ANGEL of DEATH


                                            

From Realm Of  The Vampire #3:

                            HOUSE OF DEATH VISITED

                                          by Sharida Rizzuto

    The Westgate House of Death is a gallery/museum devoted to necromantic art and literature located in the Uptown section of  New Orleans, Louisiana.  Leilah Wendell, poet and artist is the founder.  It is also the home of Wesgate Press.
   
    In the early 1980's Ms. Wendell published the acclaimed small press publication, Undinal Songs.  It, too, was devoted to necromantic themes.  She has received much praise for her gallery showings in New York. Her poetry and other writings have been published in hundreds of publications plus she has been interviewed countless times (interviewed by Realm Of The Vampire in The Vampire Journal #5 -- 1989).
   
    In 1987, Wendell wrote the Book Of Azrael.  It is about her personal encounters with Death. Many other necromantic works have followed. (See list of books at end of article.)
   
    Since  New Orleans contains much historic architecture, including the old European styled cemeteries with above-ground tombs, Leilah was enchanted with the area.  It was then she decided to relocate to New Orleans from New York.  Leilah found an old (approximately 150 years!) Greek Revival mansion in Uptown New Orleans and bought it in the fall of 1990. In February '91, Leilah held her grand opening and several hundred people attended--mostly from the goth-vampire, general horror enthusiast and/or occult/ metaphysical communities.  Since then Leilah has continued to hold parties around Mardi Gras and Halloween plus special functions such as a book signing, poetry reading, necromantic rituals, etc.
   
    Leilah selected New Orleans for her House of Death because it has the appropriate atmosphere for her necromantic endeavors.  She stresses the idea in her works and in her gallery/museum that we are all much too fearful of the ultimate mystery of life--Death.  
   
    She is dedicated to revealing the reality of Death through Azrael, the Angel of Death.  She explains that Death is a lover ready to embrace a person and bring them over to the Other Side--into that eternal Realm of Darkness that awaits.  It is not something to be feared or shunned but a necessary end of life as we know it and the beginning of a new existence in Eternity.  Through her art and literature she is an endless inspiration for her devotees.  The Westgate House of Death is an experience not to be missed.  It is one probably never before encountered and will help in one's understanding of the greatest mystery of life--one we all face someday.
   
    Leilah's House of Death is open to the public Tuesday - Saturday between 1 - 5 located at 5219 Magazine Street or call (504-899-3077) for an appointment.  (It would be wise to call and check on their latest schedule.)  
   
    There are prints, paintings and sculptures in addition to books, magazines, note cards, jewelry, incense, and more. Works by Leilah Wendell are available along with works by fellow artists and writers (including Daniel Kemp, co-director of the gallery/museum) in necromantic themes.  While there, be sure to inquire about Leilah's newsletter.  Is is a good way to reach others with similar interests.
   

    Warning:  This is a place for the serious study and appreciation of necromantic art and literature.  

Some of Leilah's works:
Book Of Azrael
Encounters With Death
Last Dance
Necromantic Rituals
Our Name Is Melancholy
Shadows In The Half Light

For more information on Leilah Wendell (and to read some of her writings) check out--

http://www.westgatenecromantic.com/
Official website for the Westgate
Email:  thewestgate@earthlink.net

http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/3175/
Azrael's House of Death--The Unofficial Leilah Wendell Website

http://pages.prodigy.com/graveside/wg.htm
Graveside Terrors

http://members.tripod.com/~azrael666/index.htm
Azrael's House of Death

http://members.clnk.com/freebyrd/azrael.htm
Azrael, The Angel of Death

Check out search engines (Metacrawler, Altavisita, Webcrawler, Excite, Google, Yahoo, etc.) for information on Leilah Wendell, Azrael and Westgate.  There are quite a number of listings.

All photos taken by Harold Tollison

(NOTE:  To prevent search engines from listing us incorrectly we have censored a few words from the following two interviews by replacing certain letters with an underline.  It also prevents children from understanding the words.)

From The Vampire Journal #3:

NOCTURNAL INTERVIEW: LEILAH WENDELL

CONDUCTED BY SHARIDA RIZZUTO

Leilah Wendell is the author of several books including The Book of Azrael, and she was the publisher of a uniquely macabre publication, Undinal Songs, during the early 80's.

Q)  How and why did you become fascinated with Death?

    If you mean my interest in death as a subject, or my obsession with Death, the entity?  Even though there are two different and distinct things, they are inextricably tied to one another.  To answer your question in a general sense (using only this life as reference) it all began when I was a child of four, when the Angel of Death visited me for the first time, (that Iwas visually aware of, that is).  Naturally, my reaction at that time was one of sheer terror!  Not at the symbolism of Death, itself (I was still too young to grasp the concept of dying), butat the personified image that filled my doorway those many nights ago.  He repeatedly came to me in the early morning hours.  I would be in bed, and awaken for no apparent reason.  Then I'd espy His huge, black outline filling the entrance to my room.  I've never forgotten that particular image backlit by the glow of the sunrise.  As He'd "float" into my room, and closer to where I lay, it would get very hard to breathe as if all the air was sucked right out of the room, and I was in some kind of vacuum.  The closer He'd come the more I'd pull the sheets up until they ended up over my face.  I can't adequately express the panic I felt in those days.  After all, this was stuff of childhood nightmares.  It would always be the same.  With the bed clothes covering my eyes, I couldn't see Him, but I often felt Him sitting on the edge of the bed in a fashion where I could feel the fan of His garment.  Sometimes, when I knew he was leaving the room, I'd peek from under the blanket and watch Him floating above the carpet and out into the hallway.  Occasionally, I could feel Him touch my head, and I'd immediately go to sleep and dream things I didn't understand at that age--but do today.  To make a long story short (read the book for the whole story) as I got older, frequent and intimate interaction with Him gently turned the naive fears of a child into the realization of exactly who and what we were/are to each other.  Any and all fears melted away and eventually were replaced by a love that words cannot express.

Q)  Why did you write The Book Of Azrael?

    To tell our story.  To give people the one and only opportunity (in this life) they may ever have to be in communication with the Angel of Death, to hear His story, and as a result, hopefully end once and for all mankind's fear of dying and passing through His twilight valley.  Man's fear of exchanging a familiar flesh for an unfamiliar spirit.  TBOA (The Book Of Azrael), is a mirror by which each reader may view his or her own soul.

Q)  How should the reading audience interpret The Book Of Azrael?

    Quite literally.  There are no contrived psychoanalytical images.  Just take it for what it is, no more, no less.  It is all true.  I've no motive in representing it as otherwise.  It's something I've been leading up to for years now.  (Some of you out there will know what I mean.)

Q)  Do readers misinterpret The Book Of Azrael?

    Actually, I've had no problems with readers.  My problem is only with those who haven't read it, yet still think they know what it's about.  If you approach it with this attitude, you will most definitely be startled to discover that it's not all what you've been misled to believe by reviewers who read only the back covers and think they know it all by swiping at a few, brief sentences.  Let them try translating angelic concepts and emotions into a tongue that falls short of such expression.

Q)  How much time have you spent working in the funeral service?  What has it involved?

    On and off since the early 70's.  For obvious reasons I had to move around quite often.  The grapevine in this industry is tightly knit and it's difficult to maintain anonymity.  Mywork entailed everything from the washing and dressing of cadavers, to the retrieval of exhumed bodies.  It usually went that it there was a particular job no one else wanted, they'd call me.  For personal reasons, I chose not to do embalming.

Q)  What were the differences between you and co-workers/employers in the funeral service?

    You've got to be kidding!  There's a great misconception about funeral directors.  Most of them are extremely "normal" community involved folks who are in the business because it's either a generational thing, i.e., from father to son, to son, or because they think they can earn big bucks.  Only owner/directors fall into the latter category.  I, on the other hand, was in it because tending to the dead was my rightful place at that time (it still is, but I now do it in a different way).  I did my job with love, reverence and a sanctity few comprehend.

Q)  Working in the funeral service does the possibility of contracting AIDS worry you?

    No, largely because I haven't worked in tile business since I came out of the "coffin" with the book and other related projects that put my beliefs in the public forum.  I live in a very small town type area where news travels like wildfire.  Most of my employ was pre-AIDS.  Besides, nowadays, if I do have contact with a cadaver its usually been entombed long enough to allow any residual bacteria to dissipate.  I've never contracted so much as a cold from a stiff!

Q)  Do people shy away from you and/or fail to understand your interest in Death?

    Of course, some do.  Those that fear.  Those that will not permit light to filter through the cobwebs in their minds.  Those that don't want to learn new things for fear it may force them to change their belief system. Sometimes those who are psychically sensitive can pick up on who "WE" are and react according to their views on Death.  It can be a rather unnerving experience standing in a grocery store checkout line only to have the kid in front of you pointand scream, "Mommy, look it's Skeletor!"  (Some folks see Him "through" me.  Other such examples are in the book.)

Q)  Have you encountered problems with anyone regarding your interest in Death?

    It depends on the kind of "trouble" you mean.  If you mean legal, no.  Sure, I've been eyed peculiarly by cops while hanging out in local graveyards.  Got booted a couple of times! No big deal.  If you mean social trouble, sometimes, especially in gaining certain types of employ, particularly when they ask me why I want a certain type of job!  Or, in dealing with what I call, "The dwellers in the dark."  Those misguided folks who see demons and devils in everything from gray areas to black.  In other words, what they don't understand becomes automatically evil.  They fail to see the beauty that I see in the shadows.  Many of your readers know the face of shadow and welcome its smile, so many others are too afraid to look, too afraid that they might just find the TRUTH . . . and not like it.  But, to get back to your question:  No, can't say I've experienced any debilitating trouble because of my beliefs other than the reluctant acceptance of my writing and art.

Q)  Do you have any friends who share your ideas about Death?

    Many of my "ideas" and general philosophies are shared by other spiritually adventurous people.  Their numbers are far greater than evidenced by available sources. I once had a very special friend who shared in many.  (This person departed my side for reasons too complex to explain in this chat.)  I must confess, I miss being able to actively share in such a friendship.  I enjoy midnight strolls exploring both familiar and uncharted cemeteries with someone whom I can be totally myself with.  Yes, this lacking is a sorrow.  Anyone out there interested?  I'm always open to the friendship of compatriot souls.

Q)  Is there any connection between your interest in Death and a possible interest in the occult or blood cults?

    I've always been "interested" in the occult no doubt resulting from my interaction with Azrael and other such entities.  I've been heavily involved in virtually all areas of occultism/ metaphysics, and so-called "new age" things.  Although the "new age" is chicken-__it (we are leaving part of this word out thanks to having to worry about offending some ridiculous fundamentalist type obsessed with trying to enforce censorship on the net and therefore thriveon making ridiculous complaints regarding any and everything they object to) in my opinion.  Sounds an awful lot like candy-coated "flower child" philosophy.  They too, refuse to see beauty and divinity in the shadows.  I try to teach others what I know and what I've experienced through my books and art, and through direct application.  My areas of special interest include: astral travel, all forms of psychic-spiritual communication as well as so-called "darker" areas, i.e., vampirism (because of certain events in my youth related to the Angel of Death such as our exchanging of vital essence which included a vampire-like ritual), and necromancy (because of the sheer passion involved in coaxing a spirit into flesh embodiment).  Azrael was sometimes able to reach me and to commune with me through the discarded bodies of the dead.  This leads to your next question . . .

Q)  Do you consider yourself to be what is conventionally referred to as a necr_phile?

    If you're going by a dictionary definition, "a person who has physical attraction to a dead body," I'd have to say no, with hinting of ambivalence.  I am not a "common" necr_phile in the sense of the word.  I love the Angel of Death.  I am attracted to Death, the entity in all of His forms and expressions.  Here is where the ambivalence lies.  I would not cast Him aside if He appeared in physical form.

Q)  When did you first become interested in writing?

    Since I could first hold a pen! I've been writing since the age of 8, "professionally" since age 17 (I'm now in my 30's).  By the time I was 21, I must have written over a thousand poems, innumerable stories, and other erratum.  Much of which I've long since deep-sixed. Some really BAD STUFF!  But writing is cathartic to me, even if it doesn't always produce "good" work. I've always had the feeling that if I didn't write something regularly, I'd go crazy.  I often felt like bottled lightening.  If I didn't let it out, I'd blow up!  Only after writing The Book of Azrael did this obsessive urgency ease up.  It was as if this was what all the "practice" was for.  It's funny now.  For someone who never went a week without writing something.  I've not had the urge to pen another work since the completion of this book!  I'm sure if there's more to say, He'll let me know.

Q)  What books have you written before The Book Of Azrael and are you planning to write more books?

    I've written six other books: three poetry (I still consider myself a poet at heart), and three occult, plus TBOA.  I've published over 200 articles, numerous verse, an occasional story and exhibit artworks on an international basis.  The book cover of Azrael is from a life-sized wall sculpture of mixed media made from the mold of a corpse.)  As far as writing any more books: that depends on if "WE" have any more to add to the current manifest.  No doubt anything that comes will be an extension of the myth. I'd Iike to devote some time to finishing the artwork that coincides with the book.

Q)  Anything else you would like to comment on regarding your book and/or your interest?

    I'm told that TBOA is nearly impossible to categorize, and that's good!  I didn't want it to end up in the hands of only one particular segment of society.  It was meant to bridge and intersect various types with broad and often unnerving strides.  TBOA is really just a love story that's tangled in time.  A story told from the Dark Angel's point-of-view translated and annotated by me.  However, I am unimportant, but "our" tale is a necessary revealing in the continued evolvement of the human soul.

From The Vampire Journal #3:

Excerpt from BLOOD REVIEWS

REVIEWED BY SUE MARRA:

BOOK OF AZRAEL
by Leilah Wendell
Nonfiction (metaphysical)
Paperback
Westgate Press, 1988

    "For now, allow the sounds that I am making in your mind to become as light as air.  Imagine each word as having sylphlike wings, and rising above its meager definition, and coming to life as the image it conjures. . . ." (Pg. 14)
    "I have come to remind you of old times.  Of an age before time was measured and dissected into lengths suitable for mankind. . . ." (Pgs. 13 & 14)
    Dare to take the hand of this woman.  Let her book be a door to that vast place inside you your mind fears to touch.
    We say someone is remarkable when their true spirit is able to direct their human form, even for an instant. The recognition of that spirit in our midst, the truths revealed, may move--or terrify us.
    The first to use the truths in these pages to make her own discoveries was the author herself, a gifted writer and artist who has chosen to share with readers of this book the highly disturbing and controversial results of a painful process of unearthing memory, of re-learning what was forgotten--a lifelong vision quest.
    The author, far from allowing herself the pleasure and comfort of giving an audience what they want, what will make them purr and dash off flowery letters of praise, has put herself through the further pain of standing by conclusions many will label fantastic--at the very least.  This sensitive mystic from New York has risked her reputation--her piece of mind--to share the powerful realities which first began manifesting themselves to her during the strange childhood she briefly describes in the Book of Azrael.
    Leilah Wendell is more than equal to the seemingly impossible task she has set herself.
    It isn't easy to find the words to tell ANY story, let alone a remarkable story, much less a remarkable true story in which everything has happened to you.  But with a wry humor often directed at her own foibles, and although she warns the reader of a propensity for  the "purple pen," Wendell has strictly avoided pretentious, tearstain prose to make this unlikely account of an . . . unusual . . . passion one which even the most prosaic reader will embrace as an honest and compelling account of natural human emotion. Quite a feat given that this is a tale spanning all times on all worlds whose heroine calls herself, with a smile, Lady Death.
   Wendell has shouldered the entire daily as well as the literary responsibilities of the protagonist's role.  She is the heroine of the Book of Azrael.  She has the ability and the eloquent emotional power to make us feel and see her gripping personal history as part of the collective subconscious, to bring her story to the gut level of universal myth.
   This is the COMMON SENSE, and the author is the Thomas Paine, of the New Age.
   The world view is new and fascinating and yet familiar, a synthesis of odd daymares and midnight deja vu.  It encompasses the peculiar logic of synchronicity and the magick of quantum physics.  It works.
   "There is no difference between past, present and future.  They are all co-existent.  It is souls that move forward through time, thereby leaving the 'past' in another dimension of reality." (pg. 159)
   Depending on your orientation this is either a hugely important work of nonfiction in the metaphysical realm--or the most haunting tale of star-crossed lovers you're likely to encounter.
   The form of the narrative itself is unique.  This will make the introduction as well as the opening pages difficult for some.  The territory is that strange at first, but any feeling of disorientation will quickly be replaced by the sense that you don't have to read this tale, it will unfold itself in the manner of a dream.  It will sing itself to you.  You will inhale with it the odor of birth. You may even find yourself enchanted, flipping the two hundred plus pages in one stellar sitting.
   "There is only half-light now where legends once were cast.  Where two shores overlapped, and time lay interbracing many folds revealingfacets, each from futures passing." (pg. 67)
   Leilah Wendell is a rarity--a visionary who can impart her visions to others in exquisite detail and who cares enough to make her experiences known.  Even more than her descriptive and emotional skill, perhaps even more than by her artistic talent, you will be struck by her extraordinary courage both in coping with her uniqueness and in baring her heart to the world.  To be truly sensitive in every sense of the word, to be so very vulnerably open, must surely take the tough strength knit of many lives.

Some ghoulishly good reads:

Body Snatchers, Stiffs and Other Ghoulish Delights
by Frederick Drimmer
Fawcett Gold Medal: New York, 1981
Paperback

Creepy, entertaining, and informative.  It's like something right out of Ripley's Believe It Or Not.  It includes chapters on Burke & Hare, the famous body snatchers, as well as Julis Pastrana once labeled "the Ugliest Woman in the World" and much more.

dead and buried the horrible history of bodysnatching
by Norman Adams
Bell Publishing: New York, 1982
Hardback
   
An interesting read and something to interest both horror and history enthusiasts.


Death, Dissection, And The Destitute
by Ruth Richardson
Penguin Books: London, UK, 1988
Trade Paperback
   
Nineteenth century bodysnatching, medical dissection, Victorian society's terrible treatment of the poor, and death in Victorian times are among the many topics covered in this scholarly work.  Well done, engaging, and disturbing.  Warning: Some parts are disturbing.

The New Book of the Dead
by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
Aquarian/Thorsons-Harper Collins: London, UK, 1992
Trade Paperback

It is a kind of modern version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.  Covers everything one should to regarding the care of the dead.

Encyclopedia of Death
Myth, History, Philosophy, Science--The Many Aspects of Death And Dying
by Robert Kastenbaum & Beatrice Kastenbaum
Avon Books: New York, 1993
Trade Paperback

The title says it all.  It covers some broad ground on the subject of Death and Dying. Well researched.  Warning: Some parts are disturbing.

The Hour of Our Death
by Philippe Aries
Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1981
Hardback

It is a fascinating, in-depth cultural/historical look on Death and Dying covering a period of a thousand years.  Excellent research.  A serious work.  Warning: Some parts are disturbing.

Permanent Londoners An Illustrated Guide of The Cemeteries of London
by Judi Culbertson & Tom Randall
Chelsea Green Publishing: Post Mills, Vermont, 1991
Trade Paperback

A wonderful guide to locating London's cemeteries and other burial places.  Lots of biographical information on the famous people buried in the London cemeteries and elsewhere.  A variety of good photographs included.  Nicely done.


MORE TO COME!




                                                



                                                               

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