62 Bram Stoker and the Sligo Cholera Epidemic of 1832

On this episode we were joined by Dr. Marion McGarry and Dr. Fiona Gallagher to discuss the Sligo Cholera Epidemic of 1832 and how this inspired Dracula.

Sligo was the worst effected town in Britain and Ireland by the Cholera epidemic of 1832. The town was devastated by the outbreak. A young Charlotte Thornley lived through the events in Sligo and would later regale her son, Bram Stoker, with tales of live burials and the undead.

Marion and Fiona explain what happened in Sligo during the epidemic and the effects it had on the town. They also go through the parallels in Dracula with the events in Sligo at that time.

Was Stoker inspired by the mythology of Eastern Europe when he created Dracula or did the Sligo Cholera epidemic, and Stoker’s interest in Irish folklore, provide the basis for the vampire count?

More articles on the subjects covered in the podcast can be found at Marion and Fiona’s blogs:

https://www.drmarionmcgarry.com/

https://www.drfionagallagher.com/

https://sligobramstoker.weebly.com/

Intro / Outro music “Sliabh” from Aislinn. Licensed under creative commons from the free music archive.

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