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Sheridan Le Fanu

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Author

The Resume

    (August 28, 1814-February 7, 1873)
    Born in Dublin, Ireland
    Birth name was Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu
    Gothic horror and mystery writer
    Notable works include ‘The House by the Churchyard’ (1863), ‘Uncle Silas’ (1864),, and ‘Carmilla’ (1873)
    Grandnephew of playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Why he might be annoying:

    He studied law at Trinity College, but never practiced as an attorney, becoming a journalist instead.
    He lived in a house leased from his brother-in-law, and frequently failed to pay the rent on it.
    He became reclusive after his wife died (1858), resulting in him being nicknamed ‘the Invisible Prince’ by Dublin society.
    His works slipped into obscurity after his death until fellow horror author M.R. James arranged for their republication in the 1920s.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His ‘The House by the Churchyard’ was frequently referred to in James Joyce’s ‘Finnegan’s Wake.’
    His tendency to imply the supernatural while allowing for a natural explanation influenced other horror artists, such as Val Lewton’s principle of ‘indirect horror.’
    He pioneered the lesbian vampire genre in ‘Carmilla.’
    Colin Wilson called him ‘the only great writer of the supernatural’ to come from the British Isles.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying