Marc McMenamin's report on the unexpected connection between Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley—whose maternal grandmothers are buried in the same church in Ballyshannon, County Donegal—offers fascinating insight into how local history and folklore influenced the development of two defining works of Gothic literature. This geographical coincidence invites deeper consideration of how specific landscapes and local traditions inform even the most universally resonant literary creations.

The report's exploration of how real historical events—particularly the cholera epidemic of 1832—shaped these fictional narratives demonstrates the complex relationship between historical trauma and literary mythology. By incorporating elements from actual catastrophes into their supernatural narratives, both authors created frameworks for processing collective fears and anxieties through displaced fictional contexts. This transformation of historical experience into mythological narrative exemplifies how Gothic literature often addresses real social concerns through symbolic displacement.

The persistence of themes concerning plagues, death, and the undead in local folklore reflects how oral traditions preserved collective memory of historical traumas while providing frameworks for understanding them. These folkloric elements provided crucial material for both Stoker and Shelley, demonstrating how literary innovations often draw on traditional narrative patterns rather than emerging ex nihilo. This connection highlights the essential role of cultural context in shaping even the most seemingly unique artistic visions.

The contributions from Professor Jarlath Killeen of Trinity College Dublin and local historian Brian Drummond exemplify contemporary scholarly approaches to understanding the relationship between folklore, history, and literary creation. By examining how local traditions influenced works that would eventually reshape global popular culture, this report illuminates the continuous feedback between local specificity and universal themes that characterises the evolution of cultural mythology. The enduring global influence of Dracula and Frankenstein demonstrates how works deeply rooted in specific cultural contexts can transcend their origins to address universal human concerns across diverse cultural boundaries.