Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman was born on October 31, 1852. She began to write whilst still a teenager, primarily children’s stories and verse and quickly became successful. Whilst working as a secretary to the noted author and physician, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr, her style of poetry and novels began to take on the characteristics of the local New England region. When her interest turned to the supernatural the result was a group of short stories which combined domestic realism with supernaturalism. It’s a great combination and has have proved very influential.