Why a Priest Wrote a Vampire Novel
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1PaulJesep
Yes, it's true ... after law school I went to seminary and was later ordained a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church. So, who better to write a vampire novel?!
But why would a priest author a vampire novel? A life long interest in vampire genre and a need to speak truth to religious hypocrisy as embodied in its hierarchy drove me to do it.
"The Vampire Benning Wentworth and the End of Times - the War Between Devils and Vampires" (by Paul Jesep), is an adult gothic-fantastique novel, set in London and Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1898, where a devil turned vampire must decide whether to help or stop the spiritual union of humanity.
Billions of years earlier God battled and threw out the high priests trying to take over heaven. Accompanied by Lucifer, they took refuge deep in the bowels of Earth. The conflict caused an opal, metaphorically Holy Sophia or the Creator’s third eye (divine wisdom), to separate into three pieces that fell to Earth. This created spiritual and cosmological disharmony.
Satan must keep these three pieces separated to prevent the Second Coming of Fire, the spiritual union of Creation with its Creator. If he fails, humankind unites with God, thus ending war, poverty, prejudice, and injustice. Joining the pieces also changes the negative energy used by the priests to feed and control Lucifer and his devils. The inability to manipulate energy to control Satan could end their priestly reign and prevent them from speaking for God, acting in the name of God, and taking the place of God.
Benning Wentworth, a banker named after his uncle and New Hampshire colonial governor, must fulfill Lucifer’s mission. He is one of Lucifer’s many illegitimate children, naively believing his father is in charge. In truth, the modern Pharisees want the Second Coming of Fire stopped, not Satan.
In a hopeless attempt to distinguish himself from his siblings and win favor with his father, Benning sought and received vampyric immortality from the "royal" line, a specific kind of vampire that evolved from humans and are a natural part of evolution. Benning also believed it would help stop the Second Coming of Fire.
The kiss awakens Benning to a higher consciousness causing despair, isolation, suicidal tendencies, and overwhelming loneliness. One of his greatest fears is reincarnation to a life even more emotionally and spiritually painful than what he suffers. Benning’s kiss has upset the universe's balance of power. It will bring about war between devils and vampires threatening humanity. It is the End of Times.
The story is one of awakening, quest for meaning, and spiritual empowerment told, in part, through the actions of an emotionally tortured devil turned vampire; an ethical, street-smart brothel owner; and a young, confused female reporter coming of age as a lesbian. The story weaves in commentary about greed, destiny, and corrupt corporate religion while giving vampire genre a new twist.
I'd like to think there is something in the novel for everyone whether you like a twist to vampire lore or something a bit more cerebral in a horror novel. Here's an interview I did on New Hampshire Public Radio:
http://nhpr.org/post/vampire-novel-featuring-new-hampshires-colonial-governor
Thanks for taking the time to read and letting me share.
But why would a priest author a vampire novel? A life long interest in vampire genre and a need to speak truth to religious hypocrisy as embodied in its hierarchy drove me to do it.
"The Vampire Benning Wentworth and the End of Times - the War Between Devils and Vampires" (by Paul Jesep), is an adult gothic-fantastique novel, set in London and Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1898, where a devil turned vampire must decide whether to help or stop the spiritual union of humanity.
Billions of years earlier God battled and threw out the high priests trying to take over heaven. Accompanied by Lucifer, they took refuge deep in the bowels of Earth. The conflict caused an opal, metaphorically Holy Sophia or the Creator’s third eye (divine wisdom), to separate into three pieces that fell to Earth. This created spiritual and cosmological disharmony.
Satan must keep these three pieces separated to prevent the Second Coming of Fire, the spiritual union of Creation with its Creator. If he fails, humankind unites with God, thus ending war, poverty, prejudice, and injustice. Joining the pieces also changes the negative energy used by the priests to feed and control Lucifer and his devils. The inability to manipulate energy to control Satan could end their priestly reign and prevent them from speaking for God, acting in the name of God, and taking the place of God.
Benning Wentworth, a banker named after his uncle and New Hampshire colonial governor, must fulfill Lucifer’s mission. He is one of Lucifer’s many illegitimate children, naively believing his father is in charge. In truth, the modern Pharisees want the Second Coming of Fire stopped, not Satan.
In a hopeless attempt to distinguish himself from his siblings and win favor with his father, Benning sought and received vampyric immortality from the "royal" line, a specific kind of vampire that evolved from humans and are a natural part of evolution. Benning also believed it would help stop the Second Coming of Fire.
The kiss awakens Benning to a higher consciousness causing despair, isolation, suicidal tendencies, and overwhelming loneliness. One of his greatest fears is reincarnation to a life even more emotionally and spiritually painful than what he suffers. Benning’s kiss has upset the universe's balance of power. It will bring about war between devils and vampires threatening humanity. It is the End of Times.
The story is one of awakening, quest for meaning, and spiritual empowerment told, in part, through the actions of an emotionally tortured devil turned vampire; an ethical, street-smart brothel owner; and a young, confused female reporter coming of age as a lesbian. The story weaves in commentary about greed, destiny, and corrupt corporate religion while giving vampire genre a new twist.
I'd like to think there is something in the novel for everyone whether you like a twist to vampire lore or something a bit more cerebral in a horror novel. Here's an interview I did on New Hampshire Public Radio:
http://nhpr.org/post/vampire-novel-featuring-new-hampshires-colonial-governor
Thanks for taking the time to read and letting me share.
