''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 ...
by
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy,
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 – T ...
in
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 by
Boleslav Markevich, as "Семья вурдалака" (''Sem'yá vurdaláka''), published for the first time in ''
The Russian Messenger
The ''Russian Messenger'' or ''Russian Herald'' (russian: Ру́сский ве́стник ''Russkiy Vestnik'', Pre-reform Russian: Русскій Вѣстникъ ''Russkiy Vestnik'') has been the title of three notable magazines published in ...
'' 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 atte ...
.
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'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 Slavic and Balkan folklore – cf. Slavic vǎlkolak, volkodlak, volkolak, vukodlak,
wurdulak, etc.; Romanian ''Vârcolac''; and Greek ''
Vrykolakas'' (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, Georges
[The 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's 1963 film ''
Black Sabbath'', featuring
Boris Karloff.
The 1972 Italian/Spanish film ''
The Night of the Devils'' 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