La roja sed del vampiro

This is Issue No. 250 of Editorial Bruguera's "Selección Terror" (Terror Selection) series, published December 1977. The featured work is "La Roja Sed del Vampiro" (The Red Thirst of the Vampire) by Curtis Garland, a vampire horror novella set in Victorian London. The story opens with Irish policeman O'Bannion on routine patrol near Westminster Bridge and Parliament on a foggy night. He observes the closing of a newly opened classical theater where actress Priscilla Kelly has triumphed in a performance of Macbeth. After the show, Kelly departs the theater carrying red roses, a gift from admirers. As her carriage awaits in a dark alley, a winged shadow descends from the sky—a demonic, bat-like creature with glowing red eyes. Despite attempts to flee, Kelly is attacked and drained of blood by this flying creature, which then disappears into the London fog. The novella continues with a doctor's examination of her exsanguinated corpse, establishing the vampire narrative's opening premise.