Unknown in America but famous in Japan, he was a progenitor of both J-Horror and New Orleans spookiness. A blogger before blogs, he chronicled the cultures of people wherever he went, with a penchant for the bizarre, macbre and weird.
His Irish-Greek parentage and peripatetic life make Hearn one model of a Third Culture Kid, I believe. In New Orleans his books on Creole culture and cuisine along with his subsequent writing on Martinique, documented an unknown and mysterious world on the edges of America.
When Hearn went to Japan he found a culture that was not only alien to the rest of the world but also rich in tales of the supernatural. His books like Kwaidan and In Ghostly Japan give a picture of what Japanese traditionally saw as frightening. Much like jokes, scary stories don't necessarily translate well into other cultures so modern J-Horror seems to combine Western and traditional elements.
For those interested in learning more about Lafcadio Hearn this site has everything from articles written by him to discussions of his life and work. His house in Matsue has been turned into a musuem and I recently saw an interview with his grandson from there. Also, in New Orleans the Hearn Koizumi Center supports publications and research on his writings.
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