A Year Without Summer: Polidori's Failed Pitch to Mary Shelley (The Vampyre) | The October Rite

We've all done unhinged things for love, but have you ever invented an entire cultural genre? In 1816, the "Year Without Summer," a volcanic winter traps five creative minds at the Villa Diodati. While Mary Shelley dreams up Frankenstein, her admirer, Dr. John Polidori, is busy being insecure, jumping off balconies, and spraining his ankle. From that humiliation and unrequited love, he conjures a new kind of monster: the aristocratic, seductive predator. This is the story of The Vampyre, the failed romantic who wrote him, and the brutal lesson of a sprained ankle. Key Works Mentioned & People * Work: The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori * Work: Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley * Concept: The Year Without Summer (1816) * Event: Mount Tambora eruption (1815) * Location: Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva * People: John William Polidori, Mary Godwin (Shelley), Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Claire Clairmont Further Reading & Resources * The Vampyre: A Tale by John Polidori * Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley * Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality by Paul Barber