Long Lost Bram Stoker Story Resurfaces
Long Lost Bram Stoker Story Resurfaces: Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival to unveil Historical Literary Treasure, discovered by Brian Cleary, with a Charitable Mission
In an extraordinary discovery, a long lost short story by Bram Stoker, the legendary author of Dracula, has been unearthed by Brian Cleary, a lifelong Stoker enthusiast.
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. This rare find, which has never been referenced in any Stoker bibliography or biography, 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.
More about the event
Read more about the incredible discovery…
In the New York Times, The Irish Times and The Guardian
A Book with a Mission
The discovery of Gibbet Hill has culminated in the creation of a unique book, which will be launched at Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival. The book features:
A foreword by acclaimed Irish author Roddy Doyle, who brings a personal connection to the project through his own experiences with deafness.
Brian Cleary’s narrative on finding Gibbet Hill and a biographical sketch: Bram Before Dracula.
The full text of Gibbet Hill, presented for the first time since its original publication.
Stoker Biographer Paul Murray’s piece Bram Stoker: Master of the Serpentine.
Pieces by visual artist Paul McKinley, evoking the eerie atmosphere of the story.
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.
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 (Brian works at the Rotunda Hospital) 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. 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.
Buy The Book
The Journey of Discovery
Brian Cleary’s journey began in 2021 when sudden sensorineural hearing loss changed his life. This condition affects about 1000 people in Ireland each year. It requires urgent treatment by an ENT specialist to potentially reverse the hearing loss. After having cochlear implant surgery and while on leave to retrain his hearing, Brian visited the National Library of Ireland (NLI), to indulge one of his interests; historical literature and the works of Bram Stoker. There, he uncovered this hidden literary gem.
Brian systematically searched the British Newspaper Archive and eventually found an advert dated New Year’s Day 1891 in the Dublin Daily Express advertising their Christmas Supplement that was published on December 17th 1890. Brian found this edition and uncovered a hitherto undocumented ghost story by Stoker entitled ‘Gibbet Hill’. He has undertaken extensive research to see if the story has been documented anywhere by Stoker biographers – it has not.
Before his death, Stoker had planned to release three volumes of short stories. One was published posthumously by his wife Florence, but the other two never appeared. Brian believes Stoker most likely planned to include Gibbet Hill in one of these volumes but died before he managed to compile them. Brian has searched, and collaborated with recognised Stoker authorities, but no evidence has been found that the story has appeared anywhere else, nor been noted in any historical documents or Stoker bibliographies.
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. 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; a Stoker biography and comparison with the broader Stoker canon; original artworks, 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.”
Maria Schweppe and Tom Lawlor, Co-directors of Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival said: “We are honoured to partner with Brian Cleary and the Rotunda Foundation to bring this long lost story by Bram Stoker to the world. As custodians of a festival celebrating Stoker’s legacy and lifetime, this remarkable find will be of interest globally and we are thrilled to present the first ever public reading of the story during the festival.”
Director of the National Library of Ireland, Dr Audrey Whitty said: “As Director of the National Library of Ireland a special memory is Brian’s recent call saying, ‘I’ve found something extraordinary in your newspaper archives—you won’t believe it.’ The National Library of Ireland’s unique collections, safeguarding over 12 million items, are at the heart of everything we do. There are truly world important discoveries waiting to be found through accessing our vast collections and Brian’s astonishing amateur detective work is a perfect example.”
Accompanying Exhibition – Péisteanna
In conjunction with the book launch, Paul McKinley’s exhibition Péisteanna is a new collection of artworks inspired by Gibbet Hill at The Casino Marino from October 3rd to November 5th. Peisteanna (Irish for worms), reflects the story’s unsettling themes and the strong connection to Stoker, who was born nearby.
Limited edition prints are available here https://rotundafoundation.ie/gibbet-hill/
