Carmilla: Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

In conclusion, having finished re-telling her story, Laura recalls that she still thinks of the events with anxiety. If it had not been for the earnest requests from Doctor Hesselius, she would not have discussed the experience that still terrifies her and causes her to seek out solitude.  

Laura comments on Baron Vordenburg, who devoted his life to the investigation of the vampire and collected all the books and knowledge on the subject that he could. She mentions in passing that, even today, nobody knows how vampires manage to escape from their graves and then return to them for a few hours without disturbing the coffin. The vampire recharges in the grave, and its waking existence is driven by its lust for blood. Occasionally, the vampire becomes fascinated with one of its victims, displaying feelings that can resemble the passion of love. In these instances, the vampire will patiently wait until it can satisfy its passion and it almost seems to desire sympathy and love. However, in most cases the vampire doesn’t wait to attack—it simply overpowers and kills its victim.

After Carmilla was defeated, Baron Vordenburg stayed with Laura and her father for a few weeks. Laura’s father recounted the story of the Moravian nobleman who had defeated the vampire and asked the Baron how the nobleman knew the location of the Countess’ tomb. The Baron, who reveals himself to be a descendant of the nobleman explains that he found his ancestor’s notes and learned that the nobleman had been Mircalla’s lover before she died young.

The Baron further reveals that vampires come into existence when a person commits suicide, and the people whom they visit also die and become vampires. The nobleman discovered these truths about vampires and vowed to learn more. The nobleman realized that Mircalla, whom he loved, would likely be suspected of being a vampire. Wanting to save her, he pretended to move her remains so that her body would not be examined, and destroyed her monument so her body could not be found. Looking back on his actions years later he was ashamed of himself for protecting Mircalla, and to set things right he made notes that led the Baron to rediscover the tomb years later.

Laura ends her story by saying that after the events with Carmilla, her father took her on a trip around Italy for more than a year to try to heal her. It took Laura a long time to recover from the horror of what had happened, and she never fully did. She still imagines Carmilla, sometimes as the beautiful girl she thought she knew and sometimes as the monster she saw in the church when Carmilla attacked General Spielsdorf. She is still haunted by the memory of the girl, and often imagines she hears Carmilla’s footsteps approaching her door.