Varney the Vampire; Or, the Feast of Blood

"Varney the Vampire; Or, the Feast of Blood" by Prest and Rymer is a novel written in the mid-19th century, primarily in the style of a Gothic romance. The book explores themes of horror and the supernatural, centering around the ominous figure of Varney, a mysterious vampire, and his interactions with the Bannerworth family, particularly focusing on Flora, a young woman who faces a terrifying ordeal. At the start of the narrative, the stage is set on a turbulent night during a dreadful hailstorm, emphasizing an eerie atmosphere as mysterious occurrences unfold. Flora, one of the characters, awakens amid the storm to witness a terrifying presence at her window, where she feels the grasp of a creature seeking entry. Her screams draw the attention of her family, leading to a frantic search for the source of her terror. As the chaos ensues, the alarming absence of the intruder's body raises unsettling questions, igniting conversations concerning the nature of their visitor—suggestions of the supernatural loom, signaling an early glimpse into the vampiric elements that will drive the plot forward. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Thomas Peckett Prest was a British hack author. He was a prolific producer of penny dreadfuls and was known as a skilled author in the horror genre. He is now remembered as the co-creator of the fictional Sweeney Todd, the 'demon barber' immortalized in his The String of Pearls, as well as the co-author with Rymer of Varney the Vampire. He wrote under pseudonyms including Bos, a takeoff of Charles Dickens' own pen name, Boz. He also was noted to have a style similar to Dickens. Before joining Edward Lloyd's publishing factory, Prest had made a name for himself as a talented musician.