Author: Patrick Dorn

Oberammergau Passion Play 1985. Nine hours of brilliant staging with devoted amateur actors speaking in German. This is the moment Palm Sunday, and all of Holy Week first became “real” to me. Never underestimate the power of the arts to change lives. All reactions: 19Donna Murray, Cindy Hamilton and 17 others

Happy St. Brigid’s Day! Brigid is one of my favorite Irish saints, appearing in more of my Father Declan stories than any other from the Cloud of Witnesses. Last summer I visited her grave in Downpatrick. (Thank you Walter’s Way Tours!) She shares the grave with St. Patrick and St. Columba. Today, I celebrate her…

Feathers Flying! Everything that could go wrong does, when a Franciscan priest attempts to bless a previously desecrated monument to Paddy the Pigeon, decorated veteran of the Normandy Invasion. This whimsical and comedic short story, with just a whiff of the supernatural, is rooted in historical fact and set in Carnlough, Northern Ireland. Paddy the…

The Dangling Steeplejack Entangled in Terror! When a gifted priest discovers a petrified ghost dangling outside Sligo Cathedral’s belfry, he must go to dizzying and dangerous heights to help the frenzied phantom down. Or rather, up. Set in Ireland, the Father Declan Supernatural Mysteries are upbeat, redemptive contemporary fantasy short stories. Some are humorous, and…

This story started out as the opening teaser chapter for another Father Declan mystery. But it was so funny, I expanded it into a laugh-filled, action-packed full-length short story. This is #22 in the Father Declan series, but they are all stand-alone adventures. Enjoy! The Last Disco in Crumlin Footloose in a Bingo Hall! Following…

          26 September 2023 (I’m posting this even as the story is published. Watch for updated links!) I haven’t written a weird western in a long time. But I’m back in the saddle again with “Incorrupt.” Okay, this one doesn’t take place in the “Old” West, but it is set in…

Last month I visited Ireland for the third time. On my last day in that beautiful land, I walked around Dublin, casing out locations for this funny, reverent, gruesome ghost story. Enjoy! P+ The Archbishop’s Last Mass Mercy for a Martyr When Father Declan encounters the caged ghost of a martyred archbishop in a Dublin…

The Unbinding of Dublin’s ‘Floozie in the Jacuzzi’ Harlot Haunts a Graven Image! An unconventional Irish priest risks arrest when he attempts to liberate the imprisoned ghost of a saucy prostitute from one of Dublin’s most notorious bronze statues. A short and funny frolic in Catholic-friendly supernatural fiction. CLICK HERE to purchase e-book on any…

The Changeling of Menlo Castle An unconventional Irish priest risks his soul to retrieve a young girl who was stolen by fairies and replaced by a grotesque Changeling more than a century before. Featuring a guest appearance by Saint Brigid and introducing Bruscar as The Changeling. CLICK HERE to purchase e-book on any platform. CLICK…

My 13-page, flash fiction memoir My Father’s House received a wonderful review from D. Wallace Peach, fantasy author and curator of the book review site  Myths of the Mirror. In part, she writes… “This is a sad memoir of loss and regret and the tragic consequences of a father’s poor choices. It’s tenderly written, memorable,…

The Carlingford Leprechaun Moments before families and tourists in the attractive medieval seaside village of Carlingford Town head to the hills for the famous and fanciful National Leprechaun Hunt, an actual leprechaun asks an unconventional priest to help locate a missing kinsman…and there’s more than just a pot of gold at stake.

I’ve been to Ireland twice now, but not yet to the County Sligo. Still, the abbey ruins caught my eye while planning a future trip to the northwest, and along with it, the legend of the friars’ massacre at Sligo Abbey in 1642. (Actually, it’s Holy Cross Priory, but nobody calls it that anymore.) And…

The Haunted Infirmary An unconventional Irish priest, on a mission to release cruelly quarantined souls, breaches a stuck-in-time haunted infirmary controlled by the spirit of a maniacal nun. With special ghostly guest appearances by Saint Finbarr and Doctor Margaret “James Barry” Bulkley. Attention: this story contains body horror befitting its setting, and ghosts that explode…

Are you looking for a funny, heart-warming Christmas ghost story to read this holiday season? Yes, I know, I’m reading “A Christmas Carol” too. But here’s another option. My short story “Last Call at Temple Bar.” Check it out! https://books2read.com/u/brwapY A Scots-Irish Protestant recruits an unconventional Franciscan priest to stage a mass liberation of earthbound…

The Dancing Jig Doll No Strings Attached! When a shabby antique puppet begins to move on its own at a Dublin pub, an unconventional Irish priest strives to discover what manner of spirit is animating the wooden dancing doll. CLICK HERE to purchase on all e-book platforms (only 99 cents!). CLICK HERE to purchase paperback…