Article

Undying Shadows: Vampires and Villages in Gothic Literature

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Abstract

This essay explores the role of vampires and abandoned villages as liminal symbols in nineteenth-century Gothic literature. Focusing on Dracula (1897), Carmilla (1872), Dracula’s Guest (1914), and The Family of the Vourdalak, it examines how these figures and settings reflect cultural anxieties about memory, death, and rationality. Drawing on historical accounts by Elizabeth Gerard and William Wilkinson, as well as theological insights from Augustin Calmet, the essay argues that these Gothic motifs critique Enlightenment rationalism and embody unresolved historical trauma. Literary scholarship from Angela Wright further supports the genre’s ambiguous nature and evolving relevance. Ultimately, the essay contends that vampires and villages in Gothic fiction serve as “undying shadows”—haunting remnants of a past that refuses to be buried.

Keywords: Gothic literature, vampires, liminality, abandoned villages, folklore and superstition, historical memory

How to Cite:

Sweeney, E., (2026) “Undying Shadows: Vampires and Villages in Gothic Literature”, PHS 1(1), 40-48. https://phsjournal.ie/article/pubid/58/

Rights:

Sweeney, Emily. ‘Undying Shadows: Vampires and Villages in Gothic Literature’. Policeman’s Helmet Soup [Dublin, Ireland], vol. 1, no. 1, 2026, pp. 40–48, https://phsjournal.ie/article/pubid/58/.