The classical piece Ernessa plays on piano is Chopin's Nocturne no. 1. Lily Cole actually suggested a few different pieces to the director and chose this piece, which she had never heard before.
The novel studied in Mr Davies' class is "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu. The illustrations seen in the film are by David Henry Friston who illustrated the story when it appeared in serial form in "The Dark Blue", a London literary magazine of the 1870s.
Gia Sandhu's debut.