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A LONG LOST short story by the famed Irish author of Dracula, Bram Stoker, has been found in Dublin after 130 years – and is to be unveiled to the public at the Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival next week.
Life-long Stoker fan, Brian Cleary, unearthed the story in October 2023 at the National Library of Ireland while examining historical literature and the work of Bram Stoker.
Mr Cleary, who works at the Rotunda Hospital, was on leave following receiving a cochlear implant when he encountered the lost text.
The story, titled Gibbet Hill, was found in a Christmas supplement of the Dublin Daily Express in 1890 and has remained undocumented for over 130 years. It has never been referenced in any Stoker bibliography or biography.
This short ghost story will be brought to the public for the first time as part of Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival 2024, where the world premiere public reading of Gibbet Hill will take place on Saturday 26th October, at 1 pm in the Pillar Room at the Rotunda Hospital.
This event will feature a panel discussion hosted by RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan featuring Stoker’s biographer Paul Murray, artist Paul McKinley, Brian Cleary and a special guest for the story’s first ever public reading.
Speaking on the discovery, Mr Cleary said: “I sat in the National Library of Ireland on October 12th 2023, holding my breath while I gazed at what I had just found: a long lost ghost story from Bram Stoker. As I read this gem of a story, the thought struck me that unless someone had found it and had not shared it, I was possibly the only living person who had read it, followed by “What on earth do I do with it?”.
“After realising the literary and historical significance of the find, I found an amazing collection of people who helped bring Gibbet Hill to the world again after over 130 years in the darkness of the archives.”
One year on from the initial discovery of the story, a unique book has been created featuring the story, a foreword by Irish author Roddy Doyle, and Brian Cleary’s narrative on finding Gibbet Hill. The book also features a biographical sketch of Stoker and original artwork
There is also a reproduction of Charlotte Stoker’s 1862 paper, presented at the Dublin Statistical Society, advocating for the education of deaf children – a cause deeply linked to the project’s mission.
Mr Cleary continued: “This beautiful book brings together a fitting foreword from Roddy Doyle; Stoker’s long-lost story; the story of how I found it as a direct result of my sudden hearing loss; an analysis by Stoker biographer, Paul Murray; original artworks by Paul McKinley, and work by Charlotte Stoker, Bram’s mother.
I hope this book will raise vital funds for the newly-established Charlotte Stoker Fund, administered by the Rotunda Foundation, and that the funds raised will support research on preventable hearing loss in vulnerable infants.”
Proceeds from the book will benefit the newly-established Charlotte Stoker Fund, dedicated to research on preventable deafness in vulnerable newborns.
This fund, administered by The Rotunda Foundation honours the legacy of Bram Stoker’s mother, Charlotte, a pioneering social justice campaigner and an advocate for the education of deaf children in her time.
Gibbet Hill by Bram Stoker, published by The Rotunda Foundation, is out on 26 October priced at €18.99. It can be pre-ordered and bought here.
Also available on buythebook.ie and as an ebook from Amazon.co.uk. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Charlotte Stoker Fund for research on the prevention of acquired deafness in vulnerable newborn babies.
Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival takes place in Dublin, Ireland, from 25-28 October.
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I know we love to say it, but the contribution Irish writers have made is absolutely staggering for such a small population. Bram Stoker made arguably the most impactful contribution too considering how big the genre of vampires is now.
@Daire O’Reilly: no matter what way you dice it up……/ this IS a cracking read, a good news story. I’m looking forward to reading it!
@Daire O’Reilly: not great about a blood sucking death cult. One that should not have been written in Ireland.
@Buster Lawless: lol!
Why Miriam O’Callaghan to host the panel discussion? Why???
Can’t we move away from the RTÉ “talents” and the cosiness of political relatives?
@Jerry LeFrog: RTE will never change that.
The new reality show “sinn Fein the traitors” will be a rip roaring success
@K O: normally, you’d only need to PRESS the ‘ self- destruct ‘ button ‘ , fair play to SF— they JUMPED on it
@K O: The star spangled wellies will match the cucumber living next door to Otto the kangaroo from Bolivia. Such a nice time.
@K O: McDonald did very well during the week showing in how the government and their allies made very little coherent attacks. Sinn Fêin did what they should have. Ironic from Kielty though, attacking Sinn Féin when loyalists killed his father and are still alive and well but shush,tye government eon’t gain any points by attacking active loyalist paramilitaries who have a seat at tye DUP table at Stormont.
@Brian D’Arcy: so, now SF are to be exempted from any political satire? They looked ridiculous, they are ridiculous
@Alan: when rte reminded Pascal that putting vat on school shoes has toppled a govt when he was putting up the vat rate ,he demanded,and got ,a apology from RTE ,
You can’t have a broadcaster taking 100s of millions from the govt without there being a conflict.
@Alan: look in your mirror
@Brian D’Arcy: it’s called satire and if anyone deserves satirical ridicule in the past week it’s the shinners. Mary Lou proved she can even run a political party, let alone a country. They’ve made a total balls of each incident that’s emerged, lying to the Dail even.
Nothing new for the ‘Late, Late’ to attack Republicans
@Brian D’Arcy: Republicans demoted themselves to mewling kittens who can’t take a joke. At least it’s taken the focus off a SF senator who text a child and was moved back over the border on full expenses for a few months. A bit of a Catholic church move that, but there you have it.
@Brian D’Arcy: ah diddums
@Brian D’Arcy: SF needs to start laughing. They’re the dourist lot
@honey badger: the child was 17 and the PSNI have said that no crime was committed.
@sean weir: no the psni did not say no crime was committed, they said there has not been a complaint by the alleged injured party, ie the child and their family, who want to move on.
@sean weir: I see you’re parroting the same ‘inaccuracy’ that Mairead Farrell ran with yesterday. The child was 16. You can read a statement from him in yesterdays paper. You might also want to recheck what the PSNI actually said.
“Sinn fein traitors” I am not far right, but I do like it
@hi from heaven: Putting up a picture of Stanley and McDonald during a live investigation was sheer stupidity but yet Turbidy never accepted criticism of the governmemt or O’Brien. Sinn Féin have the media, the establishment and the far-right to fight against, bring it on,unlike the Blue-Shirts who are offering the hand of friendshio to the far-right.
@Brian D’Arcy: an investigation sinn Fein never wanted
The reason why this book has been uncovered is because he didn’t have a binding contract at the time with his publisher
@Larry Betts: great age thou are
It’s called paddy the vampire slayer
@John Kenny: No it’s not. It’s called Killah’s in da Hood
Now that this story has been resurrected it will join thr undead. I, for one, am scared!
Just thinking about the body that fell out of the hearse on to the motorway in Poland and a sheet went on to the screen of a car as he drove over it, on its way to the crypt, well it was day time, just saying.
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