Chapter 4 of The House of the Vampire is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The House of the Vampire is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ah, but I loved you!" "You would not be warned, you would not listen. You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life." "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you? What were my pictures to you?"
Chapter 4 of The House of the Vampire is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading “"But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?”
having the ability or power to create
From this reading “You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."”
hear with intention
From this reading “"You would not be warned, you would not listen.”
plural of “picture” — a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading “What were my pictures to you?"”
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."”
force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading “You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."”
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading “"You would not be warned, you would not listen.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, but I loved you!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "You would not be warned, you would not listen.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Ah, but I loved you!"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
having the ability or power to create
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Ah, but I loved you!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
hear with intention
From this reading "You would not be warned, you would not listen.
held dear
From this reading "Ah, but I loved you!"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "You would not be warned, you would not listen.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
plural of “picture” — a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading What were my pictures to you?"
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading "You would not be warned, you would not listen.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading What were my pictures to you?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "But what on earth could you find in my poor art to attract you?
in the company of; together with
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "You would not be warned, you would not listen.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Ah, but I loved you!"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You stayed with me, and slowly, surely, the creative urge went out of your life."
Chapter 4 of The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 420 sentences of The House of the Vampire, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2055 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17144, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 171 minutes of reading across 411 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of the Vampire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The House of the Vampire to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The House of the Vampire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
