Frankenstein And The Vampyre - A Dark and Stormy Night (Documentary)

A fascinating exploration of one of the most significant moments in Gothic history: the night when Mary and Percy Shelley in the company of Lord Byron and Dr. John Polidori gathered together at Lake Geneva to tell ghost stories. The night when Frankenstein was born.

Drawing on British Library manuscripts and archives, the one hour documentary will bring together a stellar cast of Gothic, horror, science-fiction writers and historians to discuss why one single night had such a significant impact on our culture.

St. Gregory of Agrigentum and the Harlot

St. Gregory of Agrigentum (Feast Day - November 23)

Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum, peacefully guided the flock entrusted to him by God. He was a defender of the down-trodden, a wise preacher, and miraculous healer. As bishop, Gregory led the life of an ascetic monk, fervently observing monastic vows. The flock loved their hierarch and trusted in him. But there were also malicious people who had resolved to slander him.

St. Gregory the Wonderworker and the Harlot

By St. Gregory of Nyssa

From The Life of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker

When he [Gregory] dwelt in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, to which assiduous young men flocked to study philosophy and medicine, the youthful [Gregory] was an irksome sight to his peers because he was adorned with a restraint unlike anyone else in the city, and the esteem surrounding his integrity irritated such corrupt individuals. Because of this, some undisciplined characters sought to make all sorts of excuses if no one went along with them. They maintained that this great man's life was tainted with a certain flaw and hatched a plot to release from prison a harlot notorious for shameful behavior. But following the conduct of learned and responsible men accustomed to philosophical speculation, [Gregory] approached the woman in a nonchalant and unassuming manner while pretending to agree with everything she said and did. He then said that she was cheated of her wage and was refused the payment she had sought. When they who acknowledged the quality of his life became outraged at the woman, their anger neither troubled him nor did he claim that this humiliation had slandered his reputation. [Gregory] neither summoned witnesses on his behalf, nor did he repudiate the disgrace by swearing an oath nor respond to the evils brought against him; rather, in a calm, subdued voice he replied as to a friend, "He who paid money to this woman should no longer be distressed at having caused such trouble." When they learned of the harlot's accusation who had sought money from him and he readily accounted for everything, the plot to smear his self-control by accusations of licentious conduct came to an end. Now that this attempt to dishonor him fell back upon them, with God's help the youth's control and the reproach of his comrades became evident. Having received the money, an evil spirit at once tormented her, and she bellowed out a loud animal sound. This woman presented a dreadful sight in the midst of the assembly by taring out her hair, rolling her eyes and emitting foam from her mouth. But before the demon suffocated her, she earnestly besought God almighty.

When St. Martin of Tours Preached Repentance to the Devil

By Sulpitius Severus

(Life of Saint Martin, Chs. 21 & 22)

It is also well known that angels were very often seen by him, so that they spoke in turns with him in set speech. As to the devil, Martin held him so visible and ever under the power of his eyes, that whether he kept himself in his proper form, or changed himself into different shapes of spiritual wickedness, he was perceived by Martin, under whatever guise he appeared. The devil knew well that he could not escape discovery, and therefore frequently heaped insults upon Martin, being unable to beguile him by trickery.

The Healing of the Possessed Boy by the Archangels in 1913

By Elder Gabriel of Dionysiou

In October of 1913, the Chief of Staff of our National Army Victor Dousmanis, sent with an escort of two soldiers his nephew, who was a psychopath and possessed by a spirit of the python, just as the fortune-teller of Philippi, along with a letter for the Monastery, which said: "Here fathers in my homeland (Kerkyra), is the best mental hospital in Greece, where my nephew John was, but we saw no improvement. We were told by doctors that we exhausted all means of science, and therefore we decided to send him to your holy places, and we ask that you please accept him and make him become strong spiritually, so that by your prayers God may pity us and him and will make him well." We accepted him at the Monastery.

Scott Derrickson, the Most Interesting Filmmaker in Hollywood

Scott Derickson is probably Hollywood's most interesting filmmaker, primarily focusing on writing and directing horror movies like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, and Deliver Us from Evil, and more recently offering his take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Doctor Strange. This interest in movies with a strong good vs. evil motif piques Derrickson’s interest because of his Christian faith. In a 2007 interview Derrickson said in an interview about the horror genre:

True Orthodox Ghost Story #2: The Exorcism of the Haunted Cabin

By John Sanidopoulos

"...around their graves shadowy phantoms of the departed are often seen."

- St. Gregory of Nyssa ("On the Soul and the Resurrection")

According to my own many experiences, ghosts are real and hauntings are real. As for what the nature of these ghosts and hauntings are, it is uncertain and I believe each must be examined on a case by case basis. It may be possible, and it would seem most likely, that a demonic entity is behind it. However some arguments also offer up the possibility that it could be the soul of a person who has passed, whether in tragedy or not. Yet, one must not forget to allow for some healthy skepticism, since such matters usually end up being the figment of ones imagination, or an unexplained natural occurrence. Keeping this in mind, I offer the following true personal experience, that can be corroborated outside of my own personal testimony.