Took me more than a month to finish this book. I liked the story of Carmilla best. But I must say I'm glad I can move on to another book now to be honest.
The book unfolds five supernatural cases that were told in the letters from an illustrious physician, late Dr. Martin Hesselius, to his friend. (Well, most of the stories are supernatural anyway.)
I liked its Gothic atmosphere and I can imagine it being told in front of the fire one cold night, one story at a time. It is interesting in that each supernatural experience is told in light of Dr. Hesselius's medical knowledge. However, what happens when you read them all by yourself is that, although each case tells a different kind of the supernatural, they can feel quite repetitive and by the time you finish the third story, you feel you've had enough. Also, the fourth story "The Room in the Dragon Volant" felt way too long for that slightly unsatisfactory ending. (You can pretty much guess the twist from about the middle of the story.) Despite its many cliffhangers, I couldn't care less what happened to the guy Richard. The last case, Carmilla, was quite refreshing. (You can never enjoy too many vampire stories!)
I can see the work being an important book in the Gothic genre though. Some of the scenes were very exciting. (Premature burial, unearthing of a dead body etc.) Maybe I'm not much of a short stories person.