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November 16, 2025 | History

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John William Polidori

Dr. Polidori was Lord Byron's personal physician. Upon accompanying Byron on holiday to Switzerland, he participated in a "ghost story" writing exercise.
His own story was met with scorn, but, inspired by the fragment that Byron wrote, Polidori used this base to write was would become the first modern vampire story in the English language.
His character, Lord Ruthven, an aristocratic bloodsucker based on Byron, would be used in English, French and German novels, operas and plays until the character was eclipsed by Stoker's Count Dracula.
Polidori became depressed and indebted due to gambling. His death at the age of 25 was officially classed as natural causes, but it was likely that Polidori committed suicide. There is strong evidence indicating poisoning with cyanide.
Through his sister, Polidori was the uncle to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

English writer and physician (1795–1821)

Born	7 September 1795
Died	24 August 1821

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The vampyre: a tale.

by John William Polidori
First published in 1819 — 76 editions
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Vampyre; a Tale

by John William Polidori First published in 2010 — 29 editions

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Vampyre

by John William Polidori First published in 2010 — 12 editions

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The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, Relating to Byron, Shelley, Etc

by John William Polidori First published in 2009 — 5 editions

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Ximenes, the Wreath: And Other Poems

by John William Polidori First published in 2018 — 5 editions

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Vampyre

by John William Polidori First published in 2015 — 5 editions

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Ernestus Berchtold: Or, the Modern OEdipus

by John William Polidori First published in 2018 — 5 editions

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The Vampyre and Ernestus Berchtold;: or, The Modern OEdipus

by John William Polidori, D. L. Macdonald, and Kathleen Scherf First published in 1994 — 5 editions

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The Vampire

by agustin leiva and John William Polidori First published in 2015 — 4 editions

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Diary of Dr. John William Polidori : 1816: Relating to Byron, Shelley, Etc

by John William Polidori and William Michael Rossetti First published in 2014 — 4 editions

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The Evil Image: two centuries of Gothic short fiction and poetry

by Patricia L. Skarda, Nora Jaffe, Daniel Defoe, John Aikin, Ann Radcliffe, Mary Alcock, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and 25 others First published in 1981 — 3 editions
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Vampyre; a Tale

by John William Polidori First published in 2013 — 3 editions

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Polidori's Vampyre

by John William Polidori First published in 2002 — 2 editions

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El vampiro

by John William Polidori First published in 1824 — 2 editions

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The Vampyre: And Other Tales of the Macabre (Oxford World's Classics)

by John William Polidori
First published in 2001 — 2 editions
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The vampyre, the werewolf and other gothic tales of horror

by John William Polidori First published in 2009 — 2 editions

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Il vampiro

by John William Polidori First published in 1984 — 2 editions

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The vampyre; a tale related by Lord Byron...

by John William Polidori First published in 1819 — 2 editions

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Vampyre; a Tale Annotated and Illustrated Edition

by John William Polidori First published in 2021 — 2 editions

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A Dark and Stormy Night

by Mary Shelley, John William Polidori, and Lord Byron First published in 2013 — 2 editions

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English writer and physician (1795–1821)

Born	7 September 1795
Died	24 August 1821

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ID Numbers

OLID: OL617722A
GoodReads: 26932
ISNI: 0000000110237843
Integrated Authority File (GND): 118920774
Library of Congress Names: n50020458
LibriVox: 1400
MusicBrainz: 1bf9c51e-c1ac-459f-a501-78e3dc681d48
Project Gutenberg: 1943
VIAF: 32079702
Wikidata: Q364264
Inventaire.io: wd:Q364264

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Alternative names

Dr. John William Polidori
John Polidori

History

Created April 1, 2008
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November 16, 2025	Edited by bitnapper	Edited without comment.
November 16, 2025	Edited by bitnapper	merge authors
August 1, 2025	Edited by WikidataBot	[sync_author_identifiers_with_wikidata] add wikidata remote identifiers
September 30, 2020	Edited by MARC Bot	add ISNI
April 1, 2008	Created by an anonymous user	initial import

John William Polidori