Carpe Jugulum - Discworld Reading Challenge

Published: 1998

Plot Summery: Count Magpyr and family are invited to the naming of Magrat and King Verence's daughter, to be conducted by the Omnian priest, Mightily Oats. During the party after the ceremony, Verence informs Nanny Ogg and Agnes Nitt that the Count has informed him that the Magpyr family intend to move into Lancre Castle and take over. Due to a type of hypnotism, everyone seems to consider this plan to be perfectly acceptable. Only the youngest witch, Agnes, and the Omnian priest, Mightily Oats, seem able to resist the vampiric mind control, due to their dual personalities. Because of her ability to resist his influence the Magpyr son, Vlad, is attracted to Agnes and makes many advances on her including trying to convince her to become a vampire.

Meanwhile, Granny Weatherwax, feeling slighted by not receiving an invitation to the ceremony, has left her cottage empty and seems to be working towards a life in a cave, almost like a hermit. After they have left the hypnotic influence of the Vampires, Agnes, Nanny Ogg and Magrat attempt to convince her to help them save Lancre, but apparently without success, even after Granny is informed that her invitation was stolen by a magpie, (which Granny actually already knew, the real reason she's retreated is because she's trying (and thus-far failing) to find a way around the Vampires' powerful minds).

So the three witches return to Lancre to take on the Count and his family without her, but because the Magpyr family have built up a tolerance for the normal methods of defeating a vampire, such as garlic, bright light, and religious symbols, this is not so easily done. Just when it seems all is lost Granny Weatherwax comes through the front door soaked to the bone and swaying with exhaustion. Nanny Ogg and Magrat use Granny's assault upon the Count as a distraction to escape, leaving Granny, Agnes and Brother Oats with the Vampires. Granny is able to get through the Counts defenses but is unable to strike him down and the Magpyrs feed on her, with the intention of transforming her into a vampire.

Granny Weatherwax struggles against the vampirism inside her and thrusts the pain this causes into the iron of the castle forges anvil. She is only able to defeat the vampirism after she looks inside of herself and faces the darker side of her nature, but the struggle leaves her barely able to stand, let alone defeat the Count.

While Magrat and her daughter hide in Igor's dungeon quarters Nanny and Igor begin fighting against the Magpyrs, using the considerable stock of Holy water and other religious symbols that were originally collected by old Count Magpyr (who is described as having been "a sportsman"). Surprisingly (for the Magpyr family, at least) the old-fashioned ways to defeat vampires that they thought themselves protected against start to work again. They are even more horrified when they find out that Igor has re-awakened the old Count Magpyr, (having gone into his crypt and spilled a drop of blood on the old Count's cremation ashes), and that the people of Überwald would prefer the old Count to their new, modern type of vampirism. The Magpyrs are attacked (and presumably killed—though probably not permanently) by the citizens of Überwald and the witches return to Lancre.

Adaptations: None Known

Favourite Quotes: 

Lancre operated on the feudal system, which was to say, everyone feuded all the time and handed on the fight to their descendants.

- "Remember -- that which does not kill us can only make us stronger."

- "And that which does kill us leaves us dead!"

Perdita thought that not obeying rules was somehow cool. Agnes thought that rules like "Don't fall into this huge pit of spikes" were there for a purpose.

Reading Time: Started Monday 6th July 2015 - Finished Friday 10th July 2015