Episode 26: Spectres of Empire. The Tale of Father Ioann Solov’ev

Episode 26 October 30, 2025 00:23:21
Episode 26: Spectres of Empire. The Tale of Father Ioann Solov’ev
Tales from Imperial Russia
Episode 26: Spectres of Empire. The Tale of Father Ioann Solov’ev

Oct 30 2025 | 00:23:21

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Show Notes

A ghost was plaguing the household of Father Ioann Solov'ev, the parish priest of the tiny hamlet of Lychentsy, in November 1900...floating objects, strange fires, disembodied voices, fleshy masses materialising in beds. Exorcisms, guards, the police...nothing seemed to work. 

In this special Halloween episode, we look at other haunted house stories from the late Russian Empire, explaining their prominence and popularity with reference to both popular demonology and the new craze for spiritualism and the occult sweeping urban populations. 

Source

J. Mannherz, Modern Occultism in Late Imperial Russia (DeKalb: NIU Press, 2012)

Voice credit

Ekaterina Boltaeva as the voice of Marfa Larionova

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