Gibbet Hill, a haunting tale by Dracula author Bram Stoker, lost for over 130 years, has been rediscovered in an 1890 supplement of the Dublin Daily Express. It will soon be published as a limited-edition book, with the world’s first public reading taking place at the Bram Stoker Festival later this week.
A long-lost short story by Bram Stoker, the renowned Dublin author of Dracula, has been rediscovered in the collections of the National Library of Ireland (NLI) by amateur researcher and lifelong Stoker fan Brian Cleary. Titled “Gibbet Hill”, Stoker’s story was found in an 1890 Christmas supplement of the Daily Express (Dublin edition).
Gibbet Hill
In this forgotten macabre tale, the narrator finds himself on Gibbet Hill in Surrey, England, where he stumbles upon a memorial dedicated to a sailor by the roadside and, nearby, three mysterious children. The sailor had been murdered by three criminals whose bodies were displayed on the gallows (“gibbet”) as a warning to travellers. Printed in the same year that Stoker started working on Dracula, “Gibbet Hill” shares some striking similarities with his bestselling vampire novel but somehow, this short story has escaped the attention of Stoker biographers and literary scholars for over 130 years.
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Cleary lives close to Marino Crescent in north Dublin where Bram Stoker was born and often passes the writer’s old house. After experiencing sudden hearing loss and undergoing cochlear implant surgery, Cleary – who was on leave from his job as a pharmacist at the Rotunda Hospital while receiving rehabilitation for his hearing – began visiting the National Library to indulge his passion for Stoker’s work. His dedication to his research led him to discover “Gibbet Hill”, a tale that does not appear in any known Stoker bibliographies. Cleary began to wonder if he might be the only person alive who had read this story by the world-famous author:
“I sat in the National Library of Ireland on 12 October 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?’”
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Cleary contacted several Stoker biographers and experts, who confirmed that the piece was indeed the work of Bram Stoker.
>>> READ MORE: From rackets to rugby: Dubliner Frank Stoker and his sporting triumphs
New book
This lost tale is set to be republished as a limited-edition book. The forthcoming publication also includes the account of its rediscovery by Cleary, a foreword by acclaimed Irish author Roddy Doyle, a piece by Stoker biographer Paul Murray, artwork by visual artist Paul McKinley inspired by the narrative and a reprint of a paper by Bram’s mother, Charlotte Stoker, presented at the Dublin Statistical Society in 1862, advocating for the education of deaf children.
All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Rotunda Foundation’s newly established Charlotte Stoker Fund, which is dedicated to researching the prevention of acquired deafness in vulnerable newborn babies. You can preorder your copy of Gibbet Hill, available in print (€18.99) and ebook (£9.99) formats, along with prints inspired by the story, here.
Bram Stoker Festival
The recently rediscovered story will also feature prominently at the upcoming Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival. On Saturday, 26 October, the festival will host a sold-out public event in the Pillar Room at the Rotunda Hospital, featuring Miriam O’Callaghan interviewing Brian Cleary, Paul Murray and Paul McKinley. They will discuss Cleary’s remarkable find and its significance for Bram Stoker’s legacy, an author who has managed to captivate audiences for over a century. The event will also include the first public reading of “Gibbet Hill” in over 130 years.
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Maria Schweppe and Tom Lawlor, co-directors of the 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.”
Dr Audrey Whitty of the NLI expressed her excitement at the discovery:
“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.”
A digitized version of the complete 1890 Christmas supplement of the Daily Express, which features the story of “Gibbet Hill”, is now available to read on the NLI website here. More information on the upcoming four-day Bram Stoker Festival, running from 25–28 October, can be found at bramstokerfestival.com.
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