The Pale Lady

Published in 1849, Histoire de la Dame Pâle (History of the Pale Lady) is the last four chapters (12 through 15) of a larger volume of supernatural stories, Mille et Un Fantomes (A Thousand and One Ghosts). It is one of the earliest vampire tales and was likely a point of inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.


The Pale Lady follows Hedwige, a Polish refugee, as she flees to safety ahead of the Russian army. In the Carpathian mountains she is captured by Kostaki, who takes her prisoner and intends to make her his wife. Kostaki's brother, Gregoriska, is much more gallant, and they devise a way to escape the Carpathians together.


This translation preserves, where possible, the sentence structure of the original, including the many commas and clauses. This approach was taken to preserve the style and lyricism of the original text. It also includes illustrations from an 1861 edition by Clément-Auguste Andrieux.