Growing up during the s in Stockholm, Sweden, I led a very stable, safe and secure life. No wonder then that I gravitated to the realms of underground comics, weird science fiction and dark occultisms. Many unconventional strains of culture inspired my prurient youth, and they all merged into substantial parts of my being; most of which are in fact very much alive still.
American pop culture was one seminal part of this imprint cluster. My parents had friends in the US, and they regularly sent comics, candy and clothes to me that all became parts of my identity.
I was often in there, being willingly enchanted before I could even fully figure out what was being said on the pages in question. Occultism was exciting and it still is! What healthy teenager can resist such an alluring title and tome? And I was thrilled to discover that he had actually founded The Church of Satan in - the very year I was born! Anton LaVey was one of these recurring favorites. The photos were titillating, to say the least: LaVey looked so sinister in his black cape and devil horns, and there were always nude ladies serving as altars; smiling seductively at the cameras.
All of these things definitely made an impact on my malleable teenage boy mind. I was pleasantly surprised when I was offered the use of the Walter Fischer images for the California Infernal project — some thirty years later! Were they coming back to haunt me, or what? Writing the intro for that book made me roam my memory as well as my diaries.
One question surfaced over and over: If I had had these wonderful experiences at the Black House, then surely others had, too? I travelled with my wife, Vanessa Sinclair, to New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco to conduct filmed interviews, and later on followed up with a set if standardized questions via e-mail for this book project, specifically. This mosaic of stories from long ago created a pattern that tilted and jolted my mind, and opened up for more than mere memories or details.
It was a pattern mainly consisting of warm and positive emotions for this unique and creative individual who inspired us so much, and in so many different ways. The most striking thing about Anton LaVey in this kind of rear view mirror, is that he has made a real impact on culture. The similarities with good science fiction are obvious: by writing about the future and thereby inspiring the young in their life choices, and - even more importantly, according to LaVey - their aesthetics, science fiction also helps define the future beyond the mere fictional aspects.
LaVey's intuitive assumptions became obsessions, and when he eventually divulged these, they became little spells that affected the big picture in various ways. From the late s and onwards, the musically skilled LaVey played keyboards in many different settings: at nightclubs, events, bars, circuses and sideshows.
In May , President Lyndon B. The Orangeburg Massacre occurred on the night of February 8, , when a civil rights protest at South Carolina State University SC State turned deadly after highway patrolmen opened fire on about unarmed black student protestors. Three young men were shot and killed, and The s started off as the dawn of a golden age to most Americans.
On January 20, , the handsome and charismatic John F. Kennedy became president of the United States. The year remains one of the most tumultuous single years in history, marked by historic achievements, shocking assassinations, a much-hated war and a spirit of rebellion that swept through countries all over the world. Occurring at the dawn of the television age, the Larry Itliong was a Filipino American labor leader who organized West Coast farm workers, starting in the s. He became well-known in the s for spearheading the Delano grape strike and teaming with labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to demand farm workers' Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.
Although its roots go back further, scholars typically date the creation of Islam to the 7th century, making it the youngest of the major world religions. Rafael Trujillo, a dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic for more than 30 years, assumed near-absolute control of the Caribbean nation in While successful in reducing foreign debt, modernizing his country and fostering greater economic prosperity for the Dominican The Birmingham church bombing occurred on September 15, , when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama—a church with a predominantly Black congregation that also served as a meeting place for civil rights A week after President John F.
After a nearly yearlong investigation, the commission, led by Chief Justice Earl Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Who Is Satan?
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LaVey, a man with a sharp, if morbid, sense of humor, burst on the San Francisco media scene in the mids, taking The City's already colorful counterculture scene a step closer to the edge. He founded the Church of Satan in , keeping a Nubian lion named Togare, as well as a stuffed werewolf, in the black Richmond District Victorian that served both as his devil-worshipping church and his home. He ordained himself, he said, because he couldn't find anybody else to do it. He got the call, he said.
LaVey said. We just think it's time the Devil was given his due. The devil is the guy who's kept all the churches in business. Leading up to his duties as Satan's front man, Mr. LaVey expansively told reporters, he had prepared by being a lion trainer for the Clyde Beatty Circus, a professional organist, oboeist, crime photographer, artist, hypnotist and psychic investigator.
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