Author: Lara Drake. Lara is a second-year English and Creative Writing student at the University of Plymouth. Being creative is her passion; she likes to write poetry, paint, create zines, write screenplays and play the guitar. Her dream is to be able to make a living off of my writing one day.

‘The Lost Manuscript’ is perhaps one of the most intriguing of the gothic tropes, injecting a sense of mystery and excitement into a story. Unearthing a piece of writing thought to be lost forever, and bringing it back to life, has got to be a life-altering event, and I expect it was just that for the amateur historian who discovered the lost tale of ‘Gibbet Hill’ by Bram Stoker buried within The Dublin National Library. Written 134 years ago, it has only recently been released for the public to read and it really sheds light on the development of Bram Stoker as an author and sets the scene of his journey towards writing the famous ‘Dracula’. A true gothic tale, this short story explores themes of life and death, biblical symbolism, and spine-tingling horror.

This tale will leave you questioning what on earth it is that you just read, in the best way possible. The bizarre and downright creepy tone that Stoker has managed to infuse into this short story leaves you feeling as though you have slipped into a dream world, resurfacing only to find yourself grasping for some explanation or answer to what you just experienced. Our narrator of the story is a man who has arrived in Gibbet Hill in search of some peace and relaxation, however, he may have come to regret his choice of location as it appears to be a favourite of three terrifying children whom he keeps crossing paths with. Despite witnessing them perform a satanic snake charming ritual in which the cataleptic body of the snake answers questions that they put before it, he doesn’t let this disturb his peace and quiet and spends some time enjoying the beauty of the countryside. However, the man’s instincts should have served him better as the tale takes a dark and dramatic turn, and the reader is left with a hundred questions and not one answer.

Contrasts are prevalent throughout this story and are used effectively to create a disjointed atmosphere which adds to the creepy and unnatural nature of the story. I believe that the contrast between life and death is one of the most interesting that is explored here. The story begins with beautiful and thorough descriptions of the landscape; for such a short story, a lot of the content is dedicated to describing the scenery and it really helps to set the tone and immerse the reader in this unsettling story. The way that the opening paragraph is flush with descriptions of decay and death yet further on in the text Gibbet Hill is described as being abundant in visitors, has the effect of emphasising the eerie tone and makes the reader feel scared for the safety of the main character. We know something is not quite right and it’s a waiting game to see how it is inevitably going to play out.

It is a technique that Stoker wields with a deft hand and we can perhaps assume that it is here that he developed such techniques that made ‘Dracula’ such a huge success as a gothic novel. ‘Gibbet Hill’ was first published in 1890 in a newspaper which is seven years before the first publication of ‘Dracula’, however, many Bram Stoker historians believe that he began writing his most famous novel much earlier, perhaps around the time of 1890. This would mean that ‘Gibbet Hill’ may well have been written with ‘Dracula’ in mind. There is a major contrast between life and death within ‘Dracula’, what with the Count being literally undead- stuck in purgatory between life and death. In this way ‘Gibbet Hill’ really reads as the precursor to Stoker’s most famous novel. Of course, the prose of ‘Dracula’ is much more polished and concise than what we read in ‘Gibbet Hill’. At times it feels as though the plot moves at quite a fast pace and it may have benefitted from having the tension build for just a little bit longer, but I don’t think this takes away from the overall impact of the text.

When reading this text there were a couple of instances where I began to question the validity of the narrator and started to consider whether or not we could trust his account of the events. Upon revision, I am not sure as to whether Stoker intended for the story to be read that way, and perhaps the fact that I managed to believe it for an amount of time highlights weaknesses in Stoker’s character development, however, I think that it does add a layer of interesting complexity if we were to read it this way. At the start of the story, we are introduced to the theme of good versus evil which is prevalent throughout, by the narrator himself. The way that he speaks of evil whilst he believes that no one else is listening, gave me the impression that it is something that he is far too acquainted with. Also, his deep-rooted desire for freedom could just be read as a man just looking to escape the oppressive nature of the city, or as a man looking for freedom from the consequences of his own evil nature. It is entirely up to your own interpretations, however, I think it offers up an interesting point for discussion.

In my opinion ‘Gibbet Hill’ is slightly weaker than Stoker’s other stories. As well as the pacing being slightly off, I think that the behaviour of the main character is at times unrealistic enough to draw you out of the story and break the spell, particularly his lack of concern with regard to the bizarre snake charming scene. The ending of this story could also prove to create mixed opinions however I really enjoyed it and found it impactful. It is an ending that is very much left to the interpretation of the reader, and I can imagine some readers would much prefer to be explicitly told what happens, however, I believe it to be thought-provoking and discussion-inducing which are qualities every good book should have.

If you are a fan of Bram Stoker’s work, I would recommend this story to you. If you enjoy the genre of gothic fiction and love the creepy and unnatural, I would recommend this story to you. If you want a story that is going to keep you thinking about it for days after you’ve finished it, then this is the story for you. From start to finish this piece of writing will have you hooked with its beautiful landscape descriptions and its hair-raising atmosphere. It offers great insight into the mind of Stoker and should be read by anyone who is studying him or wishes to understand his texts further. I would say that as a piece of writing itself, it is not such a masterpiece as his more popular novels such as ‘Dracula’ but still has its place in the literary landscape.