Another birthday of a historical figure, another Google Doodle. The search engine behemoth is marking the 200th birthday of Irish gothic horror author Sherdian Le Fanu with an illustration of a scene from his most famous novel Carmilla, in which a vampire attacks a sleeping woman.
The 19th century Irish novelist penned many classic horror novels, including Uncle Silas and The House by the Churchyard. Le Fanu, of French Huguenot stock, was born in Dublin on August 28th, 1814. His writing helped develop the ghost story and horror genre, and his vampire story Carmilla was a huge influence on his fellow Irishman, Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.
