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El vampiro
60 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2025
3 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
John William Polidori
344 books170 followersJohn William Polidori was an Italian English physician and writer, known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction.
Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.
He was one of the earliest pupils at recently established Ampleforth College from 1804, and in 1810 went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815 at the age of 19.
In 1816 Dr. Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician, and accompanied Byron on a trip through Europe. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont.
One night in June, after the company had read aloud from the Tales of the Dead, a collection of horror tales, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein. Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, The Vampyre, the first vampire story published in English.
Rather than use the crude, bestial vampire of folklore as a basis for his story, Polidori based his character on Byron. Polidori named the character "Lord Ruthven" as a joke. The name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven.
Polidori's Lord Ruthven was not only the first vampire in English fiction, but was also the first fictional vampire in the form we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived and died in Great Pulteney Street (Soho). Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron even released his own Fragment of a Novel in an attempt to clear up the mess, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.
His long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels, was published anonymously in 1821.
He died in August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite strong evidence that he committed suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.
His sister Frances Polidori married exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and so John is the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, though they were born after his death.
His sister Charlotte made a transcription of his Diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcripton, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). A reprint of this book, The diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, Pa.) in 1975. Another reprint by the same title was printed by Norwood Editions (Norwood, Pa.) in 1978.
A number of films have depicted John Polidori and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988) and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). He also appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers horror novel The Stress o
Polidori was the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, a governess. He had three brothers and four sisters.
He was one of the earliest pupils at recently established Ampleforth College from 1804, and in 1810 went up to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1 August 1815 at the age of 19.
In 1816 Dr. Polidori entered Lord Byron's service as his personal physician, and accompanied Byron on a trip through Europe. At the Villa Diodati, a house Byron rented by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her husband-to-be, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their companion (Mary's stepsister) Claire Clairmont.
One night in June, after the company had read aloud from the Tales of the Dead, a collection of horror tales, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley worked on a tale that would later evolve into Frankenstein. Byron wrote (and quickly abandoned) a fragment of a story, which Polidori used later as the basis for his own tale, The Vampyre, the first vampire story published in English.
Rather than use the crude, bestial vampire of folklore as a basis for his story, Polidori based his character on Byron. Polidori named the character "Lord Ruthven" as a joke. The name was originally used in Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon, in which a thinly-disguised Byron figure was also named Lord Ruthven.
Polidori's Lord Ruthven was not only the first vampire in English fiction, but was also the first fictional vampire in the form we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society.
Dismissed by Byron, Polidori travelled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, "The Vampyre", was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Whilst in London he lived and died in Great Pulteney Street (Soho). Much to both his and Byron's chagrin, "The Vampyre" was released as a new work by Byron. Byron even released his own Fragment of a Novel in an attempt to clear up the mess, but, for better or worse, "The Vampyre" continued to be attributed to him.
His long, Byron-influenced theological poem The Fall of the Angels, was published anonymously in 1821.
He died in August 1821, weighed down by depression and gambling debts. Despite strong evidence that he committed suicide by means of prussic acid, the coroner gave a verdict of death by natural causes.
His sister Frances Polidori married exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and so John is the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, though they were born after his death.
His sister Charlotte made a transcription of his Diaries, but censored "peccant passages" and destroyed the original. Based only on the transcripton, The Diary of John Polidori was edited by William Michael Rossetti and first published in 1911 by Elkin Mathews (London). A reprint of this book, The diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, relating to Byron, Shelley, etc was published by Folcroft Library Editions (Folcroft, Pa.) in 1975. Another reprint by the same title was printed by Norwood Editions (Norwood, Pa.) in 1978.
A number of films have depicted John Polidori and the genesis of the Frankenstein and "Vampyre" stories in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988) and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). He also appears as a minor and unsympathetic character in the Tim Powers horror novel The Stress o
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 8, 2025
m'ha encantat, gràcies Lord Byron per ser un hipocondríac i un pijo amb un xalet
December 15, 2025
3.5 🌟
Como me gusta a mí una buena historia de vampiros con un buen plot final.
Como me gusta a mí una buena historia de vampiros con un buen plot final.
October 23, 2025
AYYYYYYY que me gusta a mi un pequeño cuento que cambie la historia de la literatura 😗 un hombre de la alta sociedad que se alimenta de la sangre de mujeres jovenes para vivir eternamente... seguro que os suena la historia. y es que es tan tan guay la historia, los momentos de tension. me ha recordado a pobres criaturas en muchos aspectos 🙏🏻
November 11, 2025
Después de ser conocedora de la existencia de este libro, me apetecía mucho leerlo. Y he hecho bien.✨
Nos encontramos una pequeña y corta historia sobre algo que a la mayoría nos gusta, una combinación de caballeros victorianos con vampiros.
No es el mejor libro que vais a leer por supuesto. Pero me parece una buena historia, entretenida y con una pluma que a mí personalmente no me ha disgustado, aunque a veces me haya resultado algo liosa a la hora de explicar ciertos aspectos.
Muchas joyas literarias que hoy día resuenan y que serán para la posteridad, han salido inspirados en esta historia. Libros con Drácula de Bram Stocker, Carmille de Sheridan Le Fanu o Berenice de Edgar Allan Poe, entre más. Alejandro Dumas también se inspiró en uno de los personajes protagonistas para crear El conde de Montecristo (libro que tengo muy pendiente leer).🍂
Echarle un vistazo si os apetece algo corto, que nos os haga pensar mucho, pero que os entretenga.
Esta es la historia escrita por un alma rota, incomprendida para su tiempo. Me encanta leer plumas así, que me hagan sentir y acercarme más al autor.🖤
Nos encontramos una pequeña y corta historia sobre algo que a la mayoría nos gusta, una combinación de caballeros victorianos con vampiros.
No es el mejor libro que vais a leer por supuesto. Pero me parece una buena historia, entretenida y con una pluma que a mí personalmente no me ha disgustado, aunque a veces me haya resultado algo liosa a la hora de explicar ciertos aspectos.
Muchas joyas literarias que hoy día resuenan y que serán para la posteridad, han salido inspirados en esta historia. Libros con Drácula de Bram Stocker, Carmille de Sheridan Le Fanu o Berenice de Edgar Allan Poe, entre más. Alejandro Dumas también se inspiró en uno de los personajes protagonistas para crear El conde de Montecristo (libro que tengo muy pendiente leer).🍂
Echarle un vistazo si os apetece algo corto, que nos os haga pensar mucho, pero que os entretenga.
Esta es la historia escrita por un alma rota, incomprendida para su tiempo. Me encanta leer plumas así, que me hagan sentir y acercarme más al autor.🖤
December 2, 2025
exquisit, un sospir entre la ingenuïtat i la maldat.
December 13, 2025
Una nouvelle fascinante, dónde la acción va en crescendo hasta el final.
January 1, 2026
Escuché este audio libro en el canal de YT ‘La Voz que te cuenta’.
Relato corto. Y según la introducción de este mismo, primer historia de vampiros del siglo XIX.
Relato corto. Y según la introducción de este mismo, primer historia de vampiros del siglo XIX.
December 13, 2025
John Polidori fue una de esas mentes brillantes precoces que se graduó en medicina a los 19 años (🤯). También tenía ambiciones literarias. El caso es que su profesión le llevó a ser contratado por el gran Lord Byron para acompañarlo como médico en un viaje por Europa. Byron, que era una especie de rock star de la poesía, también era lo que se conoce como libertino, tal cual. Durante el año de 1816 pasaron una temporada en una tremenda casota llamada Villa Diodati (en Suiza) y una de sus visitas frecuentes era nada más y nada menos que el poeta Percy Shelley y su novia Mary (aún no se casaban). En una de esas mientras echaban desmadre contándose historias de terror, a Lord Byron se le ocurrió que cada quién escribiera una historia para contar, algo nuevo pues. De esa noche y del resto de la temporada solo salieron borradores mentales y solo dos de los allí presentes (los más inesperados, por cierto) se tomaron en serio el asunto concretando el trabajo: la futura Mary Shelley empezó ahí su Frankenstein, publicado dos años más tarde. El otro fue el tímido doctor Polidori, quién escribió El Vampiro, apenas un cuento que, sin saberlo, cambiaría el paradigma literario en torno al siniestro personaje porque, hasta entonces, el vampiro era un ser que solo vivía en el folklore de los países, es decir, en leyendas de pueblos y comunidades, y era un ser grotesco, horrible, despreciable que se inflaba como garrapata con la sangre de sus víctimas y olía a cadáver.
Polidori fue el primero en concederle humanidad, no solo belleza física sino todas las características despreciables del ser humano. Fue el comienzo de una literatura formidable que llegaría a su punto más alto con Drácula y hasta la fecha sigue vigente con tanto libro y entretenimiento con vampiros hermosos por todos lados. Chulada 🧛🏻♂️
Polidori fue el primero en concederle humanidad, no solo belleza física sino todas las características despreciables del ser humano. Fue el comienzo de una literatura formidable que llegaría a su punto más alto con Drácula y hasta la fecha sigue vigente con tanto libro y entretenimiento con vampiros hermosos por todos lados. Chulada 🧛🏻♂️
January 5, 2026
No se porque esperé tanto para leer esta historia. Es el origen (literario) de una de mis criaturas favoritas de la ficción, es más es el relato que dio forma al mito como lo conocemos hoy en dia en occidente. Y vaya que me gustó, la ambientación de época, la tragedia, los giros, la dualidad. en pocas páginas Polidori nos da de todo. Para mi son cinco estrellas absolutas, no solo por lo que representa sino por todo lo que transmite en tan pocas páginas. Lastima la temprana muerte de su autor, siento que nos perdimos de una pluma excelsa. Por cierto, ahora tengo curiosidad por conocer las otras historias que salieron de esa mítica reunión bajo la tormenta, porque tanto Frankenstein como El Vampiro me han encantado.
December 31, 2025
Un libro corto, teniendo en cuenta que se escribió en una noche de tormenta tiene sentido, que ha envejecido perfectamente bien, donde el miedo está más en lo que no se cuenta que en lo que el autor escribe.
January 4, 2026
Siempre me va a impresionar leer cosas de esta época, gracias Byron por haber sido así🙂↔️
January 4, 2026
atrapante, corto pero con mucha historia.
January 5, 2026
Me ha encantado la historia del Vampiro
January 12, 2026
Lord Byron también es mi peor pesadilla.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews