Synopsis for
"Nightmare Classics" Carmilla (1989)

Lonely Marie [Ione Skye] wants a friend. Ever since her mother ran off, she hasn't had anyone to talk to or to share her life on the Southern plantation on which she lives. The General's daughter was supposed to come and stay, but she is too sick with the plague. That evening, a coach crashes on the road, leaving three people dead and a fourth-- a young girl named Carmilla [Meg Tilly] -- too invalid to travel. Carmilla comes to stay at the plantation and, as she convalesces, she and Marie become extremely close, much to the dismay of the maid who is beginning to suspect Carmilla of being a witch or something. When the maid dies and Marie begins to grow weaker, Inspector Amos [Roddy McDowell] thinks it's a vampire and that the vampire is Carmilla. To test his theory, Amos places dog roses on the staircase to see how Carmilla reacts. She is dismayed, and Amos dies mysteriously. Yes, the vampire is Carmilla, and she is feeding on Marie. Carmilla and Marie run away. Her father follows them to the crypt in which Carmilla's relatives were entombed. There, he stakes Carmilla's relatives and finds his missing wife who begs to be staked. Carmilla escapes. Marie retreats to her bedroom where she finds a white rat. The rat is Carmilla who attempts to drink from Marie. Marie fights off Carmilla, finally staking her on a coathanger. Marie is saved.