Halloween may have passed but 8 November marks the birth in 1847 of the writer, Bram Stoker. Remembered by many simply as the man that created Dracula, Stoker lived an incredible life. Born at the height of Black 47, the worst year of the Famine, he was actually the author of more than a dozen other books and was internationally acclaimed in the process. He is commemorated and remembered today for his writing but who was he? The Evening Herald newspaper gave this account of his life, in 1963:

Abraham Stoker, the son of a Dublin Castle civil servant was born at No. 15 The Crescent, Clontarf in November 1847. One of a family of seven, he was a delicate child and a great reader.

When at Trinity College he became very interested in the theatre. Following in his father's footsteps he became a civil servant, and in his spare time drama critic for a Dublin paper. Later he begen to write stories and edit magazines. In 1876 Henry Irving played "Hamlet" in Dublin lor the first time, and Bram wrote a glowing review of his performance. The actor asked for an introduction to the young critic and the two became firm friends.

Two years later the famous actor took over London's Lyceum Theatre and asked Bram Stoker to become his business manager. The latter accepted and before leaving Dublin married Florence Balcombe (the daughter of a retired Army Colonel with whom the young Oscar Wilde had been in love) in St. Anne's, Dawson St. The association with Irving lasted until the actor's death in 1905.

It was in 1897 that Bram published his famous novel, ''Dracula," which was to become the basis of many horror film scripts since Bela Lugosi first played the title role on the screen in 1931. It is a story that is guaranteed to chill your spine if read on a winter's night. He wrote several other thrillers including '' The Jewel of the Seven Stars'', about an Egyptian mummy and ''The Lair of the White Worm," about a monster.

For more information search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchives.com )