Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 
Carmilla 

In Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Gothic novella 'Carmilla’ (1872), a lonely young woman named Laura befriends a strange woman who is staying at her father’s Castle while she recovers from a carriage accident. In time, the strange woman named Carmilla begins to make romantic advances toward Laura while refusing to share any details about her life. When Laura begins to have nightmares about a black cat entering her room, her suspicion is aroused that Carmilla may have evil intentions. One of the early works of vampire fiction, Carmilla predated Dracula by 26 years and strongly influenced Bram Stoker.