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"Interview with the Vampire" is depicted from the point of view of Louis. He is a young vampire, made by Lestat, who is portrayed as a capricious, self centered, secretive and powerful figure that dominates Louis's life.

Louis was the creole master of two Indigo plantations on the Mississippi very near New Orleans. He had the responsibility to care for his family - his mother, sister and his younger brother, Paul.

Paul was the only one not happy at the luxurious estate. He wanted to be a priest, but he started having visions about saints speaking to him. He claimed they told him to tell Louis to sell the plantations and give the money to him so he could return to France to end the Godless revolution. When Louis laughed off his claims as nonsense and as a result Paul killed himself, throwing himself down the stairs.

Louis was blamed by his family for his brother's death and he was devastated - he also blamed himself. Louis left Pointe du Lac and moved to a town house. He started to drink heavily so he wouldn't have to remember what had happened. He wanted to die but didn't have the courage to do anything about it. The vampire Lestat was only too willing to help him.

Lestat wanted the plantation (and I'm sure he couldn't resist Louis' beautiful green eyes and long, dark hair), because he had a problem. He had his blind father with him, and he needed shelter and servants to care for him during the day. Louis chose to become a vampire although it horrified him when he watched Lestat kill. He saw becoming a vampire in two lights - first - simple enchantment, second - his wish to be thoroughly damned.

The night Lestat gave him his blood, after he got rid of the last of his human waste, Louis was fully aware he was dying as a human yet he felt fully alive as a vampire. He despised Lestat telling him that dying happens to everyone when he was suffering badly. He knew then that Lestat was never the vampire that he was, not at all. He had been altered permanently - he felt everything profoundly, whereas Lestat felt nothing (please understand - this was Louis' opinion of Lestat, which annoyed Lestat when he read 'Interview With The Vampire'). Louis also discovered that he felt awful killing humans.

Louis was annoyed because he felt used and cheated by Lestat. He was disappointed that Lestat was all he had to learn from. Lestat had Louis at a disadvantage. He hinted there was much practical knowledge that Louis didn't know that he alone could tell him. He needed Louis' to manage his money and invest, and to provide shelter for his dying father.

Lestat did at least tell Louis that vampires could survive from the blood of animals, in an emergency. Louis chose to do this all the time so he didn't have to kill humans. Because of this Lestat called him a "whining coward of a vampire... stalking alley cat and rats!"

Here's one example of Lestat's callousness - Louis tried desperately to convince Lestat not to kill the head of the Frienere Estate. This young man was the brother of five sisters who relied upon him for everything. Babette was one of the sisters, and she was as strong as her brother. Of course Lestat had his goals set on killing this young man and succeeded much to Louis' distress. He knew the five sisters needed the brother or they would end up homeless and unmarried with no dowry.

Louis felt compelled to watch over the family's progress. He fell deeply for Babette who chose to take up the burden of her brother. He visited her to advise her. He hardly spoke to Lestat for a year or so after this. During this time, his slaves were becoming very suspicious of Louis and Lestat, and they connected the increasing deaths of fellow servants and cattle with them and started to plot an uprising.

At this time Lestat's father was dying and Lestat asked Louis to kill him. He did this on the same night he torched his estate while Lestat killed most of the rebellious slaves. They fled to sleep on Babette's Frienere estate before the lethal dawn (Louis had previously visited Babette on several occasions, concealing himself in the shadows each time, advising her on her estate. Babette had thought him an angel and begged to see his face - which he refused). On the night he set Pointe du Lac on fire, some of the surviving servants fled to her estate ranting about the demons Louis and Lestat. Louis approached her, asking for a place to stay where no-one would disturb him until night. He promised her he would tell her everything then.

When Babette appeared at night she confronted Louis. From the slaves' tales she had realised who he was and accused him of being a devil. Louis only wanted to be gentle with her, but Lestat intervened and attacked her. They had to flee leaving Babette demented and Louis devastated. He really despised Lestat for this and wanted to leave him.

They left for New Orleans. Lestat hunted alone, reluctantly, while Louis continued to hunt animals. His desire for blood was relinquished when he came across a 5-year-old child, sobbing at the hand of her mother's plague-ravished body, long dead. Louis' burning craving took over and he took her. For the first time in 4 years, he had not savoured the luxury of drinking a human's blood. Of course, he was mortified when he realised what he was doing and dropped the child immediately.

To his dismay, he realised Lestat was watching him. Lestat was delighted to see Louis kill and picked up the girl's mother's corpse to dance with her. Louis ran while Lestat shouted after him that the child was not dead and that they should make her a vampire. This enraged Louis and he attacked Lestat. They had to stop fighting before the sun came up. Louis went to his coffin not knowing if Lestat would kill him while he slept.

Louis did awake the next night, and Lestat was entertaining two young women. He made sure Louis watched him seduce and tease his victims before he killed them which disgusted Louis. Lestat demanded that Louis succumb to his vampire nature. Louis realised he only felt peace when he killed, remembering the young girl. When Lestat sensed Louis' pain he took him to the child he thought he'd killed. Her name was Claudia.

Lestat watched Louis drain more blood from her but pushed him away before she was about to die. Then Lestat started to give Claudia his blood warning Louis away when he tried to intervene. The 5-year-old child was now a vampire, Lestat's new eager pupil. Lestat and Louis were her new "fathers".

Lestat did this to stop Louis leaving and it worked. Louis adored Claudia. He was her "mother figure" and Lestat was her teacher. Claudia slept with Louis' in his coffin.

The vampire family lived happily together for 65 years until they noticed a change in Claudia. She resented being treated like a doll. She was angry because her appearance never changed. She had the intelligence of a 70-year-old woman but was trapped inside her child's body. She blamed Lestat for this when she learned it was he who made her a vampire. She plotted to kill him so she and Louis could go away together.

Lestat was getting weary of both Claudia and Louis and he spent most of his time visiting a young man, whom he fancied making his next fledgling. He was surprised to discover Claudia waiting for him, offering him a peace offering: two young boys, drunk, apparently, on brandy wine. When Lestat started drinking he started shivering, his shoulders convulsed and he looked decidedly ill. It was then that Claudia announced the young boys were poisoned with Absinthe and Laudenum. As Lestat called to Louis for help, Claudia lunged forward and stabbed Lestat brutally. The blood poured out of Lestat's body and his body became skeletal. Louis was extremely disturbed at Claudia's actions and felt disgusted at her brutal murder.

Louis and Claudia dumped Lestat's body in the swamp and set out to organise passage to Europe.

Lestat was not dead. He was extremely sick but he managed to return to the house in New Orleans, furious and intent on revenge. Louis fought with him and managed to overpower him, leaving him for dead in a fire which had started in the house.

They left Lestat behind and managed to catch their ship before it left. Louis and Claudia, both curious about others of their kind, travelled across Europe for others of their kind.

All they found were vagabond vampires who lived in Transylvania, Hungary and Bulgaria. They were nothing like them. They were mindless corpses. Louis thought they had killed the only other vampire like them - Lestat. For the first time, Louis wished Lestat was still alive.

Claudia asked why Louis couldn't make another vampire. Louis could think of nothing worse - life in death was a curse to him.

Disappointed and lonely, the two vampires headed for France. Louis was creole after all, so Paris would be very familiar to him. It was then that Claudia started to hurt Louis' feelings about making her a vampire when she was so young. He felt how helpless and vulnerable she appeared to be, but was aware that she was a much stronger vampire (mentally) than he was.

While walking in the dark winding Paris streets, Louis noticed he was being followed - by another vampire mirroring his own steps. He turned to face Santiago, another vampire, imitating his stance and facial expression perfectly. Santiago was mocking Louis and Louis didn't like him at all.

With him was another vampire, who promised no harm to Louis and Claudia. This vampire had the face of an angel, an auburn-haired beautiful young boy, called Armand. He handed him an invitiation to the 'Theatre des Vampires'. At last, Louis had found others of their kind.

He took Claudia to the theatre, certain he was going to see some revelations that night.

Louis and Claudia were shocked to discover the employees at the theatre were mortal as well as the audience. The vampires put on a monstrous show acting as if they were humans pretending to be vampires. A scared mortal young girl was pushed on the stage. Santiago was playing "Death" who taunted her, asking why she would want to grow old. The girl was terrified, yet Louis wanted her and felt her fear. Armand appeared on stage and killed her in front of the mesmerised mortals.

That night, Louis and Claudia were invited to the vampires' home. The vault underneath - a large ballroom adorned with coffins and hellish paintings. After a long talk with Armand, Louis learned that, according to Armand, he was the oldest surviving vampire in existence at 400 years old and that he knew nothing of god, the devil or true evil. Louis could not cope with this because they were not the answers he had hoped for. Armand loved Louis' compassion. From their meeting, both vampires became drawn to each other, and longed to be together.

As Louis and Claudia were leaving, they were confronted by Santiago who picked up Louis thinking about his regrets about Lestat. He started to taunt them, hinting that it was a crime to kill those of your own kind. Claudia sensed they were in danger and encouraged Louis to leave. Both were extremely disappointed by the vampires at the theatre. They found them threatening.

Louis visited Armand again, longing to be his companion but he expressed his worry about Claudia. He sensed the danger she was in. Armand warned him that he must close his mind to the other vampires, his regrets could be heard, therefore he could not hide his secrets. He also said that the vampires wondered who could make a young child like Claudia into a vampire. Louis was torn. He wanted Armand so much. Yet he knew that Armand did not want Claudia. Claudia sensed this too and she sought out a new companion - Madeleine - a doll maker.

Claudia demanded that Louis turn Madeleine into a vampire which mortified Louis. Things were changing too much. He didn't want to lose Claudia but he knew it was inevitable. Madeleine was a willing victim and she became Louis' first fledgling. The reason he did it was to let Claudia go and to be free to go to Armand, but he loathed the thought of making another vampire.

With Madeleine around, Louis felt left out and miserable and his desire for Armand grew stronger. When Armand confessed he willed Louis to make her a vampire, Louis was very upset because it nearly destroyed the value in him which Armand craved - his human soul.

Louis at last was ready to let Claudia know he was ready to go to Armand because she appeared to be happy with Madeleine. They made their peace and slept in each other's arms.

They woke abruptly to discover they were surrounded by a hostile Santiago and the other vampires from the theatre. Louis and Claudia were forcefully taken to the vaults under theatre only to discover not Armand, but a weakened and scarred Lestat. Louis couldn't believe Lestat was alive but was horrified to learn that Lestat had told them everything about Claudia and wanted her punished so that he would be free to take Louis back with him. Santiago did not keep his word and ordered that Louis be sealed in a coffin which was to be bricked up. Of course Louis did not know what fate Claudia had befallen until Armand rescued him.

He found Lestat sitting with his head bowed, clutching Claudia's little yellow dress. His sense of dread was strong. He knew that something was very, very wrong.

To his utter horror, Louis discovered the bodies of Claudia and Madeleine burnt to ashes in an outdoor cell. They had been left to burn in the daylight.

Louis claimed that he was no longer a passive, weak creature. The last that was human in him had died. He then warned Armand not to stay at the 'Theatre des Vampires' ever again, he knew what he had to do.

He constructed a plan to get his revenge on the vampires who killed his beloved Claudia. He waited in a carriage (with a mortal driver) outside 'The Theatre des Vampires' 15 minutes before daylight because he knew the vampires would be in their coffins already. Inside the theatre, Louis ran through the corridors bathing walls and doors with kerosine. He then set it alight, slaying the vampires who rose from their coffins in agony. He then safely escaped to his waiting carriage as 'The Theatre des Vampires' burned to the ground.

Of course, Armand took heed of his warning and approached Louis after the fire. Louis wondered why Armand didn't warn to the other vampires of his impending revenge.

Louis and Armand then became companions, and left Paris to travel around the world - to Egypt, Greece and Italy. Louis felt he was now dead to the world. He and were Armand growing apart, and they returned to New Orleans in the 1920's. It was then that Armand informed Louis that Lestat had returned there too, on the night after Claudia's death.

Louis sensed another vampire and followed him, assuming that Lestat might be responsible for him. He was right. The vampire killed a young mother and carried her baby to an old house. Looking through the window he saw a weakened Lestat, sitting amongst the corpses of dead animals. The baby was for him to feed on. Lestat saw Louis at the window and pleaded for him to come in. Louis stood, detached and cold, snubbing Lestat's request for him to come back to him. Lestat was a pathetic, former shadow of himself who cowered at the sounds of sirens. Louis left Lestat and never looked back.

Not long after that night, Louis told Armand of his encounter with Lestat. He said that Lestat had met his own fate and that he was dying of old age. When Armand discovered that seeing Lestat again never made Louis feel any anger of desire for revenge he was upset. Louis knew that it was Armand that was responsible for Claudia's death but said that he didn't care any more. Armand left him that night because he wanted to see Louis come to life again, to be warm and loving once more as he was before Claudia died and he now knew that would never happen.

Louis told this whole story to interviewer Daniel Malloy, and when his story reached its sad conclusion, Daniel told him his story couldn't be finished. He offered to be Louis' new companion which angered Louis completely. His reason for telling his story was it was his one chance to show the meaning of his immortal life, and he was sharing his regrets, and he had failed. Being a vampire sounded appealing to Daniel and he wanted to be the same.

In a rage Louis attacked Daniel and left him for dead.