This week, dear listeners, Scary Spirits Podcast lifts its candle to the storm‑lit heavens to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ken Russell’s 1986 cult horror film Gothic—a delirious vision born of madness, poetry, and moon‑drenched terror.

Join your devoted hosts, Karen and Greg, as they descend into the fevered dreams of the film, where Lord Byron himself looms large, temptation whispers, and nightmares take elegant form. Between spectral analysis and wicked insight, they sip a specially crafted Lord Byron Cocktail, a libation as darkly seductive as the poet’s own legend.

If you crave horror film discussion, gothic cinema, and literary hauntings served with wit and atmosphere, this episode of Scary Spirits is your invitation to the Villa Diodati—where art, excess, and horror first dared to collide. Pour a drink, dim the lights, and linger with us among the spirits.

Lord Byron Cocktail

• 1 part KLEOS Mastiha Spirit
• 1 part gin
• 3/4 parts fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 part simple syrup
• 6 cucumber slices

Instructions:

Source: drinkkleos.com

A Brief Synopsis: On a warm summer night in 1816 at the Swiss lakeside château of Lord Byron, the poet and his guests — Percy Bysshe Shelley; his fiancée, Mary Wollstonecraft; her half-sister, Claire; and his private doctor John Polidori — spend the evening sharing ghost stories while under the influence of experimental compounds provided by the doctor. As the night goes on, reality and the horrific tales begin to commingle.

Some of the topics discussed and highlights of this episode include:

Our rating of the film:

This movie was OK. It took us 3 cocktails to get through it.

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