Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (28 August 1814 – 7 February 1873), best known as Sheridan Le Fanu, was an Irish writer of Gothic tales, mystery novels, and horror fiction. He was a leading ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M. R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are *Uncle Silas*, *Carmilla*, and *The House by the Churchyard*. **Source**: [Sheridan Le Fanu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheridan_Le_Fanu) on Wikipedia.