious. Are facts more mysterious than the imagination? Or is the power of the imagination the reality?Our narrator Theodore is a clairvoyant.

Or so his friends believe. Theodore tells of an adventure with the mysterious. Imagine you are walking in old Germany on an avenue lined with aristocratic homes and fashionable shops. Tucked among the rich and gay architectures is a deserted old house. Theodore becomes entranced by this closed up and unoccupied home.

He wonders what may be hidden within it. One day, in the upper window he sees the hand of a young woman. Later he hears her mad laughs and scratchy old voice.Fatal magic.

A haunted mirror. A gypsy woman in a red shawl. This is a wonderfully creepy story with counts and countesses, betrayals, and of course, the mysterious.//I discovered author E.T.A.

Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann) when I was researching occult music for my current WIP novel Greylock. Hoffmann is most popularly known as a composer, but he’s written novels and over fifty short stories in horror, fantasy, and the supernatural. His tales are full of magic, occult powers of the subconscious, and psychology. He writes in a rich narrative style that carries vintage storytelling atmospherics. Many know his name as the author of the novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which was the basis for Tchaikovsky’s ballet.Read the short story online at From The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne.Listen to the audio at.Another Hoffman favorite short is featured here at Tales of Terror on July 9, 2013.Other Reading Web Sites to VisitFor Authors/Writers:Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free Tales of Terror classic authors.

The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly by Rosa Mulholland (1891)Classic Tales From Women in Horror, WIHMTuesday’s Tale of Terror, February 17, 2015We are in the midst of a wild thunderstorm in the village of Hurly Burly. July roses hang their blossoms under the torrents. A great house sits a mile from the local shops. In the vast drawing room, Mistress and Master Hurly rest with a hot tea urn and muffins when a visitor arrives—and on such a dreadful night.

Lisa, a small lovely creature claims she’s arrived to play music for them on their beautiful organ. The Hurlys’ are perplexed. Lisa tells them that their son has sent her.“Our son—“ began Mistress Hurly, but her mouth twitched, her voice broke, and she looked piteously towards her husband.“Our son,” says Master Hurly, making an effort to conquer the quavering in his voice, “our son is long dead.”So begins this haunted tale of supernatural music and evil power of the Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly.

I am especially interested in supernatural music and working on a novel of how music can possess and exhibit evil powers. Hoffman believed that music could lead into the “dark abysses of the soul.” What do you think? Have you ever had a mysterious experience while listening to music?Try this haunted organ music atWIHM author Rosa Mulholland is an Irish poet and novelist (1841-1921). The Princess Grace Library lists over fifty novels, novellas, and short stories of this forgotten author. So many of her stories are out of print now, it’s no wonder.

She was highly favored by Charles Dickens who encouraged her to write. Dickens, in fact, published a good deal of Mulholland’s stories in his in the 1860s.

Some of her best known titles were The Wild Birds of Killeevy, Banshee Castle, Mystery of Hall-In-The-Wood, The Wicked Woods of Toobereevil, Spirit and Dust (poems).You can read the Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly atListen to the Nicely done!I expect you are more likely to find Mulholland’s stories in libraries than on Amazon, although there are a few.Sketch above by Sam McKim of Ken Anderson’s original sketch (Shipley-Lydecker House, Baltimore, MarylandFacebook:ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GOTHIC POETRY? CHECK THIS OUT ON GOODREADS:Other Reading Web Sites to VisitFor Authors/Writers:Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free Tales of Terror classic authors. Conrad Aiken vs. Haruki MurakamiTuesday’s Tale of Terror August 12, 2014What do you fear most about snow and ice? Fear of being buried in snow so deep you can’t breath?

Fear of snow trapping you far away from others? Maybe you have a fear of ice freezing you to death. Or what about the horror of falling through the ice?

And maybe these are just symbolic of other fears like a loved one freezing you out, or loneliness, insanity, emotional imprisonment. I don’t often do themes, but this week I grew thirsty for something chilling for August’s dog days of summer. So, let’s cool down with some secret snow and a very compelling ice man.Two shorts for you this week: one old and one new by very different writers—Conrad Aiken who brings you into the inner world of the mind, and Haruki Murakami who brings you outside the world of reality.

Both stories explore life as it freezes and isolates. Both stories disregard realism, but not reality.Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Conrad Aiken (1934)Young Paul Haselman, twelve years old, is daydreaming about snow. Next karate kid full movie. He becomes obsessed with the falling of snow, the silence of it, and its mysterious secret world.

He thinks a lot about the Arctic. When his bedroom begins to fill up with snow, the mystery goes deep, challenging reality and imaginary worlds. This story is filled with symbolism and operates on several levels of psychological complexities, imagination, and madness.

Have you ever walked in the snow with muffled steps? That eerie sound of being alone in a deep white world?

Here is a taste of Aiken’s unforgettable prose:The snow was laughing: it spoke from all sides at once: it pressed closer to him as he ran and jumped exulting into his bed.“Listen to us!” it said. We have come to tell you the story we told you about. You remember? Shut your eyes, now—you will no longer see much —in this white darkness who could see, or want to see? We will take the place of everything.

Listen—”Listen, the author says. Can you hear snow falling? Is it soothing or threatening?Read Silent Snow, Secret Snow atYou can watch the film (Rod Serling’s Night Gallery). This version is on the produced by Gene Kearney.Conrad Aiken (1869-1973) was a poet and novelist, not known for horror literature, but this story certainly fits as one of the most mysterious tales and has been widely anthologized in many horror and fantasy books.The Ice Man by Haruki Murakami (1991)In this short story a young woman falls in love with an ice man.

When stories have a magical power like this one, you won’t forget it.“I first met the Ice Man at this ski resort hotel. I guess that’s the kind of place one ought to meet an Ice Man.” “ Don’t you ski? I asked the Ice Man, trying to sound as casual as possible. He slowly raised his head.

He had an expression on his face like he could a hear the sound of wind blowing from incredibly far away. He looked at my face with eyes like that.”It would a crime to reveal any more about this amazing story. Surrealist fiction can sweep you away into a delicious world. I’ve featured it here today because while this is not horror, it is about the present, the past, and the future in a fantastical and highly mysterious way. The complexity of loneliness, and becoming ‘frozen’ are themes that this author Murakami handles with such beauty, I found myself in awe. There is no missing the fear growing inside the complexities.You can read The Ice Man here atWant more of Murakami? His collection of short fiction is in on Amazon.comThe Ice Man was published by The New Yorker in 1991.

Murakami is an award-winning contemporary Japanese author, his works translated into fifty languages. In an interview at (The Art of Fiction) he spoke about his writing:“The good thing about writing books is that you can dream while you are awake. If it’s a real dream, you cannot control it. In my books and stories, women are mediums, in a sense; the function of the medium is to make something happen through herself.”His latest book, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is newly released by Knopf.HERE’S SOME NEWS My latest adventure has been to review books on Amazon.com.

I now have over 50 book reviews of fiction, horror, short stories, and nonfiction. Stop by if you like to read reviews. And if you like my book reviews, be sure to hit the YES “Was This Review Helpful to You” button.My reviews are not plot synopses or character sketches. They are usually short capsules of my personal experience with a story.I also post on. I invite you to friend me there!Other Reading Web Sites to VisitFor Authors/Writers:Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free Tales of Terror classic Authors. The Mummy’s Foot by Theophile Gautier (1840)Clarimonde by Theophile Gautier (1836)Tuesday’s Tales of Terror July 29, 2014I have two stories for you by Theophile Gautier:one to amuse, the other to terrify.When I first began reading The Mummy’s Foot by Theophile Gautier about the foot of a princess, I immediately settled in for an exotic fairy tale that would take me back to the amusements of my childhood readings.

I was not disappointed.Our narrator is a twenty-seven year old Frenchman who is looking for a paperweight in a curiosity shop. If you’ve ever browsed an antique store and fantasized about the objects and their histories, The Mummy’s Foot is a story that will fulfill all your imaginations. The mummified foot that our Frenchman is attracted to belonged to the 4000-year-old Princess Hermonthis, daughter of pharaoh. He purchases the charming foot, brings it home, and with great adoration sets it upon his desk.“The Dream of Egypt was Eternity: her odors have the solidity of granite, and endure as long.”Do items from the past carry their own energies? Possibly their own force upon the mind or even upon a life? Come meet Princess Hermonthis. She will kindle her torch and bring you into the subterranean tombs of Cheops, Chephrenes, Psammetichus, Sesostris, Amenotaph—all the dark rulers of the pyramids.

By Oms, by the dog of hell, this story will enchant and charm you!Read The Mummy’s Foot atListen to the audio version at, narrated by Dorothy Scarborough.A Kiss Upon the Dead LipsTheophile Gautier was a dramatist, painter, poet, journalist, and novelist. His storytelling carries a great deal of entertaining qualities. He is skilled in blurring the lines of dreaming and reality, setting his suspense within the theme of eternity. He can pitch realistic settings against supernatural phenomena quite smoothly.

He is quoted, “What I write is not for little girls,” although many of his stories have a fairy tale tone.One of his most famous short stories is La Morte Amoureuse, aka Clarimonde (1836) about a young and endearing priest, Romuald, who has the misfortune to fall in love with a mesmerizing woman of beauty on the same day he is ordained. Her name is Clarimonde.

This is a bit like Sleeping Beauty but a far more twisted and dark romance. What evil lurks here?Romuald opens the story: “Brother, you ask me if I have ever loved. My story is a strange and terrible one; and though I am sixty-six years of age, I scarcely dare even now to disturb the ashes of that memory For more than three years I remained the victim of a most singular and diabolical illusion.”Could a corpse be this ravishing?You can read it here in English at under the title of ClarimondeListen to audio, Clarimonde by Libivox Recordings, Parts 1 and 2 narrated by Joy Chan:Other Reading Web Sites to VisitFor Authors/Writers:Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free Tales of Terror classic Authors. Ghost Moons and Phantom ShipsTuesday’s Tales of Terror July 15, 2014The ghost moon is when phantom ships are said to appear. I love haunted tales of the sea, ghost ships, and sea superstitions (don’t kill an albatross as they carry the souls of dead sailors; whistling and flowers onboard are bad luck). Ghost ships are said to haunt the oceans even today. There are plenty of real stories or legends that come to mind: The Flying Dutchman of the 1700s; Greenland’s Octavius, the English Schooner Jenny in 1823, France’s Zebrina in 1917, Mary Celeste in 1872.One of my favorite true ghost ship stories is the.“Everything was business as usual as the ship left the port (Africa) and took to sea, but the crew suddenly felt that a presence was on board.

Something just didn’t feel right. No one knew exactly what the presence was, but everyone was certain that some sort of invisible entity was among them. When it was near, the men felt that something was watching them, and they would feel a sudden chill in the air.”“ One night before the change of watch, the men on deck saw the apparition. It looked human, but its features were impossible to make out. It was misty, glowing, and luminous as it strolled across the deck and disappeared behind a lifeboat.”.In literature, what are some supernatural short stories of the sea for your summer reading?Three Skeleton Key by George G. Toudouze (1937).

This is a story of an abandoned ship, overrun by ferocious rats.You can download the PDF atHere is a fabulous audio version of Three Skeleton Key by (Includes the radio play by Vincent Price from 1950 “Escapes”.).The Ghost Ship by Richard Middleton (1912) is one of the most famous short stories. This is a humorous tale that takes place in the tiny village of Fairfield when a ghost-ship appears to have sailed into a field of turnips.“I thought it was queer when I saw a drowned sailor float by in the thin air with his hair and beard all full of bubbles.

Tang Yan plays her very well, but her character was so. She gets on my nerves. Chinese paladin 3 pian ai for mac. I can't get over one of the scenes v.v I don't know why, you have to watch it for yourself, but please, have a big staying power.The supporting Characters were okay, but not special.Music: I love the music. I think she LSS did a great job, although the last drama I watched with her, I didn't watched til the end.Last but not least Tang Yan, who plays Zi Xuan a woman who plays a 200 year old who is also mysterious (and idiotic v.v).

It was the first time I had seen anything quite like that at Fairfield.”Read it here atListen to Audio at.Of course, there is the poem by Coleridge and Poe’s short storyIf you have any favorite supernatural sea stories, please post. I would love to hear about more titles.Other Reading Web Sites to VisitFor Authors/Writers:Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free Tales of Terror classic Authors.

The Family of the Vourdalak is a gothicnovella by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy,^[1] written in 1839 in French and originally entitled La Famille du Vourdalak. Fragment inedit des Memoires d’un inconnu. Tolstoy wrote it on a trip to France from Frankfurt, where he was attached to the Russian Embassy.

It was translated into Russian by Boleslav Markevich, as 'Семья вурдалака' (Semya′ vurdala′ka), published for the first time in The Russian Messenger in January, 1884.^[1] The original French text appeared in print in 1950, in Revue des Etudes Slavs, vol.26.^[2]The Reunion After Three Hundred Years (Les Rendez-vous Dans Trois Cent Ani) which was written at about the same time and which might be regarded as a sequel (for protagonist Marquis d'Urfe and Countess Grammon appear in it) first appeared in a compilation Le Poete Alexis Tolstoi by A.Lirondelle (Paris, 1912).^[2]

The word vourdalak occurs first in Pushkin's work in the early 19th century, and was taken up in Russian literary language following Pushkin. It is a distortion of words referring to vampires (originally probably to werewolves) in Slavic and Balkan folklore – cf. Slavic vǎlkolak, volkodlak, volkolak, vukodlak, wurdulak, etc.; Romanian Vârcolac; and Greek Vrykolakas (both borrowed from the Slavic term).^[3]

Plot summary[edit]

Marquis d'Urfé, a young French diplomat, finds himself in a small Serbian village, in the house of an old peasant named Gorcha. The host is absent: he left the house ten days ago along with some other men to hunt for a Turk outlaw Alibek. Upon leaving he told his sons, Georges^{[note 1]} and Pierre,^{[note 2]} that they should wait for him for ten days sharp and, should he come a minute later, kill him by driving a stake through his heart for then he’d be not a man but a vourdalak (vampire).

The day Marquis comes to the village is the tenth day of Gorcha's absence. The family awaits the hour with growing anxiety and there he is, appearing on the road at 8 o'clock in the evening, exactly on the time he left ten days ago. His sons are uncertain as to how this strange precision should be interpreted. Georges suspects his father became a vourdalak, Pierre insists otherwise. Then Georges's son dies inexplicably. The French diplomat has to leave the house and continue his travel.

Half a year later on his way back from his mission, d'Urfé returns to the village only to find it abandoned. Coming to the familiar house he stays for the night, being allured by Sdenka,^{[note 3]} Gorcha's daughter he fell for during his first visit, who appears to dwell in the empty house. The moment comes when the Frenchman realizes he's fallen under the charms of a vampire. He makes an attempt to leave, comes under a massive attack of vourdalaks, all of the Gorcha family among them, and makes a miraculous escape, having to thank his own good luck and the agility of his horse.^[4]

In film[edit]

The novella became the basis for 'I Wurdulak', one of the three parts of Mario Bava's 1963 film Black Sabbath, featuring Boris Karloff.^[5] The 1972 Italian/Spanish film The Night of the Devils was also based on Tolstoy's story.^[6] A glancing reference to the novella occurs in Guy Wilson's 2012 film, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us; when an undead victim of a werewolf attack arises and is shot by the grandson of the Great Hunter who exclaims, 'I hate goddamn Vourdalaks.'

English translation[edit]

• Vampires: Stories of the Supernatural, Hawthorn Books, 1973. ISBN080158292X

Notes[edit]

1. ^The Serbian form of the name would be Đorđe. The Russian translation uses Георгий (Georgiy).
2. ^The Serbian form of the name would be Petar or Pera. The Russian translation uses Пётр (Pyotr).
3. ^The Slavic form of the name would be Zdenka (Зденка), which is used in the Russian translation.

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abJoshi, S. T. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. p. 326. ISBN0313378339. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
2. ^ ^abTolstoy, Aleksey (1964). Collected Works, Vol 3. Commentary by I. G. Yampolsky (in Russian). Moscow: State Publishing House. p. 565.
3. ^M. Fasmer, Etymological Dictionary Russian Language.
4. ^Толстой, Алексей Константинович. 'Семья вурдалака'. az.lib.ru. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
5. ^Lucas, Tim (2013). Commentary by Tim Lucas (DVD (Disc 2)). Arrow Films. Event occurs at 0:26:10. FCD778.
6. ^'Алексей Константинович Толстой'. fantlab.ru. Retrieved 2012-03-01.

External links[edit]

• Семья вудалака. The Russian text.