The Vurdulak's Family: A Russian Vampire Tale

by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

Marquis d'Ufré, 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 and Pierre, 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 novella became the basis for "I Wurdulak", one of the three parts of Mario Bava's 1963 film I Tre volti della paura (also known as Black Sabbath), featuring Boris Karloff.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Classics, Gothic, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction

29 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2014

About the author

Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, often referred to as A.K. Tolstoy (Russian: Алексей Константинович Толстой), was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright, considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist. He also gained fame for his satirical works, published under his own name (History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev, The Dream of Councillor Popov) and under the collaborational pen name of Kozma Prutkov.

A.K. Tolstoy was born in Saint Petersburg to the famed family of Tolstoy. His father, Count Konstantin Petrovich Tolstoy (1780–1870), a son of the army general, was a Russian state assignation bank councilor. His mother, Anna Alekseyevna Perovskaya (1796–1857), was an illegitimate daughter of Count Aleksey Kirillovich Razumovsky (1784–1822), an heir of the legendary Ukrainian hetman Aleksey Razumovsky. A. K. Tolstoy's uncle (on his father's side) was Fyodor Tolstoy (1783–1873). His uncle on his mother's side was Aleksey Perovsky (1787–1836), an author known under the pen name of Antony Pogorelsky. Aleksey Konstantinovich was a second cousin of Leo Tolstoy; Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy was their common great-grandfather.

Tolstoy represented the later period of Romanticism in Russian literature; art for him was a mystic link between the human world and the higher spheres where "eternal ideas dwell." Along with Fet, his artistic and spiritual ally, he saw Art as a kind of higher science, man's only instrument for a true and comprehensive understanding of the world. Romantic tendencies were best realised in Tolstoy's poetry and in some of his dramas, notably Don Juan where the hero is on a quest for a romantic ideal, looking everywhere for love "that helps one penetrate into the wonderful universal laws, our world's hidden beginnings," as he put it."Art can only be a 'means' - all of the 'ends'... it contains in itself," Tolstoy wrote in 1870, in the course of long dispute with those whom he labeled "utilitarianists in literature". Such views automatically made him a "conservative" in the eyes of the revolutionary democrats who formed a large majority in the Russian literary circles of the 1850s and 1860s. Unlike Fet, though, Tolstoy insisted on the artist's total independence from ideology and politics, and felt himself totally free to criticize and mock authorities, a trait that snubbed many people in high places.

Works

Drama

Don Juan (Дон Жуан, 1862)
The Death of Ivan the Terrible (Смерть Иоанна Грозного, 1866)
Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (Царь Фёдор Иоаннович, 1868)
Tsar Boris (Царь Борис, 1870)[42]
Posadnik (Посадник, 1871, published in 1874-1976)

Prose

Prince Serebrenni (known also as The Silver Knight, Князь Серебряный, 1862
The Family of the Vourdalak (Семья вурдалака, 1839)
The Vampire (Упырь, 1841)

Poetry

The Sinner (Грешница, 1857)
Ioann Damaskin (Иоанн Дамаскин, 1858)
Vasily Shibanov (Василий Шибанов, 1858)
The Alchemist (unfinished, 1867)
History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev (1868)
Portrait (Портрет, 1872)
Dragon (1875)
The Dream of Councillor Popov (written 1873, first published in 1978, Berlin)

Reviews

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Serb, I found this delightful. I could even believe it actually happened back in the 1700s, the mentality was captured perfectly. Also, for anyone who doesn't already know, the word vampire (vampir) came from Serbian, so y'all are welcome.

[Iloveplacebo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un relato con una ambientación muy buena, con una trama ya bastante vista, pero que en este caso no importa tanto, ya que lo importante es cómo el protagonista de esta historia nos narra su aventura más terrorífica.
Y es que el amor familiar, a veces, puede ser peligroso.

[Jonathan Dunne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one to read by candlelight in front of the open fire. There's something creepy about Easter European and Russian supernatural horror I can't put my finger on, except to say it's raw and highly tenebrous...

[Orçun Güzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I continue to read classic vampire strories, this one seemed to me the most accomplished story so far, in the sense of creating an eerie atmosphere and well-developed narration. Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875) was little-known writer cousine of well-known writer Leo Tolstoy ( - not to be confused with Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, another writer from the family, who was born on 1882.) There is nothing new in this story but the gloomy experience is almost cinematic and maybe that’s why it took attention of Italian horror movie directors in 1960s-1970s. The emphasis on contagious nature of vampirism and emotional conflicts of protagonists are very-well captured. Here we face the pure romance & pure terror in the village life.

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 3 out of 5]

*bedraggled head pops head out of nearby snack-cubbard*
TOLSTOY WROTE HORROR?!
*frantic scrambling*
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, wherein attached to the Russian Embassy. Tolstoy was more famous for historical fiction, but he wrote this ripping vampire tale when he was 20 or 21. It's mostly lucid and straightforward.
Despite its age, the moves along briskly with very modern scenes and tempo. It has a frame; the teller is an old marquis. The wry and charming old man remembering his womanizing youth, flirting with court ladies who listen to his story of nearly being seduced and eaten by vampire family in rural serbia because he flirted too much promising his love. On its own, its rather pulpy.

Ultimately, I'd only recommend it to those interested in old-fashioned spiritual vampires and/or Tolstoy.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read this for a long time, and I'm glad I did, but I didn't fall absolutely in love with it or anything. It's a super short read, and I liked reading about a different kind of vampire. So, worth reading, but not crazy super awesome.

Another Horror Aficionado Halloween read! :)

[Alwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A supernatural novella published in the 1800s and set in Austria in 1815. A group gather by a fireside swopping tales drawn from legend and superstition. One of them offers instead a true account of his terrifying experiences while visiting a remote, Eastern European village. He arrived to find his intended hosts anxious and strangely restless, awaiting the return of Gorcha, the head of the house, who’s left to track down a criminal. But Gorcha’s possible fate may be a more sinister one than the visitor imagines, the family fear he may come back as a Vurdulak: a hideous vampire who feeds on the blood of its nearest and dearest. But when Gorcha finally appears it’s not clear what he is or what he may become, and as the snow starts to fall, the village is cut off from the outside world.

Alexei Tolstoy apparently based this around a variation on a Serbian myth of the vlkoslak, which seems to be a curious blend of werewolf and vampire. His story has some wonderful gothic elements, monstrous figures lurking in the shadows, a seductive, undead woman and a frankly bizarre finale. Slight but well-crafted and eerie enough to be entertaining seasonal reading.

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

2016 habe ich das Buch schon einmal in zweisprachiger Ausgabe (Französisch/Deutsch) gelesen und mir die CD dazu angehört. Hier findet ihr meine alte Rezension: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

An meiner Meinung hat sich wenig geändert. Ein 3. Mal würde ich die Geschichte allerdings vermutlich nicht mehr lesen. Eventuell als Hörspiel, falls es da ein gutes dazu gibt. Dem Hörbuch alleine kann ich leider auch nur 4 Sterne geben. Meiner Ansicht nach wird das Buch erst durch die Erläuterungen der Übersetzerin zu einem richtig tollen Leseerlebnis.

Hier folgen noch ein paar Infos zum Hörbuch:
1 Stunde und 8 Minuten / Ungekürzte Ausgabe
Sprecher: Rainer-Maria Ehrhardt
Ich würde dem Sprecher 4 Sterne geben.
Verlag: Theodor Boder

[Emi.acg · Rating 4 out of 5]

En un cuento corto narrado por su protagonista en una velada con unas cuantas personas más. Trata obviamente de vampiros y de como logro escapar de la situación que vivió. Tiene un muy buen ritmo y está bien escrito. Me gustó.

[Sarthak Bhatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why many people don't like it. It was an awesome vampire story!

[Nilo0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

آلکسی تولستوی پسرعموی دور لئو تولستوی که خیلی‌ها از نویسنده بودنش بی‌خبرن. او در کودکی هم‌بازی الکساندر دوم، تزار روسیه، بود و با پوشکین و گوگول هم دیدار داشت
این کتاب شامل داستان خانواده ووردالاک و ملاقات در سیصد سال بعده
دو داستان با شخصیت‌های مشترک و تم ترسناک با محوریت ووردالاک که به معنای خون‌آشام‌هاییه که دوست دارن خون خویشاوندان و دوستان صمیمی‌شون رو بمکن و از اولین کتاب‌ها با مفهوم خون‌آشام بوده.

مارکی دورفه در جشنی برای عده‌ای خاطره‌ای از دوران جوانی‌اش را تعریف می‌کند.
او دلباخته دوشس گرامون شده و چون امیدی به وصال نداشته، تصمیم می‌گیرد برای ماموریتی از فرانسه برود. در راه سفر به مقصد، چند روزی در خانه‌ای می‌ماند که پدر پیر خانواده برای جنگ با یاغی ترکی می‌رود و بعد از ده روز که برگشته گمان می‌رود که یک خون‌آشام شده. اتفاقات هولناکی که پس از برگشت پیرمرد رخ می‌دهد، داستان این کتابه.

در داستان ملاقات در سیصد سال بعد، دوشس گرامون به دستور پدرش به خانه پدری می‌رود، در راه بر اثر طوفان از کالسکه‌اش به بیرون پرتاب می‌شود. به عمارتی مرموز می‌رود که ساکنان قدیمی در آن هستند که گویا از دوران گذشته دور هستند که بعد متوجه می‌شود سیصد سال قبل ماجرایی رخ داده که در همان تاریخ سیصد سال بعد جلوی چشم دوشس رخ می‌دهد.

داستان‌ها در عین کوتاه بودن جالب بودن. سخت و سنگین بودن ادبیات روسیه و اسم‌های سختشون رو نداشت و برعکس، خیلی روون و سریع پیش می‌ره و سبک و تجربه تازه‌ای از ادبیات روسیه‌س.
حتی اگه به ادبیات روسیه علاقه ندارید، می‌تونه تجربه جدیدی باشه.

[Paloma orejuda (Pevima) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pues... Relatito corto que se lee en un bocado.
Me ha gustado, aunque el final me ha sabido a poco y no me ha dado lo que me dan los relatos. Giros y sorpresas XD

Se puede sacar una moraleja de la historia? El amor por encima de la sensatez se convierte en estupidez.

**Popsugar 2022 categoría 12. Un libro sobre la vida después de la muerte.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally written in French in 1839, only four years after Gautier's 'Clarimonde', what is interesting about Alexei Tolstoy's story (Alexei was brother to the more famous Leo) is that it returns to the East European origins of the vampire legend and presents us with real horror.

It was not actually published until 1884 (in Russian) but preceded a rather poorly received novella ['The Vampire'] that was published in 1841. This poor reception resulted in three other vampire works (including this one) not being brought forward for publication.

The vampire fascinated the romantics and the Russians had received a translation of Polidori's work in 1828 so the initial interest is unsurprising.

In fact, 'The Family of the Vourdalak' still stands up as an essay not only in horror - creating the image of vampirism as a sort of plague - but in recreating the callous emotional world of the young Russian aristocrat in the face of peasant beauty and in the use of folkloric atmosphere.

[robs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 musste das für ein seminar über suizide russischer autorinnen lesen; typische schauergeschichte aber mag das eigentlich !!

[Lee Foust · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful tale of the Balkan folk vampire written a century after the era of the greater, cosmopolitan European discovery and fascination with that folk figure, given a wonderful counterpoint by Tolstoy (no, not that Tolstoy) with a frame narrative of a cultured French roue diplomat/soldier who tells the tale at an Austrian dinner party as part of an old man's extended flirtation with group of very young ladies. So many great elements at work here. First of all, the family dynamic of the peasants and the building horror of uncertainty and their seduction, if you will, by their perhaps infected patriarch would have been a great tale on its own. The frame, in its beginning, makes a first-person eyewitness truth claim which functions, in light of an old man's tale out of his distant past, to both estrange and make the tale feel more real. Then, as the first part of the tale leads into a kind of pause and a more pointed final conflation of the vampiric infection with the seducer's art, the fantastic and absurd (and the horrific!) merge in the denouement, which the narrator finally undercuts with a nod to his own false, self-serving chivalry at the end. So much more subtle than Dracula, I think this is perhaps the folk figure of the vampire's greatest literary appearance.

[ناني ماكفي · Rating 4 out of 5]

استمعت لها بصوت توني والكر tony walker
An excellent adaptation
صارت قصص الفانباير كليشي الصراحة
لكن ما يجعلها قصة تستحق القراءة هو التفاصيل
اليوم اتعرف على تولستوي
ولا ليس من كتب الحرب والسلام بل تولستوي اخر. أليكسي كونستانتينوف تولستوي
حتى الإسم شاعري أما قلمه فخفيف وخيالي وجميل
ونجح في أخذ القصة من كليشي لشيء جيد
طبعا القصة من الكلاسيكيات وربما وقتها ماكانت كليشي كاليوم
لكن دائما نجد تكرر الثيمة مجموعة تروي مغامراتها ونجد فيها شخصا وقع له شيء خيالي وعاشه ثم يحكي عنه

[Kissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to David Tennant's reading of this tale. The story is quite compelling, sitting on the fence between gothic horror and thriller. Everything flows nicely and keeps you interested as each new development is revealed. I would suggest this story to anyone looking for a short piece to read to satisfy their horror/thriller needs.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I vampiri sono un classico e come tale andrebbero tutelati. Quelli di Tolstoj appartengono alla tradizione contadina slava e sono stati un piacevole intermezzo.

[Ecem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kitabı çevirmen dışında kimse okumamış, çevirmen de nasıl cümle kuracağını bilmiyor, hikayeyi hiç etmişler.

[Beril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok tatlı bir gerilim sunan tadımlık bir kısa öykü.

[Mueed Mahtab]

I recently found out that Aleksey Tolstoy’s The Family of the Vourdalak is quite rare. it’s not easily available in local bookshops. Even on Goodreads, it shows that only around 600 readers have read it. And now, I’m one of them! Honestly, this is one of the most underrated gems in this genre, truly a goated book. It’s not much talked about worldwide, but the story is absolutely wonderful in every detail. The storytelling was amazing from start to finish.



Summary:
A French traveler visits a Serbian family whose father warns he’ll return as a vampire if he’s late from his journey. When he does come back at midnight on the tenth day, horror slowly unfolds, and the family falls victim to the curse of the vourdalak.

[Paola Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

European horror… amazing as always! A true classic.

This book is short and direct. The story flows really nicely and keeps you interested in every page, definitely recommended. It’s a great story to get in the Halloween mood!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pas mal, très classique dans le développement, mais c'est surtout pour l'ambiance mystérieuse et surannée que l'on lit ce genre de roman... Parfait donc pour se mettre dans l'époque.

[Olivia Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

EVIL GRAMPIRE

[Andy Truiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nunca había leído un cuento de vampiros serbios, me gustaron las descripciones de los ropajes y las costumbres que tenían, pero lo demás estuvo bastante predecible.

[Gonzalo Milano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vuelvo a decir lo mismo que con la película y el corto:

¿Un tipo de vampiro que se alimenta de aquellas personas que ama y sin explotar ese tema a fondo?

Capaz solo se debía consumir como un cuento típico europeo de terror, pero me lamento de leer ese potencial desperdiciado.

O quizás sea una historia cautelar sobre ser un pajero y el peligro de “amar”

En algún momento de mi vida voy a robarte la idea, Tolstói trucho.

Y la mía va a ahondar al menos un poquito más que la tuya sobre esta increíble idea.

[rowan]

Why I read it: There is a 2023 French film adaptation of this novella. I watched it late at night a couple of weeks ago and fell in love. Now it's easily in my top 10 all-time movies. I think about it a lot, about the peace and darkness of the countryside, the horror of loving someone who can bring you death by loving you and the way that can be literal or figurative, depending on your frame of mind. Thought I'd check out the story that inspired it.

Thoughts: Really briefly, because it's very very short: the story is okay, the translation and proofreading and typesetting were rubbish. Overall, this is a case where the adaptation really is an improvement on the original while being faithful to it at the same time.

[Navid Taghavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

خانواده ووردالاک اولین داستانِ آلکسی تالستوی – با نویسنده‌ی شناخته‌شده رئالیسم سوسیالیستی اشتباه نشود. – است که در بیست‌ودو سالگی و به زبان فرانسوی نوشت. گاهاً آثار نخستین نویسندگان نشانی از خامی آنان دارد، اما این رویه بر ووردالاکِ تالستوی صادق نیست و نتیجه نهایی این نوولای ترسناک، درخشان از آب در آمده است. در افسانه‌های اسلاو، ووردالاک، خون‌آشامی برخاسته از گور است که خون زندگان را می‌مکد، اما این تفاوت را با خون‌آشام دارد که ووردالاک علاقه بیشتری به مکیدن خون خانواده و خویشان دارد.
پس از پایان یک گردهمایی سیاسی در وین، عده‌ای از حضار قصه‌هایی که عمدتاً برگرفته از اسطوره‌های میهنی‌شان بود، تعریف کردند. نوبت به پیرمرد شیرین‌سخنی - مارکی دورفه - رسید که قصه‌های پیشین را خواندنی اما فاقد یک اصل مهم می‌دانست: نه اصالت دارند و نه حقیقت! و سپس داستانی شگفت‌انگیز را از نیم قرنِ پیش که هم اصالت داشت و هم حقیقت - خود او هم در بطن داستان بود – تعریف کرد.
دورفه‌ی دل‌آزرده از دلربایی‌های معشوقه به مأموریتی خارج از کشور رفت. یکشنبه روزی به روستایی صرب وارد شد و برخلاف صرب‌ها که در آن روز به شادی مشغولند، میزبانانش را محزون دید. یکی از میزبانان دختر زیبایی به نام اسدنکا بود که به معشوقه‌‌ی دورفه هم شباهت‌هایی داشت. دورفه حدس زد این تلخی از سختی‌های زمانه می‌آید، تا اینکه پسر ارشد به زبان آمد و رازشان را فاش کرد.
"پدرِ ما گورچا برای کشتن علی‌بیگِ راهزن با تفنگی از خانه رفت و به خانواده سپرد ده روز منتظرم باشید. اگر پیش از ده روز برنگشتم، مرا مرده بدانید و سوگواری کنید ولی اگر پس از آن برگشتم، مرا به خانه راه ندهید و با تیری از صنوبر، قلبم را نشانه بگیرید که من "ووردالاکی نفرین‌شده" هستم و در مواجه با من به عواطف خانوادگی اعتنا نکنید."
دورفه در روز پایانی مهلت ده‌روزه وارد شد. گورچا رأس ساعت هشت از خانه بیرون زد و ده شب بعد همزمان با شنیدن صدای ناقوس کلیسا که نشانگر ساعتِ هشت بود، گورچا نمایان شد. در را به رویش باز کردند. تنِ گورچا خونین بود و خورجینی در دست داشت که در آن سر بریده‌ی علی‌بیگ قرار داشت. ورودِ پیرمرد دلگرم‌کننده بود و رفتارش مشکوک و خانواده مردد بودند که باید جانب شوق را بگیرند یا ترس را. باید پیرمرد از راه رسیده را تیمار کنند یا او را بکشند ...
در کتاب علاوه بر "خانواده ووردالاک" داستان دومی به نام "ملاقات در سیصد سال بعد" دارد که به نوعی در پیوند با همین داستان است. ملاقات در سیصد سال بعد داستان خوب و قابل‌قبولی است اما به گیرایی داستان نخست نیست.

[Zeynep Gunduz Seyhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabı okur okumaz “Black Sabbaht” filmini de izledim. Güzel bir öyküydü.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read many classic vampire stories it is really easy to become jaded since there are only so many ways a story can go. That said, this was fantastic. The writing is wonderful; the eeriness is right on the money. This is a page turner that holds one's interest to the very end. The vourdalak are very much like the typical vampire, but with a penchant for going after their own families first. The Marquis d'Urfé is a rogue, who during his travels encounters a family with a possible vourdalak problem. He lives to tell the tale, as he is the one recounting the story.