Dublin has spawned three important writers in the nineteenth century gothic tradition: Charles Maturin (1782-1824), Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) and Bram Stoker (1847-1912). These writers contributed memorable and influential stories that were inspired by and often set in their native Dublin. Their fictions, which delve into universal and supernatural themes such as ghosts, vampires and the devil, persist in popularity to this day. Brian J. Showers is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He has a degree in English Literature and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin, and is a frequent contributor to the Ghost Story Society journal All Hallows. He currently resides on the Emerald Isle, somewhere in the verdant and ghost-haunted wilderness of Dublin City, where he is writing his own collection of spooky stories.