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).
