James Malcolm Rymer: Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood

Originally published as a series of cheap pamphlets known as "penny dreadfuls" (1845–47), until 1847, when it first appeared in book form.

Flora Bannersworth is attacked in her own room in the middle of the night. The discovery of two small bite marks on Flora’s neck leads Mr Marchdale, an old friend of the family, to the conclusion that she was bitten by a vampire. While Flora recovers, her brother Henry and Mr Marchdale begin their hunt for the vampire. Their suspicions soon fall on the mysterious Sir Francis Varney, who has just bought an old abbey near Bannersworth Hall, and who bears an uncanny resemblance to Marmaduke Bannersworth, a long-dead ancestor of the family.

Varney the Vampyre is a forerunner to vampire stories such as Dracula, which it heavily influenced.