Drive-By Comments

Speaking of copyright violation, a poster referring to themselves as "Gothic" recently attempted¹ to post a comment on "An Open Query on Religious Belief". I say attempted, because I refused permission for its publication.

And here's why.

Rather than address the issues raised in that entry, they instead accused me of "illegally upload[ing] a book in violation of copyright law".

Which, I didn't do.

They seem to have taken offense at me quoting Sean Manchester from the first edition of The Highgate Vampire (1985). It might have been the bit where Manchster said that was "not pre-eminently religious".

The pseudonymous poster then goes on to provide a link to Manchester's forum before saying, "You may raise any question you like, but kindly observe the forum rule of posting no links and no email addresses."

Almost makes me think they have some kind of authority on it...

But it's hard to tell, because if you click on "Gothic"'s profile, you'll notice that it is inaccessible. Oh well.

However, the main reason I didn't publish the comment, was that it publicly revealed the private identity of a member on the Dark Matters Radio Exploration forum. Obviously, "Gothic" is more keen on stalking and harassment than in discussing matters seriously.

So, permission denied!

¹ Sat, Aug 16, 2008 at 6:13 PM.

Copyright Violation

Now isn't this a laugh.

I've just come across a page called "Shroudeater's Truth-Eating - Rob Brautigam's Lies!". It's a copy-and-paste job of my interview with Rob Brautigam,¹ interpolated with anonymous commentary.

Funnily enough, it is identical to an e-mail circulated by the FoBSM...

Now, there's only one problem with the content of the webpage in question: I didn't give its owner permission to reproduce the interview!

This is especially amusing because of the reasons given for the closure of my Windows Live Space page.

I also find it odd that the copyright-violating page is hidden in the website of the Holy Grail Church. I didn't realise plagiarism was part of their ministry.

¹ Which was previously covered in "The Brautigam Interview", "Another One Bites the Dust!" and "The Interview They Didn't Want You to See!".

Highgate Vampire Movie

In the 38 years since the Highgate Vampire story broke in the mainstream press, there have been no movie adaptations re-telling the tale.

Until now.

Well, sort of.

A production by Digital Major and Draw Pictures called Highgate Vampire: The Movie, bills itself as

an interactive horror set in modern times about a vampire infestation in a London cemetery. The story is influenced by true events that happened in and around London’s Highgate Cemetery some time ago.

The description accompanying its trailer on YouTube, goes into a bit more detail:

4 American teenagers hook up online and meet up in London where they embark on a terrifying journey into London's Gothic past.

Personally, I think a straight adaptation would have been much more preferable.

Change of Template

I've never been too fond of the template (a customised version of Douglas Bowman's "Minima Dark") and design I've utilised for this blog:

So, I've decided to select something a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

As of this writing, you'll know be treated to Jeffrey Zeldman's "Son of Moto" template! I still feel a bit guilty for using it, though - it's the same one used by one of my favourite blogs, Niels K. Petersen's Magia Posthuma. Almost feel like I'm ripping him off.

Might have to make some adjustments to it.

An Open Query on Religious Belief

According to the Holy Grail Church's page, "Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi":

Good Friday 1973 and the founding of Ordo Sancti Graal on the summit of an English hill by twelve disciples laid the foundations for the restoration of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ in Great Britain. The Hampstead & Highgate Express newspaper recorded on 4 May 1973: “Wearing white robes and carrying a nine-foot-high wooden cross, he plans to set off from Hampstead Heath next week on a pilgrimage of peace. Walking all the way with Seán Manchester will be a group of twelve young supporters, who want to spread ‘the simple, spiritual ways of life originally taught by Christ’.”

Indeed, Sean Manchester's The Highgate Vampire: The Infernal World of the Undead Unearthed at London’s Famous Highgate Cemetery and Environs (London: British Occult Society, 1985) proclaims that "All proceeds from this book will be contributed to the Church of the Holy Grail".

So why do we have the following admittance from Manchester on page 12 of the same book?:

Although not pre-eminently religious, I have been left in no doubt by the course of events that evil is not just an abstract force and, most important of all, that such demonic molestation as I have encountered is no match for divine power once invoked. The set of symbols I work with are predominantly Christian, yet you will find in the text that I cast a circle, what some might call a Magic Circle. While I am not a witch in any sense of the word, I suppose as a secular person handling consecrated material as a protection against hostile psychic forces, I am practicing "white magic". The Circle once cast is a ritualised barrier, a consecrated sanctuary; like a church, a mosque or synagogue - like Avebury, Stonehenge and Glastonbury.

It should be noted that Manchester was later ordained by Illtyd Thomas, a

Primate of the Celtic Catholic Church, who, together with Michael Weston and James Henry Vermeulen, on 4 October 1991, consecrated Seán Manchester, Superior General for Ordo Sancti Graal, Primate/Bishop (with dignity of Archbishop) for Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi (an autocephalous jurisdiction). (~"Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi")