The following article explores the historical dimension of ‚transmedia storytelling‘ in the nineteenth century, drawing on the example of the multiple dramatizations and musicalizations inspired by John William Polidori’s story ‚The Vampyre‘, which was published in 1819 and almost immediately became a European bestseller. The numerous stage versions and musical dramas of the story, which were widespread and highly popular in France, England, Germany and beyond, prove revealing in several respects. They illustrate in how far the fascination of transmedia narrative cultures is not to be considered a phenomenon restricted to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Instead, the theatrical and musical adaptations of ‚The Vampyre‘ not only elucidate the tremendous success of transmedia narratives in nineteenth century culture, but also showcase the artistic and aesthetic potential of the transmedial process itself. As becomes evident when examining their stage history, the transpositions and transformations of the core narrative have stimulated a series of technical innovations and new forms of aesthetic representations in different media and genres. Thus, they inspire and initiate artistic creativity and promote the coevolution of media.