Nikolai Gogol

 was a Ukrainian-born Russian novelist, humorist, and dramatist and considered the father of modern Russian realism. His novels and short stories have been adapted into several films including Black Sunday, Viy and Demons 5: The Veil, all of which are loosely based on the 1835 short story The Viy.

Notes & Trivia

 * Though Gogol did author a novel titled Diary of a Madman, it has no connection to the 1965 Vincent Price film Diary of a Madman.