The old english way of spelling "
Vampire." It'
s also the title of the first
vampire story written in the english language; which was published in 1819. Seventy-nine years before the publication of Bram Stoker'
s vampire novel "Dracula."
During the year without summer (1816) in which
Mary & Percy Shelly, Clair Clairmont, Lord Byron, and John Polidori were gathered at the Villa Diodati, Switzerland; Lord Byron suggested, on one night, that each should write a horror story.
During that night, Polidori began writing a short tale which would become the first vampire story ever written in the english language, titled: "The Vampyre."
It should also be noted that during that same night, Mary Shelley started working on a story which would later evolve into the famous novel "Frankenstein."
Polidori's story "The Vampyre" is a short story which was, at first, was falsely credited to Lord Byron. Nevertheless, it was
later confirmed by Byron that the
author was in fact John William Polidori (Lord Byron'
s physician).