''The Family of the Vourdalak'' is a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most ...

, written in

1839 Events January–March * January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre. * January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years. * January 9 – ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and originally entitled ''La Famille du Vourdalak. Fragment inedit des Memoires d'un inconnu''. Tolstoy wrote it on a trip to France from Frankfurt, where he was attached to the Russian Embassy. It was translated into

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

Boleslav Markevich Boleslav Mikhailovich Markevich (russian: link=no, Болеслав Михайлович Маркевич; 1822 – 18 (30) November 1884) was a Russian writer, essayist, journalist, and literary critic of Polish origin; author of a number of ...

, as "Семья вурдалака" (''Sem'yá vurdaláka''), published for the first time in '' The Russian Messenger'' in January

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price attemp ...

. The original French text appeared in print in 1950, in ''Revue des Études Slavs'', vol.26. ''The Reunion After Three Hundred Years'' (Les Rendez-vous Dans Trois Cent Ani) which was written at about the same time and which might be regarded as a sequel (for protagonist Marquis d'Urfe and Countess Grammon appear in it) first appeared in a compilation ''Le Poete Alexis Tolstoi'' by A.Lirondelle (Paris, 1912). The word ''vourdalak'' occurs first in

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

's work in the early 19th century, and was taken up in Russian literary language following Pushkin. It is a distortion of words referring to vampires (originally probably to

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...

) in Slavic and Balkan folklore – cf. Slavic vǎlkolak, volkodlak, volkolak, vukodlak, wurdulak, etc.; Romanian ''Vârcolac''; and Greek ''

Vrykolakas Vrykolakas (Greek βρυκόλακας, pronounced ), also called vorvolakas or vourdoulakas, is a harmful, undead creature in Greek folklore. It shares similarities with numerous other legendary creatures, but is generally equated with the vampir ...

'' (both borrowed from the Slavic term).

Plot summary

Marquis d'Urfé, 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, GeorgesThe Serbian form of the name would be Đorđe. The Russian translation uses Георгий (Georgiy). and Pierre,The Serbian form of the name would be Petar or Pera. The Russian translation uses Пётр (Pyotr). 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 day Marquis comes to the village is the tenth day of Gorcha's absence. The family awaits the hour with growing anxiety and there he is, appearing on the road at 8 o'clock in the evening, exactly on the time he left ten days ago. His sons are uncertain as to how this strange precision should be interpreted. Georges suspects his father became a vourdalak, Pierre insists otherwise. Then Georges' son dies inexplicably. The French diplomat has to leave the house and continue his travel. Half a year later on his way back from his mission, d'Urfé returns to the village only to find it abandoned. Coming to the familiar house he stays for the night, being allured by Sdenka,The Slavic form of the name would be Zdenka (Зденка), which is used in the Russian translation. Gorcha's daughter he fell for during his first visit, who appears to dwell in the empty house. The moment comes when the Frenchman realizes he's fallen under the charms of a vampire. He makes an attempt to leave, comes under a massive attack of vourdalaks, all of the Gorcha family among them, and makes a miraculous escape, having to thank his own good luck and the agility of his horse.

In film

The novella became the basis for "I Wurdulak", one of the three parts of

Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Ma ...

's 1963 film ''

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define ...

'', featuring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

. The 1972 Italian/Spanish film ''

The Night of the Devils ''The Night of the Devils'' ( it, La notte dei diavoli, es, La noche de los diablos) is a 1972 film directed by Giorgio Ferroni. It is loosely based on the Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy's novel '' The Family of the Vourdalak''. Plot The patri ...

'' was also based on Tolstoy's story. A glancing reference to the novella occurs in Guy Wilson's 2012 film, '' Werewolf: The Beast Among Us''; when an undead victim of a werewolf attack arises and is shot by the grandson of the Great Hunter who exclaims, "I hate goddamn Vourdalaks."

English translation

*''Vampires: Stories of the Supernatural'', Hawthorn Books, 1973.

Notes

References

External links

''Семья вудалака''
The Russian text. {{DEFAULTSORT:Family of the Vourdalak, The 1884 Russian novels Works by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Vampire novels Works originally published in The Russian Messenger Russian novels adapted into films Russian Gothic novels Novels set in Serbia Fiction set in 1769