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ENCarmillaJoseph Sheridan Le Fa…

Carmilla

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

View on Project Gutenberg

About Carmilla

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is a medium read in English (horror). It takes about 2 h 21 min at 200 words per minute, a comfortable pace for language learners. The book is in the public domain and comes from Project Gutenberg.

When you open it, the text is downloaded once and saved in your browser, so you can keep reading offline and your progress stays on your device.

Main characters in Carmilla

Engraving-style illustration of a young woman asleep in a four-poster bed in a gothic castle bedroom while a pale, dark-haired woman in a black gown stands watching beside the moonlit window.
AI-generated illustration

Laura, a young woman living with her father in a remote Styrian castle, welcomes a mysterious girl called Carmilla after a carriage accident. The two become close, but Laura grows ill and haunted by nightmares, and the truth about Carmilla's identity as a vampire slowly emerges.

  • Laura

    The young narrator, who tells the story years later and whose health declines as her friendship with Carmilla deepens.

  • Carmilla

    The charming and secretive guest who is in fact a vampire, the Countess Mircalla Karnstein.

  • Laura's father

    A retired English officer in Austrian service, who lives with Laura in the castle.

  • General Spielsdorf

    A friend of the family whose niece Bertha died in the same strange way Laura is now suffering.

  • Baron Vordenburg

    A scholar of vampire lore who helps find and destroy Carmilla.

  • Madame Perrodon and Mademoiselle De Lafontaine

    Laura's governesses at the castle.

Questions about Carmilla

How many words are in Carmilla?
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu has about 28,000 words. At 200 words per minute, a comfortable pace for language learners, it takes about 2 h 21 min to read.
Who are the main characters in Carmilla?
The main characters are Laura, Carmilla, Laura's father, General Spielsdorf, Baron Vordenburg and Madame Perrodon and Mademoiselle De Lafontaine.
Can I read Carmilla for free?
Yes. Carmilla is in the public domain, and you can read it free in English on PolyglotReader with inline translation, word lookup and audio.

Carmilla is more than a book: it is a language-learning tool

Most people learn a language from lessons and word lists that have nothing to do with what they enjoy. Here you learn from a real story. You read Carmilla in English, and every step that helps you understand and remember it is one tap away. The words you meet in the book are the words you practise.

  1. Read
  2. Look up
  3. Listen
  4. Save
  5. Practise
  • Inline translation

    Stay in the original text and check the meaning only when you need to.

  • Word lookup

    A dictionary entry gives you ten meanings. A contextual lookup gives you the one that fits.

  • Audio narration

    Hear how the text sounds while your eyes follow the words.

  • B1 simplification

    Read the book you want now, at a level you can follow, and move up to the original later.

  • Flashcards

    Practise the words you actually met, in the books you actually chose.

  • Word games

    Test yourself on the exact sentences you just read.

  • My Dictionary

    One searchable list of every word you chose to keep, with the meaning you picked.

  • Daily goal

    A small target you meet every day beats a long session you never get round to.

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Play word games with Carmilla

Reading shows you the words, games make you use them. Press Play in the reading toolbar and PolyglotReader builds short games from the English page you are on, so you practise the vocabulary of Carmilla itself.

  • Fill the blanks

    One word is hidden in a sentence from the page. Pick the right one from four choices.

  • Type the word

    Type the hidden word. The first letter is shown, and Say it lets you hear the word.

  • Unscramble

    The words of a sentence are shuffled. Tap them back into the right order.

Games are made in your browser from the book text, with points, streaks and stars. How the word games work

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