HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PIPE SMOKING DAY!

On this day over the past few years, International Pipe Smoking Day posts have been focused on horror stars from the past (when pipe smoking was prevalent). This year is an appearance by the "Great Beast 666", Aleister Crowley.

Crowley was an avid pipe smoker and it is said that his favorite blend was a combination of perique soaked in rum.

Smoke what thou wilt!

THE WICKEDEST MAN IN THE WORLD

Mountain climber, drug addict, mage -- The Great Beast, Aleister Crowley was all of them and more. Known in fin de siècle circles for his magickal (and sexual) prowess (he completed the highest grade of the occult group, Order of the Golden Dawn, in record time), Crowley's influence has since been persistent through the ensuing years. A number of biographies of his life have been published, including his own, "hagiography"; a few of them thoughtful, but most capitalize on his alleged practicing of black magic, devil worship, animal sacrifice and homosexuality. And who hasn't heard of his image as one of those immortalized on The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" LP sleeve?

Crowley is admired these days for his liberating doctrine embodied in his famous, BOOK OF THE LAW, wherein he formed his own metaphysical methodology that was revealed to him in communication with an entity named Aiwass.

He is most often referred to these days when the mention of a famous occultist is called for. Along the way, Crowley became known to the press as "The Wickedest Man in the World". For years after his death in 1947, the media still covered his "unsavory exploits". This article is from the Australian digest magazine, CAVALCADE (September, 1951).

BONUS!

The famous "Hubba-Hubba Girl", Evelyn West (1921-2004) was a stand out (no pun intended) in the world of burlesque. She was an indefatigable self-promoter, and once tried to change her name to Evelyn "$50,000 Treasure Chest" West. Here she is in CAVALCADE posing for more conventional pinup shots.

A famous publicity shot of Evelyn West.

Evelyn West in full burlesque regalia.

ALEISTER CROWLEY'S HOUSE OF SIN

If it hadn't been for Led Zepplin's guitarist Jimmy Page, not many of us would have ever heard of Bolskine House. "Bad vibes" have notoriously emanated from this sprawling country estate overlooking Loch Ness from the moment it was built and have followed the house up until today.

Legendary occultist, Aleister Crowley (known by the contemporary UK press as "The Wickedest Man in the World") owned the house and performed rituals considered to be black magic. Decades later, Page bought the house and it was rumored that he did the same thing. You can see Page at Boleskine House in a psychedelic scene from the documentary, "The Song Remains the Same" as he plays a hurdy-gurdy  on the lakeside.

Ironically, and some would say fittingly, Boleskine House recently went up in flames. A couple who had just recently purchased the property are determined to renovate the legendary estate, even going so far as selling souvenir bags of charred remains from the burned down house. Here's the story from the Herald Scotland.

Keith and Kyra Readdy, current owners of Boleskine House.

Saving notorious occult house of Crowley one brick at a time
By Rohese Devereux Taylor | January 3 2020 | HeraldScotland.com

IT was once the home of the self-styled “wickedest man in the world” who scandalised British society in the early 20th Century.

He is said to have carried out experiments with sex, drugs and the occult at the house, which was later bought by a rock guitar legend who was intrigued by its checkered history.

The current owners of Boleskine House, once owned by notorious occultist Aleister Crowley, hope to rebuild the gutted mansion after a fire devastated it last July by selling its charred remains.

The house, which overlooks Loch Ness, was bought by Keith and Kyra Readdy last summer and two days later it went up in flames; they had no insurance.

It was built in 1760 as a home for members of the Fraser family, the inspiration for time-travelling saga, Outlander.

The building is said to lie on the site of a 13th-Century church that was destroyed with its congregation locked inside. Crowley bought it from a descendant of the Fraser clan in 1899.

After a fire ripped through the remains of the mansion last July – the second blaze to gut the property after a 2015 fire – the Readdys are hoping to raise enough money to continue with renovations to the pile they hope will one day be open to the public and operated as a guest house and spiritual retreat.

The new owners have established a charitable trust, the Boleskine House Foundation, and are selling salvaged stones and bags of remains to help towards the cost of renovations they estimate at around £700,000.

The £49 eBay lot description states: “You are purchasing one original stone of up to 400g and one bag of charred remains from the fire on 31 July, 2019, from Boleskine House.”

The package comes with a certificate of authenticity, with the promise that all proceeds will be used for the restoration of Boleskine House.

A crowdfunding campaign was started last year and has so far generated more than £22,500 of the £220,000 target for donations.

The couple hope fans of the TV phenomenon penned by Diane Gabaldon and starring Scottish actor Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser will stump up cash to help with the rebuild.

Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page bought the “most notorious home in the Highlands” in the 1970s and owned it for around 20 years. He was said to have followed in Crowley’s footsteps by practicing black magic on the estate.

Crowley bought the B-listed Georgian building when he was just 25 and lived there until 1913. He boasted to have turned the property into “a centre of black magic, evil and sorcery”.

He conducted black magic rituals and offered animal sacrifices to satan and was said to have taken pleasure in the suffering of local people. One episode involved an employee of the estate getting drunk, after 20 years’ abstinence, and attempting to kill his wife and children. His lodge keeper suffered the loss of a 10-year-old daughter, while a year later his 15-month-old son died.

Ill-fortune seemed to continue to haunt Boleskine even after Crowley’s departure. It was reported in 1960 the then owner, Major Edward Grant, shot himself in the room Crowley once used for his satanic rituals.

However, Page, who bought the property in 1970, said in a 1975 interview: “Strange things have happened in that house which have nothing to do with Crowley. The bad vibes were already there.”

Jimmy Page in a scene from "The Song Remains the Same".

The rock legend claimed that the head of an executed man, thought to be Lord Lovat who fought with the English during the 1745 uprising, could be heard rolling around the floor. The house also featured in the Led Zeppelin documentary, The Song Remains The Same.

Page’s childhood friend, Malcolm Dent, worked as the caretaker for Boleskine before the musician sold up in the 1990s after rarely staying there.

He once claimed that “curious” events occurred at the house, saying: “Doors would be slamming all night. You’d go into a room and carpets and rugs would be piled up.”

The property was sold to Annette MacGillivray and her husband who lived there happily for 10 years before it was acquired in 2002 by Dutch owners.

Mrs Readdy told reporters in July that people were calling for the house to be razed, saying it was “a den of iniquity”.

“We have read so many lurid details,” she said. “It is an architecturally significant building no matter who has owned it. Boleskine has such a big draw, whether people are fans of Crowley or rock ’n’ roll.

“The Boleskine estate is a treasure of heritage and history that must be secured for future generations. I believe it can stand as a landmark for culture, research and well-being that all can benefit from.”

A BBC Documentary on the Loch and Boleskine House:

HISTORY OF THE OCCULT (PART 4)

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PIPE SMOKING DAY!

 

The mage Aleister Crowely's favorite pipe tobacco was perique soaked in rum.

DO WHAT THOU WILT AND SMOKE YOUR PIPE!