What Was It? A Mystery
E1011705
"What Was It? A Mystery" is an 1859 supernatural short story by Fitz-James O’Brien, often cited as an early example of invisible-creature horror fiction.
Statements (30)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
American literature
ⓘ
horror fiction ⓘ short story ⓘ supernatural fiction ⓘ |
| associatedMovement | early American weird fiction ⓘ |
| author | Fitz-James O’Brien NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralTheme |
fear of the invisible
ⓘ
rationality versus the supernatural ⓘ the unknown ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| firstPublicationMedium | periodical press ⓘ |
| form | short prose narrative ⓘ |
| genre |
invisible-creature horror
ⓘ
supernatural horror ⓘ weird fiction ⓘ |
| hasCharacter |
Dr. Hammond
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Harry NERFINISHED ⓘ the invisible creature ⓘ |
| hasTitle | What Was It? A Mystery NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | 19th century ⓘ |
| narrativePerspective | first-person ⓘ |
| notableFor |
early depiction of an invisible monster in fiction
ⓘ
influence on later horror and weird fiction ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | English ⓘ |
| plotElement |
attack by an unseen assailant in a boarding house room
ⓘ
attempts to study and classify the invisible creature ⓘ capture and restraint of an invisible being ⓘ |
| publicationDecade | 1850s ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1859 ⓘ |
| settingLocation | New York City ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.