‘Interview with the Vampire’ Meets Dark Academia in This Fantasy Thriller That Deserves an Adaptation
Collider critic Kelcie Mattson argues that Tigest Girma's novel "Immortal Dark" deserves a television adaptation, citing the current popularity of vampire stories such as "Sinners" and AMC+'s "Interview with the Vampire" that centre Black creators and characters rather than the genre's traditional Eurocentric focus. Girma's 2024 New York Times bestseller, and its 2025 sequel "Eternal Ruin", blend supernatural fantasy, dark academia, Gothic horror and romance while drawing on East African mythology, making it, in the writer's view, a prime candidate to extend this diversification of vampire fiction onto screen.
The novel follows 19-year-old Kidan Adane, who must embrace her family's blood ties to Uxlay University, a secretive institution built on pacts between mortal families and vampires, as she searches for her missing sister June and confronts the enigmatic vampire Susenyos Sagad. Girma has said the book was inspired by a 2020 rewatch of "Twilight", which prompted her to ask what vampire lore might look like rooted in African rather than European tradition, drawing on her own family's move from Ethiopia to Australia. The article praises the book's dense worldbuilding, including a sentient, mood-responsive building and generational conspiracies, as reasons it would translate well into a fantasy television series.
- Critic makes the case for adapting Tigest Girma's novel "Immortal Dark" for TV.
- Book blends vampire fantasy, dark academia and East African mythology.
- Inspired by Girma's 2020 "Twilight" rewatch and Ethiopian-Australian background.
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Immortal Dark is a novel by Tigest Girma, first published in 2024 and followed by a 2025 sequel, Eternal Ruin. It centres on 19-year-old Kidan Adane, who is drawn into Uxlay University, a secretive institution built on bargains between human families and vampires, as she searches for her missing sister and encounters a vampire named Susenyos Sagad. The books mix supernatural fantasy, Gothic horror, campus-set "dark academia" atmosphere and romance.
What sets the story apart, and why it is being discussed now, is that it builds its vampire lore from East African mythology rather than the European traditions most vampire fiction draws on. Girma, whose family moved from Ethiopia to Australia, has said the idea grew from rewatching Twilight in 2020 and wondering what such stories would look like rooted in African rather than European folklore.
The wider context is a recent run of vampire stories, including the film Sinners and AMC+'s Interview with the Vampire, that have put Black creators and characters at the centre of a genre long dominated by white, European settings. Commentators have suggested Immortal Dark could extend that shift if it were adapted for television, though no adaptation has been announced.