Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. Three of his best-known novels are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House by the Churchyard.
Michael Cox (1948-2009) was a former editor at Oxford University Press and biographer of the ghost story writer M.R. James. His lifelong passion for Victorian literature led him to edit a number of anthologies, including The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories. His first novel, The Meaning of Night, was shortlisted for the 2007 Costa First Novel Award.