SATANIC RITES AND WRONGS
THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS
Two years ago in these pages (FT356:40-47) Gary Lachman marked the 50th anniversary of the ‘Summer of Love’, tracing the downward trajectory of the hippie dream of personal, sexual and psychedelic liberation as it played out on the streets of San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury during 1967. If the hoped-for revolution in consciousness faltered and died in the Haight, there was far worse to come. In this issue we look back at what for many – along with Altamont a few months later – came to mark the nadir of the Sixties: the horrific murders masterminded by Charles Manson and carried out by his cultlike ‘Family’ 50 years ago. James Riley (p34) examines the various occult currents washing around the late Sixties counterculture, creating a web of ‘Satanic’ connections linking characters as varied as Anton LaVey, Kenneth Anger, Roman Polanski and onetime Haight hippie Manson himself.
Modern-day Satanists (or are they SJW pranksters or alt-right apologists in Devilish disguise?) The Temple of Satan continue to make headlines, helped by Penny Lane’s new film about them, Hail Satan? The Temple’s leader, co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves, agreed to talk to FT about the film, the group and its aims, and the importance of establishing the legitimacy of non-theistic religions in the United States today. Who better to talk to His Satanic Majesty than our resident vicar, Rev Peter Laws? You can see how the two got along on p42. Just don’t mention the Church of Satan!
HOUSES OF THE UNHOLY
Meanwhile, two stories landed on our desk as we were going to press. The house at 10050 Cielo Drive where Sharon Tate and her companions were murdered by Charles Manson’s followers must be one of the most notorious addresses in modern murder lore; it was demolished in 1994, when a new home was built on the site and assigned a new address. Perhaps surprisingly, the house where Manson Family members killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the following night still stands and is currently up for sale. Enter US TV ghost hunter Zak Bagans, last seen in these pages buying and then demolishing the Gary, Indiana, ‘Demon House’ (FT313:476-53, 340:23, 372:58-59) Now Bagans has his eye on 3311 Waverly Drive, noting that there “was a very, very strong energy in the house… I love to investigate spirits and places. This is a beautiful place with a very dark history”. We’ll have to wait and see whether he thinks that “dark history” is worth the $1.98 million asking price. Next, news reached us that Aleister Crowley’s one-time home Boleskine House, on the shores of Loch Ness, had been damaged in a blaze on the night of 30 August. The Georgian house – famously snapped up and subsequently sold by rock star and latter-day Thelemite Jimmy Page – was already in a ruined state following a fire in 2015, and was sold earlier this year; Scottish Police believe this latest fire was started deliberately. (Observer, 27 July; BBC News, 31 July 2019).
GOODBYE TO OUR MAN IN NORWAY
We were very sad to learn of the death from cancer of “our man in Norway”, Nils Grande, on 27 June. Fifty of his letters have appeared in our pages since FT287 (May 2012). Nils was born on 9 June 1954 in Trondheim, and grew up in Lom, in the mountains of Norway. He showed an early aptitude for language, could read by the age of three, and taught himself English by age 12. Two years later he was composing and scoring his own music. He pursued his interest in music at Oslo University, and eventually switched to a career in software design. His was a life of curiosity and continuous learning, surrounded by books. We shall miss his informative and witty contributions. Many thanks to his sister for providing us with further information and sending the photograph of Nils shown above.