Black House (Church of Satan)

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Black House
TheBlackHouseCoS.jpg
6114 California St
Religion
AffiliationChurch of Satan
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusdemolished
Location
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Geographic coordinates37°47′02″N 122°29′00″W / 37.7839552°N 122.4834048°W / 37.7839552; -122.4834048Coordinates: 37°47′02″N 122°29′00″W / 37.7839552°N 122.4834048°W / 37.7839552; -122.4834048
Architecture
Completed1905

The Black House was a building that formerly stood at 6114 California St. in San Francisco, California, in the United States.[1] The house was used by Anton LaVey as the headquarters of his Church of Satan from 1966 until his death in 1997.[1] LaVey conducted Satanic seminars and rituals at the house; one of the most notorious such rituals was the Satanic baptism of his daughter Zeena Schreck in 1967, punctuated by LaVey speaking the words "Hail Zeena! Hail Satan!"[2][3] over the nude body of a female acting as the 'Satanic Altar'.

Public ceremonies were performed at the house until 1972.[4] LaVey lost ownership of the house in 1991 as the result of a court settlement resulting from his separation from Diane Hegarty, but LaVey was allowed to reside at the Black House until his death.

Following LaVey's death, members of the Church of Satan unsuccessfully attempted to raise funds to repurchase the house, and it was demolished on October 17, 2001. A duplex now stands in its place.

Though the building is sometimes referred to as a mansion, photographs of the building taken just before its destruction show that it was a moderately sized single-family home, considerably smaller than the two apartment buildings on either side of the property. According to public records, it was listed at 2,205 square feet (204.9 m2) and constructed in the year 1905.[5]

In popular culture[]

Norwegian experimental collective Ulver referenced Black House and its destruction in the song "1969" from their 2017 album The Assassination of Julius Caesar with the lyrics "There used to be a house at 6114 California St."

References[]

  1. ^ a b "The Spooky History Of 6114 California Street, The Black House | Hoodline". Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  2. ^ "The Satanic Mass/Zeena's Baptism Track A9 go to 3:42". Archived from the original on July 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "The Satanic Mass, Track A9 (Zeena's Baptism)". Murgenstrumm, 1968 Vinly LP.
  4. ^ "A Brief History of the Church of Satan 7. Lucifer Rising". webcache.googleusercontent.com. 2011-08-02. Archived from the original on 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-08-06.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Home Details for 6114 California St, San Francisco, CA, 94121". Cyberhomes.com. Retrieved 2011-08-06.[dead link]

External links[]

  • A letter penned by Blanche Barton in 1999 soliciting donations from Satanists to save the house
  • A 1999 article describing the legal battles over the house between LaVey's survivors.
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