When a skull is unearthed in the garden of an old house in Chapelizod, a quiet village on the outskirts of Dublin, it sparks the telling of a buried tale. In the 1760s, the village’s seemingly genteel life—populated by military officers, doctors, clergymen, and local gossips—is unsettled by a series of disturbing events: a masked assailant attacks a young man, a mysterious stranger named Mr. Dangerfield takes up residence, and the sudden disappearance of a local figure hints at murder. Beneath the surface of dinner parties and Sunday sermons, secrets fester and violence simmers.

A landmark of Victorian gothic fiction, The House by the Churchyard [1863] blends mystery, dark comedy, and historical realism in a narrative that influenced generations of writers. It is a key source for James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake and a striking example of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s talent for uncovering the eerie within the everyday. This atmospheric and intricately plotted novel stands as a precursor to the modern psychological thriller—and one of Le Fanu’s most ambitious works.

JOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU [1814-1873] was an Irish mystery and horror author. He had an enormous influence on the horror genre in the 19th and 20th century, especially through his championing of tone and effect rather than shock factor. Among his most noted work is the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla [1872] and mystery Uncle Silas [1864].