Before Dracula got his fangs into the mostly straight Jonathan Harker – and way before Edward bit Bella – Irish novelist Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu imagined the vampire as the original U-Haul lesbian. Carmilla and narrator Laura become inextricably entwined through shared dreams and secret desires, traversing the terrors while maybe also being a part of them. Dark, dreamy, and – as much vampire media is – filled with anagrams, this gothic tale’s a great way to start a truly sanguineous 2026. – James Scott