In some cases, the victim is so overwhelmed with passion, he will gladly give his blood for sex. Clarimonde, the elegant vampiress of Gautier s story, so inflames a young monk that the man willingly offers his blood in return for the perverse fantasy life the woman provides. The novella Carmilla is the story of a vampiress who feigns illness to stay at a person s lodging. She then captivates the daughter of the household with her beauty and charms, eventually killing the girl to satisfy her blood-lust. Whether male or female, the vampire will take both male and female victims, as it has no sexual preference.
Most stories pit male against female, though, as it is usually easier to seduce the opposite sex.
However, the story of Carmilla centers on a vampire with lesbian tendencies. She, also, soothed the victim with her beauty and sexuality, overcoming her fear. The young heroine Laura, who tells the story, is strangely attracted to the female vampire, Carmilla, in a kind of Lesbian relationship. Such sexual deviancy is unusual, for in most vampire stories female vampires seek male companions and vice versa. I saw a solemn, but very pretty face looking at me from the side of the bed.