J. Sheridan Le Fanu

The House by the Churchyard J. Sheridan Le Fanu

J. Sheridan LeFanu -- Irish author of such classics as the short vampire novel Carmella (reputed to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula) and A Chapter in the History of the Tyrone Family (said to be the tale that gave rise to Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights -- lived from 1814 until 1873. He wrote all sorts of tales, but he's best remembered as a writer of mysteries and horror.

Horrors like this one, The House by the Churchyard -- a thrilling, haunting tale that remains in the memory long after the lights go out. Set in Chapelizod in Dublin (where LeFanu lived for some time) it was an important source for James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.