Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (/ˈlɛfən.juː/; 28 August 1814 – 7 February 1873), popularly known as J. S. Le Fanu, was an Irish writer of Gothic, mystery and horror literature. He is considered by literary critics to be among the greatest ghost story writers of the Victorian era, as his works were central to the development of the genre. He was the author of the locked-room mystery-thriller Uncle Silas (1864), the mystery novel The House by the Churchyard (1863), and the collection of stories In a Glass Darkly (1872), which includes his best-known publication, the novella Carmilla (1872), one of the earliest works of vampire literature and a landmark in the lesbian vampire genre. Born into a family of writers, Le Fanu began writing poetry at the age of fifteen, using his father's personal library to educate himself. Due to severe financial constraints, his family were forced to sell the library and its books to settle some of their debts following the passing of his father. In 1838, he began writing stories for the Dublin University Magazine to make money, which included his first ghost story, "The Ghost and the Bone-Setter" (1838). It was during this period that Le Fanu decided to focus on the ghost story genre, despite continuing to also write short stories and commentaries across other genres, and by 1840 he had become the owner of several local newspapers. Initially, his work fell into neglect following his death, and it was the efforts of later writers, such as Elizabeth Bowen and M. R. James, that brought the public's attention back to Le Fanu's novels. M. R. James, in particular, greatly admired his works and described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Le Fanu became a key figure in the dark romanticism movement during the 19th century, and had a major influence on later vampire and horror fictions such as Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), among others. While several of his short stories, fictional novels, novellas, and horror pieces proved popular in his lifetime, he remains a central figure in vampire fiction largely due to the significance of Carmilla. Since his death, the novella has become one of the most influential works of vampire literature, having been adapted for films, operas, video games, Halloween plays, comics, songs, cartoons, and other media.