John Polidori

John Polidori

John Polidori was born in 1975 in London, England. What no one knew was that he would change the world of fictional horror, and influence so many authors of the horror genre that came after him forever. This would include Bram Stoker, author of the classic horror novel Dracula. This was a result of the creation of the monster that Polidori defined as a vampire, which was made famous by Stoker in the previously mentioned novel Dracula.

It is quite interesting how Polidori created the idea of the vampire in his story titled The Vampyre. Polidori was the physician of famous English poet, Lord Byron. While working for Lord Byron, the relationship between the two men wasn’t the best. It is said that, “Polidori’s text is woven from the invisible dynamics of the Byron-Shelley circle, and especially the humiliations he suffered at Byron’s hand” (1). His work as a physician was also a contributing factor to his creation of the Vampire. This is because of the way medicine was practiced in the 19^th century. The study of antiphlogistics was very common. What this consists of is, “blood-letting, vomiting, enemas, blistering, and plunge-baths” (2). This is something Polidori became very good at, although he did not enjoy it.

After Polidori stopped working with Lord Byron, and finished writing The Vampyre, he continued to write gothic horror novels. Polidori also returned to England in the year 1818. In 1819, Polidori wrote the gothic horror novella Ernestus Berchtold. However, this novel, and nothing else that he wrote came close to the success that The Vampyre had, even though that itself wasn’t incredibly popular. This really bothered Polidori, and it has been said that,

“[d]epressed over his lack of literary success and rising gambling debts, Polidori was found dead in his lodgings in London on August 27, 1821” (3). This tragic death of course was only a short 2 years after the publication of The Vampyre. It is to be believed that Polidori had poisoned himself to death.

No one can debate that John Polidori has had an incredible impact on the horror genre, especially 19^th century gothic horror. Without his completion of his novella, The Vampyre, Bram Stoker’s creation of the character Dracula simply would not have been possible. It is unfortunate to see that Polidori did not receive the credit he deserved for creating such an amazing monster, and not getting recognized unfortunately led him to an early death. Writers, and fans of literature today have a lot to thank John Polidori for, and his contributions to literature will not be forgotten for many years to come.

Works Cited

Davis, Mary Virginia. “John William Polidori.” Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89874464&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Murray, John. John Polidori. 2018. Frankenstein Diaries. 5 March 2020.

Stott, Andrew McConnel. “The Poet, the Physician, and the Birth of the Modern Vampire.” Publicdomainreview.org

https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-poet-the-physician-and-the-birth-of-the-modern-vampire