LoMAZ Extra: The History of the Female Vampire (Dracula Daily)

The female vampire is a monster and a seductress, desirable and deadly, all at once. She represents our fears about uncontrollable female desire, giving us a way to explore forbidden sexuality and challenge what society expects women to be.

In this talk, we'll trace her history – from ancient demons like Lilith and the real-life Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory, to her most famous appearances in classic novels like Carmilla and Dracula. More recently, feminist and queer writers have transformed the female vampire into a symbol of freedom and female desire. Modern novels like Kirsten White's Lucy Undying and S.T. Gibson's A Dowry of Blood rewrite her story to show her power to liberate, not just terrify. Come and discover what makes the female vampire so endlessly fascinating.

Doors open at 8pm, talk starts at 8:15pm - come down early to grab a good seat!
This is an 18+ event.

Your speaker:
Dr Sarah Gamble is Associate Professor in English Literature at Swansea University. She’s a specialist in contemporary Gothic fiction and women’s writing, and has a particular expertise in the life and work of Angela Carter, on whom she’s written two monographs: Angela Carter: Writing from the Front Line (Edinburgh University Press,1997), and Angela Carter: A Literary Life (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). Most recently, she has co-edited (with Anna Watz of Uppsala University, Sweden) a two-volume collection of academic essays on Carter – Angela Carter’s Pasts: Allegories and Intertextualities, and Angela Carter’s Futures: Representations, Adaptations and Legacies (Bloomsbury, 2025). Her current research involves dark academia and vampires.

MEET DETAILS:

FROM 19:00pm: MEET AT Blues Kitchen Brixton
40 Acre Lane, London SW2 5SP

Your host will be having dinner, and will be wearing a LoMAZ badge and have a LoMAZ sign. She will post her location when she arrives, but if you have difficulty in finding her, ask for her by name at reception or message her.

Talk starts approx. 8.15pm in the upstairs space, stairs beside reception.
Doors open 8pm. There is a bar both upstairs and downstairs.
Cocktails (and mocktails) £6 in the Blues Kitchen, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

9.45pm-Late: PUB SOCIAL (optional)
Let's have a drink in the downstairs bar.

TICKETS:
You will need to purchase your own ticket for this event.
Please book here: You must download the Eventbrite app to access tickets, which are £16.

GETTING THERE:
Nearest Tube station Clapham North, nearest Overground Clapham High Street, each about a 20-minute walk. A number of buses run close to both the stations and the Blues Kitchen.

EVENT WHATSAPP GROUP:
Please join the event WhatsApp group to help you find the group on the day. The link will be posted in the Event Comments 48 hours before the event, for those on the confirmed going list.
NB Joining this WhatsApp group will make your phone number visible to other members in the group.

PLEASE READ:
LoMAZ events are run by volunteers. This event has an attendee limit as we prefer a smaller, friendlier group. If you RSVP but can no longer attend, please change your RSVP as soon as possible, otherwise you will be marked as a 'no show'.

Please see the About Us section for more information about the group and how it works.

Thank you for your interest in the group & being part of LoMAZ.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/@niranjan_photographs