The implacable Lord Ruthven returns in Volume 2 in a new, horror-filled story where the deadliest vampire of all comes face-to-face with an even more fearsome enemy -- Zizka, a female Ghoul of great necromantic powers. Both Ruthven and Zizka covet the same humans. The shadow-filled castles of Europe become the stage for the ultimate confrontation between Vampire and Ghoul--and those who dare defy them! The character of the Byronesque vampire Lord Ruthven was first imagined in 1816 by John William Polidori on the same night that Mary Shelley created Frankenstein and published in 1819, becoming the first vampire in English fiction. The character of Lord Ruthven went on to inspire a number of famous French authors who penned their own versions of the tale. This is part of 4-volume selection of some French works featuring the first romantic vampire in the history of popular literature. The Return of Lord Ruthven includes an 1851 stage play by Alexandre Dumas, Le Vampire, translated by Frank J. Morlock as The Return of Lord Ruthven; and Entretien with a Vampire, an all-new story by Morlock.