An intimate exploration of the life, philosophy, and lasting occult influence of Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan
• Includes never-before-published material from LaVey, including transcripts from his never-released “Hail Satan!” video
• Shares in-depth interviews with intimate friends and collaborators, including LaVey’s partner Blanche Barton, his son Xerxes LaVey, and current heads of the Church of Satan Peter Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia
• Provides inside accounts of the Church of Satan and activities at the Black House, personal stories and anecdotes from the very colorful life of the Black Pope, and firsthand explanations of key principles of LaVey’s philosophy
With his creation of the infamous Church of Satan in 1966 and his bestselling book The Satanic Bible in 1969, Anton Szandor LaVey (1930-1997) became a controversial celebrity who basked in the attention and even made a successful career out of it. But who was Anton LaVey behind the public persona that so easily provoked Christians and others intolerant of his views?
One of privileged few who spent time with the “Black Pope” in the last decade of his life, Carl Abrahamsson met Anton LaVey in 1989, sparking an “infernally” empowering friendship. In this book Abrahamsson explores what LaVey was really about, where he came from, and how he shaped the esoteric landscape of the 1960s. The author shares in-depth interviews with the notorious Satanist’s intimate friends and collaborators, including LaVey’s partner Blanche Barton; his son, Xerxes LaVey; current heads of the Church of Satan, Peter Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia; occult filmmaker Kenneth Anger; LaVey’s personal secretary Margie Bauer; film collector Jack Stevenson; and film historian Jim Morton. Abrahamsson also shares never-before-published material from LaVey himself, including discussions between LaVey and Genesis P-Orridge and transcribed excerpts from LaVey’s never-released “Hail Satan!” video.
Providing inside accounts of the Church of Satan and activities at the Black House, this intimate exploration of Anton LaVey reveals his ongoing role in the history of culture and magic.
About the Author
Carl Abrahamsson is a writer, publisher, magico-anthropologist, photographer, and filmmaker, most recently producing the documentary Anton LaVey: Into the Devil's Den. The author of Occulture and Reasonances as well as the editor and publisher of the annual anthology of occulture, The Fenris Wolf, he lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
Industry Reviews
“In Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, the ‘Black Pope’ of modern Satanism finds his most able interpreter and biographer. Carl Abrahamsson, the doyen of occulture, has studied LaVey’s life and influence for years, focusing his peculiar instinct for the esoteric and transgressive on a character who brought the two into a piquant and appealing blend. Part showman, part huckster, part prophet, and all devil, LaVey’s shaved head, Fu Manchu moustache, kitschy horns, and buxom coven brought a comic touch to a heresy that is more often taken all too seriously. Abrahamsson captures the smoky, saucy flavor of LaVey’s devilish humor with gusto. Tempted? You should be.”
