The Blood of the Vampire

She doesn't drink blood, but she drains the very life from those around her. When the beautiful, exotic, and supremely charming Harriet Brandt arrives in English society, she instantly captures the attention and affection of everyone she meets. Yet, beneath her innocent facade lies a devastating, invisible curse: a strain of vampirism inherited from her Creole mother and a long line of ancestors. Harriet is not the cloaked, fanged monster of folklore; she is something far more dangerous: a psychic vampire. Without malice or even awareness of her own powers, she preys upon the vitality, health, and sanity of her loved ones, leaving a trail of physical collapse, emotional despair, and inexplicable death in her wake. As her presence slowly sickens and destroys those in her intimate circle, the novel explores the terrifying question: Is a monster less monstrous if she is unconscious of the evil she commits? A sensational and groundbreaking Victorian novel, Florence Marryat's The Blood of the Vampire broke away from traditional gothic tropes to pioneer the concept of the "energy vampire"--a chilling, modern monster who thrives not on the grave, but in the drawing rooms of high society.