They find a macabre tale by the author of ‘Dracula’ after more than a century forgotten in a library

Titled ‘Gibbet Hill’, this story was originally published in a Christmas supplement to the Dublin edition of the ‘Daily Mail’ newspaper in 1890, but had never been mentioned in any biography or work about Stoker.

The journey of discovery began in 2021, when Brian Cleary, a 44-year-old writer and amateur historian, was diagnosed with sudden deafness. While recovering from cochlear implant surgery, Cleary visited the National Library to indulge his interest in historical literature and the works of Stoker, who was also originally from Dublin.

«I was stunned when I realized that I had in my hands a forgotten ghost story Stoker,” Cleary told AFP from the Marino Casino, an emblematic neoclassical building in Dublin where the text is now on display for the first time, and which is located near the writer’s birthplace. “I stared at the screen, wondering, ‘Am I the only person in the world who has read this?’ Then I said to myself: ‘And now, what do I do with this discovery?’” he recalled.

The author highlights that the story was written “more or less at the same time that Stoker I was working on ‘Dracula’» and that shares some elements with the famous 1897 novel. The macabre story revolves around a sailor murdered by three criminalswhose bodies were hung on a gallows as a ghostly warning to travelers passing over the hill.

To validate his finding, Cleary conducted extensive research and consulted with Paul Murray, biographer and expert in the work of Stoker, who confirmed that the story had remained unknown until then.

According to Murray, ‘Gibbet Hill’ is key to understanding Stoker’s development as a writer: “In 1890, he was a young author who had already begun taking notes for ‘Dracula.’ This story is a classic fight between good and evil, with evil appearing in various ways. unexpected and inexplicableand represents an important stage on his path towards the publication of his most famous work.