Discovery of Bram Stoker’s Short Story ‘Gibbet Hill’

Unearthing Bram Stoker’s Hidden Gem: “Gibbet Hill”

In a remarkable serendipitous moment, Brian Cleary, a dedicated clinical pharmacist based in Dublin, found himself exploring the vast archives at the National Library of Ireland a few years ago. It was during this exploration that he stumbled upon a truly extraordinary discovery: a nearly forgotten short story penned by none other than Bram Stoker, the celebrated author of the iconic Gothic novel “Dracula.” The story, a chilling narrative steeped in the supernatural and titled “Gibbet Hill,” had originally been published in a now-defunct Irish newspaper back in 1890, but curiously, it had not seen print or garnered mention in scholarly discussions since that time.

“I was just gobsmacked,” Cleary recounted, reflecting on the moment he uncovered the story. As the chief pharmacist at the Rotunda maternity hospital, Cleary has long held a fascination for Stoker’s work. “I felt an overwhelming urge to turn around and shout, ‘Guess what I found!’ but I was surrounded by serious researchers and academics, and I was merely an amateur,” he admitted, underscoring the significance of his finding.

Audrey Whitty, the director of the National Library, elaborated on the rarity of such discoveries. She noted that while unexpected finds do occasionally emerge from the library’s extensive collection of 12 million items, Cleary’s discovery of “Gibbet Hill” stands out due to the manner in which he uncovered it. Initially, he encountered a reference to the story in a promotional advertisement featured in the Dublin Daily Express on New Year’s Day, 1891. This piqued his curiosity and led him on a quest to locate the actual section where the story had been published—two weeks earlier, on December 17, 1890. It was there that the narrative had been “hidden in plain sight,” as Whitty aptly described it.

More From Author

Challenges of Abortion Legislation in South Carolina: A Physician’s Perspective

Cuba Endures Major Blackout Amid Ongoing Energy Crisis

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *