The Lady of the Shroud

Bram Stoker was more than just the author of Dracula. He was an Irish writer of novels and short stories. Stoker was a personal assistant to an actor and manager of a large theatre in London. The Lady of the Shroud was written in 1909. An excerpt reads, “Presently I made out that the boat, which had all along seemed to be of a queer shape, was none other than a Coffin, and that the woman standing up in it was clothed in a shroud. Her back was towards us, and she had evidently not heard our approach. As we were creeping along slowly, the engines were almost noiseless, and there was hardly a ripple as our fore-foot cut the dark water. Suddenly there was a wild cry from the bridge–Italians are certainly very excitable; hoarse commands were given to the Quartermaster at the wheel; the engine-room bell clanged. On the instant, as it seemed, the ship’s head began to swing round to starboard; full steam ahead was in action, and before one could understand, the Apparition was fading in the distance. The last thing I saw was the flash of a white face with dark, burning eyes as the figure sank down into the coffin–just as mist or smoke disappears under a breeze.”