Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) is one of the most interesting, complex and entertaining writers ever to have been connected with Ireland. Born to a Greek mother and an Irish officer-surgeon in the British Army, he was brought up in Dublin from the ages of two to thirteen. From 1869 he established himself in journalism in the United States, and spent two years in Martinique before travelling to Japan in 1890 where he would spend the rest of his life. Although he crafted a timeless interpretation of Japan, it is for his Kwaidan, masterly translations of traditional Japanese ghost stories, that he is now best remembered.

In this lecture, Hearn biographer, Paul Murray, will use a variety of media, audio-visual, audio recordings and PowerPoint to bring to life the thrilling world of ghosts and ghouls, vengeful wives, undead prostitutes and warriors intent on luring the unwary to their doom. He will link these stories to the nightmarish horror that visited him as a terrified young child on Upper Leeson Street, Dublin, and will place these great horror stories in the context of the exhibition which now brings them to life at Farmleigh.

Biographical Note

Paul Murray, a retired Irish Ambassador, is the author of biographies of Lafcadio Hearn (A Fantastic Journey, 1994) and Bram Stoker (Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker, 2004). He edited Lafcadio Hearn: Japanese Ghost Stories for Penguin Classics (2019), one of three anthologies of Hearn’s horror writings that he has published. He contributed recently to Gibbet Hill, a re-publication of a “lost” Bram Stoker short story (2024).

This talk is presented by the OPW in support of the Farmleigh Gallery exhibition Kwaidan - Encounters with Lafcadio Hearn, which runs until Sunday 24th August, and as part of the Farmleigh House cultural programme for 2025.