Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders. The most famous mysteries of Greco-Roman antiquity were the Eleusinian Mysteries, which predated the Greek Dark Ages. The mystery schools flourished in Late Antiquity; Emperor Julian, of the mid 4th century, is believed by some scholars to have been associated with various mystery cults—most notably the mithraists. Due to the secret nature of the school, and because the mystery religions of Late Antiquity were persecuted by the Christian Roman Empire from the 4th century, the details of these religious practices are derived from descriptions, imagery and cross-cultural studies. Much information on the Mysteries comes from Marcus Terentius Varro.
The Summer Tree is a 1984 novel written by Canadian fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay and the first novel of The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a young man named Billy, who suffers from post-traumatic stress over witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve by a man disguised as Santa Claus and his subsequent upbringing in an abusive Catholic orphanage. In adulthood, the Christmas holiday leads him into a psychological breakdown, and he emerges as a spree killer donning a Santa suit.
The Reaping is a 2007 American supernatural horror thriller film, starring Hilary Swank. The film was directed by Stephen Hopkins for Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment. The music for the film was scored by John Frizzell.
A jengu is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawabantu groups of Cameroon, like the Duala, Bakweri, Malimba, Subu, Bakoko, Oroko people. Among the Bakweri, the term used is liengu. Miengu are similar to bisimbi in the Bakongo spirituality and Mami Wata. The Bakoko people use the term Bisima.
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is a 1987 American slasher film edited, co-written with Joseph H. Earle, and directed by Lee Harry. It is the sequel to 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night, and was followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! in 1989. Its plot focuses on Ricky Caldwell, the brother of Billy Chapman, and his own trauma regarding his parents' Christmas Eve murders, which triggers his own killing spree. The film relies heavily on flashbacks, utilizing approximately 30 minutes of stock footage from the original film.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation is a 1990 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian Yuzna, written by Yuzna, Woody Keith, and Arthur Gorson, and starring Maud Adams, Tommy Hinkley, Allyce Beasley, Clint Howard and Neith Hunter. It focuses on a Los Angeles newspaper reporter who, while investigating the unexplained death of a woman, becomes entangled with a coven of Lilith-worshipping witches who are preparing her for a ritual on Christmas Eve. The fourth installment in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series, it bears no resemblance to the previous films, as it drops the storyline of the Billy Chapman character entirely.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! is a 1989 American slasher film written and directed by Monte Hellman. A direct-to-video release, the film is the second sequel to the 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night and centers around the Christmas-obsessed killer Ricky Caldwell awakening from a coma and stalking a blind teenager with psychic powers, while she travels to her grandmother's house for the Christmas holiday with her brother and his girlfriend. It was the last to follow the storyline set by the previous two films, the next two sequels being standalone entries.
Richard Allan "Ricky" Kasso Jr., also known as The Acid King, was an American murderer who killed his 17-year-old friend Gary Lauwers in Northport, New York on June 19, 1984. Two other teens, Jimmy Troiano and Albert Quiñones, were present at the murder, which took place in the Aztakea Woods of Northport while all four were under the influence of what they believed to be mescaline, but was most likely LSD.
Silent Hill 3 is a 2003 survival horror game developed by Team Silent, a group in Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and published by Konami. The game was released from May to August, originally for the PlayStation 2. The third installment in the Silent Hill series and a direct sequel to the first Silent Hill game, it follows Heather, a teenager who becomes entangled in the machinations of the town's cult, which seeks to revive a malevolent deity. A port for Microsoft Windows was released later in November, and a remastered high-definition version was released as part of the Silent Hill HD Collection, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.
The Believers is a 1987 Canadian-American neo-noir thriller horror-noir film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Martin Sheen, Robert Loggia and Helen Shaver. It is based on the 1982 novel The Religion by Nicholas Conde.
The Wandering Fire is a 1986 novel by Canadian fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay and the second novel of The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy. It follows The Summer Tree.
Heather Mason is a fictional character in Silent Hill, a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Konami. She is first introduced as a supporting character in the original Silent Hill (1999), and later returns as the main protagonist of Silent Hill 3 (2003). She also appeared in Dead by Daylight (2020) as a playable character.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker is a 1991 American science fiction horror film directed by Martin Kitrosser and stars Mickey Rooney, who had previously condemned the original film. It is the fifth film in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series.
The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations is a 2009 American science fiction horror thriller film directed by Seth Grossman. It is the third installment in The Butterfly Effect franchise. The film is set in Detroit, Michigan with most of the filming done there.
Ricky is a male given name in English and Spanish-speaking countries, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Richard, Frederick, Derrick, Roderick, Enrique, Patrick, Ricardo or Eric.
Amanda Rollins-Carisi is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Kelli Giddish. Rollins was a detective with the Manhattan Special Victims Unit at the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is an American Christmas horror film series, consisting of six films. The first film in the series, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), originally titled Slay Ride, tells the story of Billy, a young man who experiences a psychotic break and goes on a murder spree dressed as Santa Claus. The film received theatrical distribution from TriStar Pictures, but was pulled from theaters in November 1984 after a series of protests against the film.
Billy Chapman is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. Created by writers Paul Caimi and Michael Hickey, the character serves as the protagonist and antivillain of the first film, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), and is featured in flashbacks in the sequel, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987).
Aubrey Bradimore is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. Created by Jayson Rothwell, she is a police officer in a small Midwestern town who finds herself hunting a killer dressed in a Santa Claus suit on Christmas Eve. Portrayed by Jaime King, the character is first introduced in Silent Night (2012), a loose remake of the original Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).
