"Soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth": A History of Sapphic Vampires

Despite what her marketing team will tell you, Carmilla was not the sole inspiration for Dracula — but she does get the honor of being the first lesbian vampire and, along with a few mythological goddesses, has inspired a whole lineage of sapphic vampires over the last 150 years. In this episode, Rebecca and Hannah explore the extensive history of the sapphic vampire, from the uses and abuses of vampirism as a metaphor for lesbianism, to how queer audiences reclaimed exploitation films through camp, and why it always comes back to the vagina dentata and their fave girl Lilith.Come vamps, join us around the campfire.Major Spoilers:* Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, 1872* Dracula’s Daughter, directed by Lambert Hillyer, 1936* Blood and Roses, directed by Roger Vadim, 1960* Crypt of the Vampire, directed by Camillo Mastrocinque, 1964* The Vampire Lovers, directed by Roy Ward Baker, 1970* Daughters of Darkness, directed by Harry Kümel, 1971* Vampyros Lesbos, directed by Jesús Franco, 1971* The Hunger, directed by Tony Scott, 1983* Nadja, directed by Michael Almereyda, 1994* Jennifer’s Body, directed by Karyn Kusama, 2009* Carmilla, directed by Emily Harris, 2019* An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson, 2024* Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk, 2024* Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, 2025Other media mentioned in this episode:Fiction* “The Mysterious Stranger” by Karl von Wachsmann, 1844* Dracula by Bram Stoker, 1897* Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, 1978* The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez, 1991* Fledgling by Octavia Butler, 2005* A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson, 2021* Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste, 2022* Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab, 2025Film* The Brides of Dracula, directed by Terence Fisher, 1960* The Velvet Vampire, directed by Stephanie Rothman, 1971* Blood for Dracula, directed by Paul Morrissey, 1974* Alucarda, directed by Juan López Moctezuma, 1977* Carmilla, directed by Janusz Kondratiuk, 1980* The Mark of Lilith, directed by Bruna Fionda, Zach Mack-Nataf, and Polly Gladwin, 1986* Vampire’s Kiss, directed by Robert Bierman, 1988* Saltburn, directed by Emerald Fennell, 2023* Nosferatu, directed by Robert Eggers, 2024TV* Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1997-2003* First Kill, 2022Additional Reading* Christopher Craft, “’Kiss Me with those Red Lips’: Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” Representations no. 8 (1984)* Dracula’s Daughters: The Female Vampire on Film, edited by Douglas Brode and Leah Deyneka, 2013* Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages by Jack Hartnell, 2018Liked this episode? You’ll also like…* Dracula's Older Gayer Cousins* Are All Vampires a Leetle Gäy?* I Vant to Suck Your... EnergyWant more vampire content in all your feeds?Check out our Pinterest @vampirecampfirepod to capture the aesthetic of this episode.Follow us @vampirecampfirepod on Instagram and TikTok for podcast updates & vampire memes.Find us on Letterboxd and Goodreads for a peek at what we’re consuming next.Consider becoming a paid member of our Substack to get bonus episodes — the first one is available now!This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rebecca Glazer & Hannah SpiegelmanNote: We’re an affiliate of Bookshop.org and earn a small commission if you purchase through our links — allowing you to support indie bookstores and an indie podcast at the same time! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit vampirecampfirepod.substack.com/subscribe