Johann August Apel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johann August Apel
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Johann August Apel
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| Born | 17 September 1771 Leipzig
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| Died | 9 August 1816 (aged 44) Leipzig
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| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Writer Jurist |
Johann August Apel (born September 17, 1771 – died August 9, 1816) was a German writer and a jurist. A jurist is someone who studies and practices law. Apel was born and died in Leipzig, a city in Germany. He is best known for his scary stories that inspired famous books and operas.
Contents
Apel's Story Influence
Johann August Apel wrote a version of the "Freischütz" folktale. This story was published in 1810 in a collection of scary tales called Gespensterbuch. Apel wrote this book with Friedrich Laun.
Inspiring an Opera
The story "Der Freischütz" became very famous. Two other artists, Friedrich Kind and Carl Maria von Weber, used Apel's story. They turned it into a well-known opera, also called Der Freischütz, which came out in 1821. An opera is a play where the words are sung instead of spoken.
Spooky Stories and Famous Writers
Apel wrote other short stories too. Two of them were "Die Bilder der Ahnen" (meaning "The Paintings of the Ancestors") and "Die schwarze Kammer" (meaning "The Black Chamber"). These stories were put into a French book called Fantasmagoriana in 1812.
This book of spooky tales was read by some very famous writers. These included Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. They read the stories during a stormy summer in 1816. This summer was so cold and dark it was called the Year Without a Summer.
How Stories Sparked New Ideas
Reading Fantasmagoriana inspired these writers to create their own ghost stories. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein (published in 1823). This book is about a scientist who creates a monster. Another writer, John William Polidori, wrote "The Vampyre" (published in 1819). These stories helped shape a type of scary writing called Gothic horror.
Mary Shelley even mentioned Apel's story "The Paintings of the Ancestors." She said it influenced her ideas for Frankenstein. She remembered a tale about a ghost who kissed young boys. This kiss made them wither away like flowers. This shows how Apel's spooky tales helped start a whole new style of horror writing.
Apel's Written Works
Johann August Apel wrote many different kinds of works. He was a very busy writer.
Short Story Collections
Apel is best known for his collections of short stories.
- Cicaden (1810–1811)
- Gespensterbuch (1810–1815) – This was the famous book of ghost stories he wrote with Friedrich Laun.
- Wunderbuch volumes 1–2 (1815–1816) – Another collection with Friedrich Laun.
- Zeitlosen (1817)
Plays
Apel also wrote plays for the theater.
- Polyïdos (1805)
- Die Aitolier (1806)
- Kalliroe (1806)
- Kunz von Kaufungen (1809)
