Emma Frances Dawson

Emma Frances Dawson (1839–1926) was an American poet and writer of supernatural fiction.

Dawson was born in New England, but by 1880 was living in California, eventually in San Francisco, the setting for most of her stories.

Dawson wrote short stories and poems, originally printed in regional publications such as the Argonaut and Overland Monthly.

The work is notable not just for its merit as atmospheric supernatural fiction, but for its detailed description of 19th century San Francisco.

Despite critical praise and local celebrity status (she was often invited to give public readings of her poems), she struggled to make a living as a writer; reprinting one of her poems, an 1898 newspaper[1] reported she was "so poor that she could not pay her rent last week till the recipient of $50 at the hands of (San Francisco) Mayor Phelan."