Short Fiction · Chapter
XIII: The Woodman explained
The narrator and her father accompany General Spielsdorf to the ruined Karnstein castle.
What happens
The narrator and her father accompany General Spielsdorf to the ruined Karnstein castle. The General reveals his quest for vengeance against the vampire Mircalla, who he believes is still active. A woodman recounts local legends of vampire hunts and the removal of Mircalla's tomb, deepening the mystery surrounding Carmilla.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural and the Uncanny
The chapter centers on vampirism, sleepwalking, and spectral visitations, highlighting the uncanny nature of Carmilla's influence.
Folklore and Local Tradition
The woodman's tale of the Moravian nobleman and local vampire hunting practices underscores the role of folk belief in the narrative.
Guilt and Retribution
General Spielsdorf's quest to decapitate the vampire reflects a personal vendetta and a desire for retribution against the supernatural predator.
Characters to notice
- Carmilla
Referred to as Millarca; her mysterious habits and the symptoms she causes in the narrator are detailed.
- General Montague
The General shares his story of vengeance against the vampire and leads the party to the Karnstein chapel.
- Una
The narrator, who experiences symptoms mirroring those of the General's deceased ward.
- Doctor Hesselius
Implied as the narrator's father, who accompanies the party and questions the General.
Key passages
“She was repeatedly seen from the windows of the schloss, in the first faint grey of the morning, walking through the trees, in an easterly direction, and looking like a person in a trance.”
Carmilla was often observed at dawn wandering eastward through the woods, appearing as if in a sleepwalking state.
Describes Carmilla's mysterious nocturnal movements.
“I could hear distinctly every word the kind old General was saying, because by this time we were driving upon the short grass that spreads on either side of the road as you approach the roofless village which had not shown the smoke of a chimney for more than half a century.”
The narrator could clearly hear the General as they drove through a long-abandoned village, now roofless and without any signs of life for over fifty years.
Sets the desolate scene of the ruined village.
“It was troubled by revenants, sir; several were tracked to their graves, there detected by the usual tests, and extinguished in the usual way, by decapitation, by the stake, and by burning; but not until many of the villagers were killed.”
The village was plagued by revenants (vampires); many were found in their graves and destroyed through decapitation, staking, and burning, but only after causing numerous deaths.
The woodman explains the village's history with vampires.