abstract:James Malcolm Rymer (1814–1884) was a British nineteenth century writer of penny dreadfuls, and is the probable author of Varney the Vampire (1847) (often attributed to fellow writer Thomas Peckett Prest) and co-author (with Prest) of The String of Pearls (1847), in which the notorious villain Sweeney Todd makes his literary debut.Dick Collins (2010) "Introduction" to Varney, the Vampyre by James Malcolm Rymer.
It took until 1845, with the appearance of JamesMalcolm Rymer's serialized horror story "Varney the Vampire, " for the vampire's bite to become a properly rabid act of infection.