The Second City, witchcraft and comedy

Many thanks to Chas Clifton for forwarding this article to me.  Taki's Magazine details the mysterious figure of Del Close and his connection to both the national comedy scene and witchcraft.

"From the late 1960s until his death in 1999, Close taught long form at Second City Toronto and Chicago and served as SNL’s “house metaphysician.” No wonder the names of his other devoted disciples read like a comedy hall of fame: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, John Candy, Andy Dick, Chris Farley, Shelley Long, and Gilda Radner, to name a very few."

 

 

 http://takimag.com/article/comedy_for_the_devil_kathy_shaidle/print#ixzz2WleB8gib

Steinway Hall

Built in 1896, Steinway Hall was located at 64 E Van Buren St.  The building went through a variety of name changes over the years and also housed a number of activities of interest to readers here.

Image courtesy the Steinway Hall Wikipedia page.

In its early days, the 11-story office building housed a number of architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright (who remained in the building until 1908). During this time, Steinway Hall was briefly being advertised as a "Temple of Magic."

Image courtesy the Chicago Magic blog.  While focusing on stage magic, there is definitely information of interest.

Image of the theater during it's run as the "Punch and Judy Theater" courtesy the Cinema Treasures website.


The 850-seat theater in the building originally was a branch of Ziegfeld's theaters (while the Follies were taking off in New York, Flo Ziegfeld was originally from Chicago).  The theater was home to acts such as Sophie Tucker and Fatty Arbuckle.  In 1915 the theater's name was changed and Shakespearean plays were produced.

The same theater was rented out by the Theosophical Society, who secured every Sunday for a six month period of time.  During this time, Charles Leadbeater lectured on a variety of subjects relating to the occult and Theosophy.  Leadbeater, having just arrived from England, packed the theater to the extent that would-be listeners regularly had to be turned away at the door.  His lectures here in Chicago would be published as the book Some Glimpses of Occultism Ancient and Modern.

In 1941, after the schism of C.F. Russell's Choronzon Club, one of the splinter groups housed itself at Steinway Hall (practically around the corner from the Fine Arts Building where they had previously met).  They would remain here until the 1960s, when they would return to the Fine Arts Building.    For more information on this, please visit my previous post regarding C.F. Russell and the Fine Arts Building.

Around this time the theater was being used to show adult movies.  Public sentiment had swayed against the building, and it was demolished on April 5, 1970.  Apparently it was written in the Chicago Tribune that “Few, if any, will mourn it.”

In its place, we now have a parking lot.

the advertisements of L.W. de Laurence

I've held off posting more about Lauren de Laurence, as I assumed that others were probably getting tired of hearing about my personal favorite local dubious historical publisher.  After some positive feedback, I'm giving in and posting a few things that I've come across.

Firstly, Michael Nowicki has posted several images from de Laurence's catalogs, along with an amusing story on Rosicrucians.org.

 

 According to Nowicki, the de Laurence company was still in business in the 1960s (despite the fact that de Laurence himself died in 1936).  Rather than post his story here, I'm just going to suggest that you visit the website to read his anecdote about visiting the de Laurence company.

A Tarot website at http://home.comcast.net/~vilex includes many images regarding the de Laurence Company's Tarot deck (a blatant copy of the Ryder-Waite deck).  The author goes into great detail regarding different printings of de Laurence's deck and related books.

"The Key to the Tarot: Oracles Behind the Veil, by Dr. L.W. de Laurence. It is, or should be, common knowledge that this book is AE Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot word for word!"

A very interesting read for those interested in the history of occult literature.  Start here for several pages of scans and information:  http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/Adverts.html


Website Church of Good Luck includes scans of de Laurence's catalogs.  Follow the link to see several advertisements.

"Artist's Conception of de Laurence Wearing a Turban and a Tunic"

"De Laurence wrote a lot of his own material in addition to his habit of "borrowing", and what he wrote best was ad copy.  He managed to fill over 500 pages in his 1931 catalog, and it stands to this day as a monument to bombast."

And so that I am able to contribute something of my own, here is a snapshot of the back page of an issue of Occult Digest from 1933 (three years before de Laurence would pass away).  Included are ads for Practical Lessons in Hypnotism and Magnetism, and The Great Book of Magical Art, Hindu Magic and East Indian Occultism.  The latter, you may recall, was found in a local bookstore (with alternate "Hindoo" spelling).

Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell

A couple of weeks ago I posted this press photograph that came into my possession:  Dance of the Witches in Front of Chicago Federal Building, 1969

I loved the photograph, but had been unable to find any background information.  Luckily for me, there are some great people who read this blog.  Jason Winslade pointed me in the direction of W.I.T.C.H. - Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell, who were a loose collection of independent feminist groups in 1968 and 1969.  W.I.T.C.H. was formed in New York, but the Chicago "coven" seems to have been particularly active, using the imagery and tools of the occult to bring attention to women's issues.  They combined guerrilla theater, camp and serious political activism - and apparently created quite a stir. 

 

 W.I.T.C.H protest in support of the Chicago Eight 1969, as found on Tumblr

The Wikipedia entry for W.I.T.C.H. states:
"Their activism mainly took the form of "zaps", a form of guerrilla theater mixing street theatre and protest, where they used attention-catching and humorous public actions to highlight political and economic complaints against companies and government agencies, frequently involving the use of witch costumes and the chanting of hexes. Witches often appeared as stock characters in feminist Left theatre, representing the misogynist crone stereotype."

 

 W.I.T.C.H protest in support of the Chicago Eight 1969, as found on Tumblr

From an article by Jo Freeman, posted on her website:

"Slowly, solemnly, the Witches filed around the Federal Building, faces dead white, staring straight ahead, flowing black capes swirling around them. "Our sister justice lies chained and tied," they chanted. "We curse the ground on which she died."
This was Halloween, the annual religious festival of the druidic witches, and a Chicago "Coven" of WITCH (Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell) had chosen the day to announce the beginning of a new, militant phase of the Chicago women's liberation movement."

 

University of Chicago WITCH hex.  Photograph by Jo Freeman, taken from her website

 Another article on Jo Freeman's website:

"Because WITCH actions could be done with a small group and were both fun and political, they quickly spread around the country. Boston women hexed bars. DC women hexed the Presidential inauguration. Chicago women zapped everything. On January 16, 1969, eight undergraduate women at the University of Chicago hexed the chairman of the Sociology Department, which had recently fired a popular woman professor. Dressed in black with their faces painted white, they told him to "beware of the curse, the witch's curse.""

University of Chicago WITCH hex.  Photograph by Jo Freeman, taken from her website

Another quote from the same article:

"Another coven soon hexed the Chicago Transit Authority at its headquarters in the Merchandise Mart to protest a fare hike. They danced around a caldron while chanting:

Witches round the circle go
to hex the causes of our woe,
We the witches now conspire
To burn CTA in freedoms' fire.

Bankers gall, politicians guile,
Daley's jowl, lackey's smile,
Trustee's toe, bondholder's liar
These we cast into our fire.

Meetings held, messages sealed
When the fare hike is revealed
We, the people, are the prey
Of the demon, CTA...."

University of Chicago WITCH hex.  Photograph by Jo Freeman, taken from her website

Process Church of the Final Judgement in Chicago

Much has been written about the Process Church of the Final Judgement.  Most notably as of late, Feral House has published a book on the Process, "Love Sex Fear Death," along with reprinting their themed magazines.

In short, Mary Anne and Robert De Grimston met in London through the Church of Scientology, which they split from rather quickly.  In 1965/66 the Process began in earnest, having chapters in many cities around the world.  They attracted a good deal of controversy for their belief system, which involved a "worldview that accepted Lucifer, Jehovah, Satan and Christ as partners in a larger godhead." (Quote courtesy the Gnostic Liberation Front, whose information regarding the Process is quite extensive)  Some referred to them as Satanic, some as a cult.  It was alleged at one point that Charles Manson was a member, though this was found to be untrue.  

This image from the "Death" issue of the Process magazine, blatantly stolen from Gnostic Liberation Front.

 

I've found three locations in Chicago which somehow related to the Process in the 1970s.  According to Feral House, the Chicago Chapter was founded in 1970.  As a testament to the prevalence of Processians in Chicago during this time period, I happened upon an article in a friend's zine collection which described how the black-caped Processians would be seen around town, spreading the word (if I can track this article down again, I'll post it here).  Another mention of both their capes and their magazines made its way into the Chicago Tribune, August 11 1974.

In 1972 the Process was operating out of a home on W. Deming place, only a couple of blocks from the Sabaean Order of Amn and El-Sabarum Occult Store which was in operation at the same time (I'm not posting the full address as I believe it is someone's residence now).  At this location they held weekly meetings open to the public on Fridays, from 9 to 10 pm. 

After this, the exact timeline of Chicago residences gets a bit hazy. 

Feral House states that the Chicago chapter was founded on Wells Street. I have an address for the Foundation Church of the Millenium (a later variant of the Process after a schism erupted when Mary Anne and Robert DeGrimston separated) in 1976 at 1529 N Wells St. This location is now home to a Subway sandwich shop.

At some point the local chapter of the Process was located a mile away from the Wells location, on Burling Street.  This is a 1892 square foot home built in 1869.  This area of town is very affluent now, though I've seen some mention of it being "slums" at one point.  There is a mansion across the way, but I found that it wasn't built until 2001.

A quick Internet search finds a poster going by the name of "stubby" on a Chuck Palahniuk message board who says that he was a member of the Process for three years in Chicago.  He says that the chapter house was on Deming and the Process's coffee house was in Old Town, which I assume to be the Wells location.  The fact that the Process was potentially operating out of two locations simultaneously in the city says something about their size.

I'm posting another article about the Process below, though it is only related by a single woman who murdered a man.  The woman in question appears to have joined (or claimed to have joined) every occult organization possible in Chicago, and the local community speaks out.  Chicago Tribune, February 4th 1981.

Sabaean Religious Order

One of the main reasons why I started this blog in the first place is my desire to learn more.  Not only is this motivation for me to document the things that I've learned about the city (and share them with others), but by being public people might contact me so that we can share knowledge.  This has started to happen, and I can't be happier.

A reader by the name of John Christensen wrote last week, asking if I knew much about the Sabaean Religious Order, which he remembered from quite a few years ago.  I'd heard of them, having a couple of older addresses and a few kernels of information, but not much more.  John did some research of his own and sent it my way.  So we have him to thank for the majority of the information which follows.

The Sabaean Religious Order was started by Frederic "Odun" De Arechaga, whose family originated in Spain.  He took over his mother's occult supply shop,  El Sabarum.  I've found 3 different addresses for either El Sabarum or Arechaga's Sabaean Order of Amn over the years:

At some point the Sabaean Order was located at 3221 Sheffield. 

Sabarum Occult Store
2553 N Halsted
This location was documented in 1974

I don't know what the building on this location used to look like.  This eyesore of a hardware store was put in its place in 1990.

Sabaean Order of Amn and El-Sabarum Occult Store
2447 N Halsted
Both operated in this location, documented in both 1970 and 1976

This is now the location of the Tonic Room.  I wonder if they know the history of the building that they are located in.

Arechaga's beliefs appear to draw largely from Egyptian beliefs and symbolism, amalgamated with Babylonian, Sumerian and African schools of thought.  He used the word "Sabaean" rather than "Pagan," which he saw as having negative connotations.  

Arechega is interviewed as a part of this article from the Chicago Tribune, July 26 1970.

From the "Sunday's Best" television listings in the Chicago Tribune. Sunday June 17, 1972.  Chicago had a television program called "News of the Psychic World?"

The Sabaean website is no longer operational, though you can access some archived pages through Archive.org.  Here is one example. 

A bit of Arechaga's history can be gleaned from this 1961 article, which mentions his designing of a cafe, the Alhambra, for the jazz musician Ahmad Jamal.

This article from 1974 discusses the occult revival of the time, interviewing Arechaga.  Unfortunately I had an issue saving the rest of the article.  I will post it soon, as it involves an interview with Terry Taylor, who was behind a couple of local theistic Satanic organizations and occult stores in the 1970s.  I doubt that Arechaga appreciated the connection.

This article in the "Walking Tour" section of the Chicago Tribune from 1969 discussed the El Sabarum shop in context with the neighborhood and shows an image of the front of the store.

In 2009, Marassa / Alafia started a SABAEA blog.  In this post they discuss much of the history and philosophy of the group.  In the comments on this post, it is revealed that Odun passed away on January 13, 2011.

I'm sure that there are some readers here who remember Arechaga and this organization, if they weren't a part of it themselves.  Please feel free to make contact and help fill in the blanks!

Dance of the Witches in front of Chicago federal building, 1969

I now have in my possession this original press photograph, titled "Dance of the Witches in Front of Chicago Federal Building, Oct. 31 1969."  I'm not exactly thrilled about newspapers purging their historical archives, but if they are getting rid of this particular photograph then I might as well be the one to own it.

I've been looking through various archives to try to find more information about this image.  Do any of my amazing readers have any thoughts??

UPDATE:  It is now known that this image is of the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell.

College of Occult Studies

 

from The Circle Classifieds, May 19, 1971

I've only been able to find minimal information regarding the College of Occult Studies.  The most that I currently know is this:  it was around in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was located at 410 S Michigan Avenue, later to relocate to 505 N Michigan. 

Does anyone else have more information?

Ted Serios - Chicago Thoughtographer

Ted Serios (1918-2006) was a Chicago bellhop who claimed to have the ability to psychically expose images onto Polaroid film.  Initially experimenting with remote viewing in an attempt to find lost treasure, Serios was given a camera by a fellow bellhop and eventually found he had a knack for taking creating photographs remotely.

 image courtesy Ted Serios entry on Wikipedia

The idea of Thoughtography / Nensha / Nengraphy did not originate with Serios - experiments of this type were carried out almost as soon as photography was invented.  In 1931, Japanese scientist T. Fukari published his findings on the subject, titled Clairvoyance and Thoughtography (in recent years, Kessinger has reprinted this book).  Both Uri Geller and the young Masuaki Kiyota would attempt similar practices, but were proven to be faking it.

Dr. Jule Eisenbud ended up taking Serios very seriously, traveling with him and publishing a book, The World of Ted Serios - "Thoughtographic" Studies of an Extraordinary Mind in 1967.  There are many skeptics, as would be suspected: professional partypooper James Randi blows him with delight, as do a few people on the Internet.  Most of these however ignore some of the more interesting details regarding Serios's images.  Other people provided their own film and cameras, loading them while Serios was not in the room and not allowing him to touch them at any point.  Serios created images after being stripped and inspected, then put into a faraday cage or standing 66 feet down a hallway.

 Serios photograph with target image on right.

Ted would get drunk, often strip naked, yell and scream while calling everyone names.  Then suddenly he'd yell to someone to take a photograph of him.  A Polaroid camera would be pointed at his face, and an image of something entirely different would appear when the film was opened.

Most interesting is this fact:  Serios always worked with a target image.  Someone would provide a "target," place it into an envelope and have Serios concentrate on what this image was, having never actually seen it.  His resulting images often matched the target.  Since Serios was both an alcoholic and bordered on illiteracy, his images would sometimes show real places with signs misspelled or small details out of order. 

At one point Serios was given a target of the Chicago Hilton, his previous place of employment.  Instead he produced this photograph of the Denver Hilton, from an angle that nobody could find a way to duplicate in real life.

One more amazing character to come from Chicago.  The Ted Serios archives are now held at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

For more reading: 
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-02-20/entertainment/bs-ae-umbc-psychic-projections-20110217_1_ted-serios-exhibit-believers-and-skeptics
http://arbutus.patch.com/articles/umbc-exhibit-highlights-paranormal-photography-2