Source DA·S·0001
La famiglia del Vurdalak
La Famille du Vourdalak
A frame story written in French by A. K. Tolstoy: a French nobleman staying with a Serbian family witnesses the patriarch’s return as a Vurdalak.
- Author
- A. K. Tolstoy PRIM: Primary source
- Original language
- French DOC: Documented
- Composition
- c. 1839 ATTR: Critical attribution
- First publication
- 1884, in Russian translation DOC: Documented
- Setting
- A Serbian village; frame story at the Congress of Vienna PRIM: Primary source
- Characters
- The Marquis d’Urfé, Gorcha, Sdenka PRIM: Primary source
The text
The Marquis d’Urfé tells the story to a group of aristocrats gathered in Vienna. As a young man travelling to Moldavia, he stops at a Serbian village. The old Gorcha has left to fight a Turkish bandit and warned his children: if he returns after the appointed time, they must pierce him with a stake◆ Primary sourceAn original document consulted directly: a text, record, script or film print.. He returns exactly as the time expires.
What passes into cinema
| Element | Story | I tre volti della paura |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna frame story | Present | Removed |
| Narrator | The older d’Urfé | The young Vladimir d’Urfe |
| Return deadline | Precise | Precise |
| Family contagion | Central | Central |
| Ending | d’Urfé escapes | Vladimir does not survive |
The film’s ending is darker than the story● DocumentedCorroborated by multiple reliable and independent sources.Source: comparison of text and film.
Connections
12 direct connections · 24 further links. Dashed lines indicate weak or unproven links.
- Film
- Creature · ritual
- Motif
- Source
- Person
- Weak link
Bloodlines (1)
The Vurdalak, from folklore to cinema
Creatures (2)
Films (5)
Black Sabbath
I tre volti della paura · Les Trois Visages de la peur
Night of the Devils
Night of the Devils
Sem’ja vurdalakov
The Vurdalak Family
Night of the Devils
Night of the Devils
Sem’ja vurdalakov
The Vurdalak Family
Motifs (2)
The vampire child
The family vampire
People (2)
A. K. Tolstoy
A. K. Tolstoy
Places (3)
Sources (1)
La Guzla
Glossary (1)
Literary adaptation
- Visum et Repertum source · via The Vurdalak, from folklore to cinema
- Why Dread Atlas begins with I tre volti della paura journal · via The Vurdalak, from folklore to cinema
- Vampires of Eastern Europe collection · via Vurdalak
- Strigoi creature · via Vurdalak
- Vampire creature · via Vurdalak
- Revenant creature · via Vurdalak
- Boris Karloff person · via Vurdalak
- Mario Bava person · via Black Sabbath
- American International Pictures person · via Black Sabbath
- Anton Chekhov person · via Black Sabbath
- Guy de Maupassant person · via Black Sabbath
- Theft from the dead motif · via Black Sabbath
- The threatening telephone motif · via Black Sabbath
- The sound that announces the supernatural motif · via Black Sabbath
- The threshold and invitation belief or ritual · via Black Sabbath
- Italian Gothic collection · via Black Sabbath
- Dubbing glossary · via Black Sabbath
- Censorship glossary · via Black Sabbath
- Alternate cut glossary · via Black Sabbath
- I tre volti della paura vs Black Sabbath version · via Black Sabbath
- Rome place · via Black Sabbath
- Black Sunday film · via Black Sabbath
- Black Sabbath (band) person · via Black Sabbath
- The Chekhov credit: a source that cannot be found journal · via Black Sabbath
Bibliography
- Primary sourceA. K. Tolstoy, La Famille du Vourdalak; Italian translation in anthologies of Russian fantastic fiction.
Revision history
- First draft.— Editorial team
How to cite this page
Redazione Dread Atlas, «La famiglia del Vurdalak», Dread Atlas, Entry DA·S·0001, updated 1 October 2026. https://macabralia.com/en/sources/la-famiglia-del-vurdalak/