Feral House

Exploiting a Lovely Murdered Actress

1960s icon Ed Sanders, of Fuck You Press and The Fugs, once issued a book of poems called Fuck God in the Ass. Here’s a short video clip of this ultra-hip guy telling people where to go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgqWg0_tISw

Sanders is also known for The Family, his book about the Manson family and other groups like The Process Church of the Final Judgment, which is filled with hip, snappy phrases like “OO-EE-OO”….

How did the strange and reviled Process Church cult win a libel suit against a large established American publisher and revered pop culture guy? (Yes, The Process Church lost a similar suit against Sanders in British court whose judge had a strange fixation on the boots worn by Process Church’s female leader. See Love / Sex / Fear Death by Timothy Wyllie and published by Feral House for further details.)

Today Sanders has published a “Family”-like book once again, this time under the title Sharon Tate, and yes, it’s largely a hymn to the beauty of this murdered movie actress, and further amounts of decades-long hate against the Manson Family and a nameless “English Satanic organization” (obviously suggesting the Process Church, as denoted in his initial Family volume).

What really happened in the Process Church? What did it believe, and what did it do? Was it really a Satanic organization? The only book that offers dispassionate but accurate information is Love / Sex /  Fear /  Death: The Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment by Timothy Wyllie, and Edited by Adam Parfrey.

Feral House was offered the opportunity to publish Sharon Tate but turned it down. Why so? Couldn’t Feral House make money featuring a lovely murdered actress?

It was the terrible quality of the book itself that brought on my refusal. I asked Sanders’ agent Jim Fitzgerald how such poor writing and false information could be published, and he simply replied that “Da Capo liked it enough”… and when I followed up with a question of how he liked it, Fitzgerald replied, “It could have been better.

”It truly is a sad day when an icon of the ‘60s revolution publishes a crappy celebrity book loaded with false information. Did he need money that much?

In terms of getting decent inside information about the Manson cult, Feral House offers a reprint of the Amok Press book, The Manson File, which has quite a bit of dialogue, letters, and illustrations from Manson and the family. It’s not the prosecuting attorney’s hippie hate, the prosecuting attorney that made the case for the accuracy of the Warren Commission Report on the killing of President John F. Kennedy.

Have a psychedelic Christmas!  http://feralhouse.com/the-influence-of-psychedelic-mushrooms-on-christmas/

The Influence of Psychedelic Mushrooms on Christmas

by Andrew Arnett

Ever wonder why Santa Claus wears a red and white suit, owns flying reindeer and works with magical elves? Researchers believe these are examples of the influence of psychedelic mushrooms on Christmas tradition.

Ethnobotanist and mystic Terence McKenna says, “An example of how a very ancient folkway being incorporated into our culture without even realizing it is provided by discussing Amanita Muscaria.” Amanita muscaria is a red and white colored psychoactive basidiomycete fungus and mushroom with potent hallucinogenic properties.

Popularized images of Amanita muscaria in faery tales and books like Alice in Wonderland had their origins in tribal belief systems pre-dating Christianity. Psychedelic mushrooms played a central role in pagan cultures throughout the Northern Hemisphere such as the Koyak tribe of the central Russian steppes and the Lapps of Finland where the mushrooms grow.

These tribal cultures believed in the mythology of the World Tree, whose roots span the underworld and branches reach towards heaven, touching the North Star. The tradition of decorating a pine tree is symbolic of this World Tree, and the star placed at the top represents the North Star. The spirit of the shaman would climb this tree, thus gaining access to the realm of the gods. The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis, or an axis mundi world center connecting Heaven and Earth. On Earth, the axis mundi is located at the poles.

Symbolically, this is why Santa Claus “lives” at the North Pole. According to anthropologist John Rush, “Santa is a modern counterpart of a shaman, who consumed mind-altering plants and fungi to commune with the spirit world.”

Santa Claus Was a Mushroom

A shaman is one who enters an altered state of consciousness to interact with the spirit world to effect divination and healing. To attain a trance state, shamans would often ingest psychedelic substances like Amanita muscaria. John Rush explains that “Up until a few hundred years ago, these practicing shamans or priests connected to the older traditions would collect Amanita muscaria_ _(the Holy Mushroom), dry them and then give them as gifts on the winter solstice.”

Amanita muscaria has a symbiotic relationship with pine trees and only grows beneath certain species of trees, specifically conifers, such as pines, firs, redwoods and spruces.  According to writer James Arthur, “People bring pine trees into their houses at the winter solstice, placing brightly colored (red-and-white) packages under their boughs, as gifts to show their love for each other . . . because, underneath the pine bough is the exact location where one would find this ‘Most Sacred’ substance, the Amanita muscaria, in the wild.”

Traditionally, mushrooms were dried for consumption by hanging them on pine tree branches to catch the sunlight or, they were hung in front of the fireplace. Both of these methods have become symbolized by hanging ornaments on a pine tree and hanging (red and white) stockings on the fireplace.

Reindeer, native to arctic and subarctic regions of northern Europe and Siberia, are connected to the shamanic tradition in that reindeer are particularly fond of eating Amanita muscaria. After ingesting the fungi, they prance about whilst under the influence of the psychedelic. This can symbolize reindeer flying, as they accompany shaman on their mystical trance “flights.”

Northern shamans, like Santa himself, dressed in red and white hooded robes, emulating the colors of their sacred mushroom.

There is surprising similarity between our present day depiction of elves making toys and the machine elves encountered by Terence McKenna while tripping on dimethyltryptamine (DMT). According to McKenna, these elves use sound to make “Amazing objects. Objects that are Faberge Eggs, things made of pearl, and metal, and glass, and gel.”

Describing the DMT trip, McKenna say’s, “The air appears to suddenly have been sucked out of the room because all the colors brighten visibly, as though some intervening medium has been removed.” This may explain the symbolism behind lighting a Christmas tree. A tree is, in essence, luminous electromagnetic energy, but this is only perceivable under the influence of psychedelics.

Jesus Was a Mushroom

There is evidence that Christianity itself was influenced by Amanita muscaria.

In his book _The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970), _John M. Allegro makes the claim that Jesus did not exist as an historical figure but was code for Amanita muscaria, a code invented by early Christians tripping on psychedelic mushrooms. Though disparaged at the time, Allegro’s theories are now being re-evaluated, in light of new evidence, and his books are back in print.

Inspired by Allegro, cannabis activist and author Jack Herer painstakingly interpreted biblical text as mushroom cipher.

According to Herer, the Middle East was not always a desert and millions of cedar trees once populated Lebanon. He cites an obscure “crusade against the Cedars of Lebanon” which dwindled the population down to a mere 400 trees. Botanists have misclassified the “cedars” of Lebanon, which Herer asserts are actually members of the pine family. And of course, it is the pine which shares a symbiotic relationship with Amanita muscaria.

Herer notes that Solomon as an historical figure is in fact a mushroom. The call to “partake of the waters of life” is a call to drink the mushroom in its juice form.  An encounter with an angel by Solomon is an encounter with the mushroom which “infuses the consciousness with the consciousness of the mushroom . . .  and blends the consciousness with the heavenly host.”

Herer points out that early Christian paintings depicting religious figures had halos drawn around the head with radial lines emanating from the head. This image resembles the underside of a mushroom and symbolizes these were enlightened individuals under the spell of the mushroom.

Causal links between mushrooms and Christmas traditions are inescapable. “The number of motifs relating Santa Claus to a cult of Amanita muscaria are tremendous,” says McKenna, “There’s almost nothing but relational motifs there, but if you suggest this to people, they just turn away in horror.”

This time of year we fly out to Minneapolis to meet with sales reps from our book distributor so we can sell them on the following season’s titles.

This time I get to catch an exhibition at the Walker Center called Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia. My friend Fayette Hauser is showing a lot of clothing and images straight from the influential cult commune The Cockettes. The show also features the work of Victor Moscoso, whose psychedelic contributions to Zap comics flipped me out as a kid.

Here’s a link to the show: http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2015/hippie-modernism-struggle-utopia

A title we just sent to the printer has me excited. It’s a Process Media title called Priestess of Morphine about a badass lesbian poet known as Marie-Madeleine from Weimar and Nazi days in Germany. You haven’t heard of her, but after you see the book you’ll wonder why that was the case.

http://feralhouse.com/the-eye-of-providence/

Happy Feral Friday to y’all!

Aside from our Process Church ring, this patch, designed by Feral House’s own Monica Rochester, might be the grooviest merch we have, and it’s only $6.66 apiece, with no shipping cost (in the US).We’re also excited about our new release,

Disco’s Out .. Murder’s In: The True Story of Frank the Shank and L.A.’s Deadliest Punk Rock Gang

… It’s getting great feedback, and authors Heath Mattioli and David Spacone have set up a great opening celebration, further word coming on that shortly. In the meantime, read this motherfucker:

Feral House Goes to Salem

This October morning finds us contemplating the signs and wonders that surround us. Feral Founder Adam Parfrey put years of research into Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society. This lavishly illustrated book is a visual exploration of the all-pervasive influence of freemasonry, secret societies and their symbology on American culture. On Sunday, October 11th, join him at the Salem Art Gallery (64 Bridge St. Salem, MA 01970) at 7:30pm for a presentation on his research.

Also at the Salem Art Gallery is a survey of the work of William Mortensen. Mortensen was the subject of New York Times best seller, American Grotesque, The Life and Art of William Mortensen. Books and a limited amount of signed prints will be available for purchase.

More details on the event here:  http://www.obscenology.com/

…and the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1485820981747402/

We’ve also been working closely with Krampus in preparation for the holiday season. New books are being released weekly. Contests are being designed. And Feral swag created that will appeal to most discerning of connoisseurs. Look for the Holy Eye Feral House patch on feralhouse.com very soon.

http://feralhouse.com/coast-to-coast-feral-events-this-month/

Want to meet and chat with your favorite Feral authors? Here’s your opportunity! Visit us at Booth 402 at the Brooklyn Book Festival this Saturday, September 20th. Here’s the schedule:

Noon-1pm /Jan Frel, author of Neighbors From Hell

1pm-2pm / Mike Hunchback & Caleb Braaten, editors of Pulp Macabre, The Art of Lee Brown Coye’s Final and Darkest Era

2pm-3pm / Joe Coleman, the remarkable man who was cover artist and contributor to the new edition of You Can’t Win by Jack Black

3pm-4pm / Adam Parfrey, editor and author of various things including the newIt’s A Man’s World: Men’s Adventure Magazines and the Postwar Pulps, Ritual America, Apocalypse Culture, and Citizen Keane: The Big Lies Behind the Big Eyes

4pm-5pm / Josh Alan Friedman, author of Tales of Times Square

And if you’re on the West Coast, don’t miss the book release and talk on Thursday, September 24th by Mel Gordon, author of the new book Horizontal Collaboration: The Erotic World of Paris , 1920-1946.

Please note: Mel’s talk is a ticketed event. Admission is free. Invitations become available at the front counter at City Lights Bookstore on 9/8/2015. No reservation will be taken by phone or e-mail. Invites available on a first-come, first-serve basis. No tickets will be available at the door of the venue.

The event shall take place at The Lost Church, 65 Capp Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, between 15th and 16th Streets, on Capp.

The highly anticipated sequel to Voluptuous Panic is Horizontal Collaboration. Mel Gordon has put together a spectacular volume of hidden Paris history.  

For a very short time, Horizontal Collaboration is available directly from us at a tremendous discount. (It won’t be available in bookstores or on Amazon until October 6th.)

Feral Friday!

http://feralhouse.com/information-blackouts/

Over here at Feral House headquarters we sometimes receive phone calls or emails complaining how the feralhouse.com website cannot be accessed at their local library’s computer. We discovered that this sort of censorship occurs fairly widely across the country.

This is not due to the intentions of librarians themselves. We talked to a number of them at the most recent American Library Association (ALA) convention… and many were big supporters of Feral House and Process Media literature. One librarian actually said to me, “I’d love to order these books, but unfortunately they’re way too interesting.”

Way too interesting? I never thought being interesting was a defect for reading material. But this particular librarian was concerned about losing his job for trespassing “CIPA” rules, a law that prohibits certain type of books. Interesting books. Here’s what that is all about: https://www.fcc.gov/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act

So these CIPA scans forbid patrons to look at prohibited sites like feralhouse.com. Is this the Soviet State of the ‘70s or East Germany? No folks, this is America 2015.

And if that’s not enough, many people, including students, are begging to be protected from material that might upset or “trigger” them. If instructors do not pay attention to these “triggers,” they will be punished and/or dismissed. This Atlantic Magazine article describes “the coddling of the American mind”:http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

Another way this “trigger” term is used is by people who believe they are being victimized by insidious CIA operations. Reacting to a presentation I made at Seattle’s Elliott Bay bookstore in 2012 about my book, Ritual America, an attendee accused me of “triggering” her with images of Masonic ephemera and also covering up Masonic nastiness with “limited hangout,” as if I were a CIA employee.

RE: Ritual America-Process Church and Beyond

by Willow» Sat May 26, 2012 3:04 pm

So Twyla and I met up and went to see Mr. Parfrey give his presentation, and it was that, rather than a reading, he did a power point…

Of course I got triggered out of my head, staring at all the Masonic regalia. I started feeling really rather awful about half way into it and then I noticed my face getting itchy and then my hands making involuntary shapes and gestures. I had to consciously hold them down.

I had planned to confront Parfrey about his connection to the Process church, and why at least one of its members publicly attacks prominent survivors of Masonic RA and if this had an impact on his work.

Although this sort of reaction bothered me since it was clearly part of the infantilizing of American culture in which everyone has become a victim of ideas that might trouble them, Feral House has been doing this for decades. Straightforward information, even conspiratorial stuff, some of it very troubling, to be sure.

And in the background, a local library will not allow browsers to log on to feralhouse.com.

Keeping all this in mind, should the American Library Association celebrate its Banned Books Week? Certainly. But we believe the ALA should also investigate its software that prohibits access to crucial sites and information.

These days, websites and blogs, wanting to be able to pay their own upkeep, are pressured to delete any posts that contain “negative” words and images as determined by certain Google search engines.

Are these particular sites wrong for considering what might cut off their income sources? No, of course not, but the result of all this is a critical one: your information sources are being purged of material that might have “negative” search words inside. Google search ad money now determines the kind of information that you are allowed to consume.

BTW, here’s the cover image of the amazing Horizontal Collaboration, Mel Gordon’s French sister volume to his spectacular Voluptuous Panic.

Rod Lott at Bookgasm on It’s A Man’s World....

It’s Here!  Not only is it Feral Friday, today is the release day for the new, expanded edition of It’s A Man’s World.  A few thoughts from Adam Parfrey:

Context is Everything

Feral House first published It’s a Man’s World in 2003 to reveal the parallels between propaganda for the ill-fated Iraq War and the iconic adventure magazines published in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  Additionally this book rediscovered the original era’s bizarre illustrations and articles.

We rediscovered the era of manly men and their battles against vicious weasels, wild women, street criminals and sinister foreigners. These mags were all so weirdly far out that a number of contemporary magazines were inspired to pay homage (tongue firmly in cheek) with similar illustrations. A couple years later, a well-known publisher felt the need to publish a copycat edition of Feral House’s iconic release.

One thing this other publisher’s book did not have were images and articles by the editors, writers and illustrators of these mags, or even a collector’s guide to these men’s magazines. Hear from Bruce Jay Friedman, Mort Künstler, Josh Alan Friedman, Mario Puzo, Norm Saunders, and David Saunders.

It’s a Man’s World has now returned in a colorful Expanded Edition that includes a large chapter of wartime advertisements that specifically fomented the hideous caricatures of America’s enemies, and violent wishes for their extermination. It’s all pretty damn weird, and it’s now available from Feral House.

If you want a copy signed by editor Adam Parfrey please request the signature when you order a copy from Feral House directly. (You can do that here: http://feralhouse.com/its-a-mans-world/