What special circumstances inspired the four friends to attempt writing ghost stories?

The four friends who attempted to write ghost stories were Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and John William Polidori. The special circumstances that inspired them to engage in a ghost story writing competition are associated with their summer stay at the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 1816. This period is famously known as the "Year Without a Summer" due to the climatic effects of the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815.

During this gloomy and unseasonably cold summer, the friends found themselves confined indoors due to the inclement weather. To pass the time, Lord Byron suggested that each of them write a ghost story. The idea was to see who could come up with the most chilling and compelling tale.

The group's attempt at writing ghost stories resulted in two significant works of literature:

1.Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein": Mary Shelley, inspired by a dream, wrote what would later become one of the most famous Gothic novels, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus." The novel explores themes of creation, morality, and the consequences of playing God.

2.John William Polidori's "The Vampyre": Polidori wrote a short story titled "The Vampyre." It is considered one of the early works in vampire fiction and has had a lasting influence on the portrayal of vampires in literature.

The collaborative and competitive atmosphere of the ghost story writing challenge at Villa Diodati had a profound impact on the literary world, giving rise to two enduring works that have become classics in the horror and Gothic genres.