Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish author of Gothic, mystery, and horror fiction. In 1872, he published the Gothic novella Carmilla, which is noted as one of the earliest works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula by 26 years, and whose enduring influence can be recognized in every modern vampire tale. Serialized first in the literary magazine The Dark Blue, then collected in Le Fanu's short story collection In a Glass Darkly, the narrative is presented as part of the casebook of one Dr. Martin Hesselius, whose departure from medical orthodoxy rank him as one of the first occult detectives in literature, while the story itself is narrated by a young woman named Laura who is seduced and preyed upon by a female vampire: the novella's namesake Carmilla.
