Carmilla, Chapter 7 summary

What happens

1. The narrator tells her companions about her terror, and Mademoiselle Lafontaine reports Martin’s sightings of a woman outside Carmilla’s window.
2. Carmilla describes her own fright and credits a charm, prompting the narrator to pin hers to her pillow.
3. Deep sleep follows, but fatigue and melancholy grow while Carmilla explains the charm as a natural remedy against illness.
4. Over three weeks, the narrator weakens, experiences disturbing dreams and bodily sensations, and repeatedly denies being ill.
5. A dream voice warns of an assassin, and the narrator sees Carmilla apparently covered in blood.
6. The narrator summons help, but Carmilla does not answer; servants break the lock and reveal her empty room.

In this chapter

What to notice

The warning interrupts the narrator’s familiar dream experiences. Her vision of blood on Carmilla prompts the alarm and the discovery of the empty bedroom.

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