The World's Wickedest Man in the City of Sin (feat. Esoterica)

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Check out our post-episode discussion of all things Crowley, jazz age New Orleans, and absinthe over on Esoterica: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJOYfJmKjJJ6o7M

[@shaetteb1272]

this is the my favourite youtube collab you and Dr. Sledge should make a horror film if you aren't already

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

More, please! Big fan of you both.✌🖖

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

This one was a real gas to make together - lets find other fancy excuses to get drunk together!

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Any time dude :)

[@carlhannah1884]

Two of my favorite channels!

[@EphemeralTao]

Always cool to see collaborations between such great historians.

[@juliescott4473]

Wonderful collab. I would love to see more.

[@TheZefdaddy]

Now that’s a dream drinking team! You guys are awesome

[@prothstein]

How has Arun SheIn films never had a bad or lackluster episode so far? Collars with all sorts of interesting channels and people, in range TV, Knowing Better, etc., And fun skits while informing us on history. This channel is what the History channel should always have been and could never hold a candle to.

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Very sweet of you to say, thanks dude

[@charlieterry8506]

@@AtunSheiFilms he speaks the truth

[@melgibo6946]

There was one he done that I didn't like but I can't remember it now

[@Simriel]

Man is just real fuckin good at his job.

[@JBBost]

"Where genius and vice swirled together as surely as wormwood and sugar" That's pretty good

[@johnmccarron7066]

Atun-Shei covering Aleister Crowley!? I am uncomfortably excited!

[@theshenpartei]

I’m super excited for it

[@JBBost]

@@theshenpartei How is your reply 22 minutes after the OP?

[@andrewbenbow9257]

​@@JBBost umm... his post was an upcoming reaction in anticipation of the material, not a reaction to the material itself? It's reacting to the announcement of a Paw Patrol movie before actually seeing it. Fyi, my reaction was; "What? Why? NoNoNoNo, GODS NO.... I don't wanna, please, i don't wanna.... I HAVE A SIX YEAR OLD NEPHEW... I'm gonna have to watch this once a week for a year when we babysit... It's not fair, I (promise to start an effort to) go to church! Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol we'll be there on the double... *sob* Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, whenever your in trouble... SOB CRY WHINE WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!" And that was prior to watching the actually movie, but my pre watch opinion was valid in the context of the anticipation of a future reaction. Paw Patrol... *sob* paw patrol...

[@theshenpartei]

@@JBBost notification squad Buddy

[@EuropeanQoheleth]

Ugh, Evangelion and Aleister Crowley.

[@MollymaukT]

Getting drunk and writing about the most mundane of things with the most over-the-top vocabulary that would make a thesaurus tell you to chill. Is awesome that in a hundred year, edgelords haven't changed a thing.

[@kangaroocaliphate1577]

I think if I grew up as a strict fundamentalist my edge phase would've lasted a loooong time.

[@AtunSheiFilms]

@Ashtray Comms [LLC] Boooooo.

[@rogerkeleshian2215]

​@@AtunSheiFilms Idk man, they can be pretty goofy at times, but it can be said that some of these guys can tell an interesting tale with their esoteric jargon.

[@LilFeralGangrel]

​@@rogerkeleshian2215 they're fun! i love that they write like some poet that has been eating paint thinner, it makes the world more entertaining.

[@SonofSethoitae]

​@Ashtray Comms [LLC] I dunno if they're any more weird or lame than anybody else's belief system.

[@cozen_kevalas]

Listening as I work, and... Hey! It's Esoterica, Histocrat, and the Linconites guy! What a time!

[@AwesomeRepix]

Hey that's money cash dollars yo! $_$

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Yo thanks for the tip!

[@frederickstabell3796]

This is the definition of the crossover we didn't know we needed. What a fabulous crossover between two excellent channels!

[@robertstarnes6878]

Excellent work, as always, Andrew. I feel like Crowley's take on New Orleans is a nice counterpoint to H.P. Lovecraft trashing the city in his letters to Robert Howard just a few years later. They touch on many of the same points, but with Crowley being very pro & Lovecraft firmly anti.

[@robertstarnes6878]

And thanks for the shout out in Justin's video. Rest assured I will be shoehorning Crowley into the tour. Wish I had watched this yesterday. Had a woman on the tour ask me about herbal magic's transition into herbal medicine into apothecary into pharmacy. It would have made a nice through line.

[@AtunSheiFilms]

​@@robertstarnes6878 Dope! Yeah, it's a really fun essay. So glad you liked it man and it was great having that little moment of serendipity at Pirates Alley

[@Hastenforthedawm]

Crowley and Lovecraft are oddly complimentary. Both are early 20th century Brits with similar pomp and prose but on completely different sides of the spectrum (Crowley as a practicing occultist who tried everything and Lovecraft as a non-practicing guy scared to try anything).

[@progadkri5662]

​​@@Hastenforthedawm Lovecraft was not a Brit. He was a New Englander. But he was a Anglophile and wrote in a purple prose that even an Oxbridge intellectual would have a hard time deciphering.

[@jebidiahnewkedkracker1801]

Lovecraft made his way all the way down to New Orleans??? (I did not know that.). I thought it was New York City, that H.P Lovecraft hated.

[@Emillang1000]

Atun-Shei, Esoterica, and Historicrat all in a single video - IT MUST BE MY BIRTHDAY!

[@JediSimpson]

Happy Birthday

[@thoughtsofelizabeth]

Mine too! This is the second video i've heard Histocrat doing some reading. He's got a great voice for it.

[@mustbeaweful2504]

It's sometimes a very strange juxtaposition to look at the consumption of the past. In this video, and other videos about prohibition, alcohol is liberation. It resonates still that people who aim to restrict substances like alcohol want to take away the individual power to release the stress of being human, and are prudish towards the enjoyment therein. And I can sense from this video a liberation from governing forces that wish to tell a person how they are allowed to be human over things they know little about. Some of that stuff resonated when I was younger, with kids drinking too young to celebrate their independence and social dynamism. But now I'm in my late 30s, and that same story is changing. The cook working a 12 hour shift then going to the bar to relieve the stress of his shift every day seems to be in a rut. This is the season of time when I hear from all of these guys that they should, "really cut down on my drinking. I - I'm getting too old." I guess it's not fun anymore. Not when it's perfectly legal and well advertised. Not when you know you're bowing to a different overlord. Not when family members and friends start dying of liver failure. I guess what I'm saying is that we don't know what liberation looks like. We just know it looks like kicking the boots off our neck. And that weird juxtaposition gives me that nice incomplete-story feel that has me trying to make sense between the glow of the rebellious past, and a more sad and boring present.

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Well said! As Crowley said, it's "a fluttering gallantry, not good to lean upon"

[@Nikolapoleon]

Impressed by the sneaky "Confederacy of Dunces" reference slipped in there.

[@sherirobinson6867]

This channel is so unique, that I just absolutely love it 🎉

[@sydlawson3181]

*"I know it's hard to imagine now but if you can believe it public health, sanitation and infrastructure in New Orleans was quite bad at the time."* That was the most toung in cheek shiz ever, I literally got my power knocked out by a train a month back in Metairie and idek how that happens. The infrastructure here is straight third world.

[@LilFeralGangrel]

I love it when you and Esoterica collab! this is gonna be a treat.

[@Hastenforthedawm]

This is an incredible bit of history. Crowley, jazz and absinthe rolled into one. Also shout out to John Zorn's Naked City album called Absinthe.

[@leahmpalzer]

I just had my AA birthday...🎉 4 years on the 10th! Great video!

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Happy Birthday!

[@leahmpalzer]

@@AtunSheiFilms Thank you

[@grapeshot]

I remember growing up Seventh-day Adventist before I pulled the ejection leaver and got up out of there and they did call this guy the most evilest man that ever lived.

[@richmcgee434]

Crowley, or Atun-Shei? :)

[@heressomestuffifound]

Hey I grew up Seventh-day Adventist too! I'm a Thelemite today so I guess their warnings about Crowley backfired in my case :D

[@grapeshot]

@@richmcgee434 Crowley

[@Thumbdumpandthebumpchump]

To be fair, he was a pretty bad guy. Abusive, manipulative and vindictive.

[@heressomestuffifound]

@@Thumbdumpandthebumpchump People are multi-faceted and flawed. What I personally like about Crowley was that he didn't hide his flaws unlike most "gurus" (a term which Crowley, especially later in life would certainly reject as applicable to himself - see his correspondence in Magick Without Tears). Abusive, manipulative and vindictive are terms that could be applied to most historic figures including Gandhi and MLK Jr. Crowley at his worst doesn't stack up to most politicians or Hollywood scandals today. At his best his insight and written body of work holds up to any of the great philosophers and mystic writers of the 20th century. But the larger point is to analyze this: do the techniques and ideas the writer/thinker/spiritual leader brings forward work, and do they bring you the results you're looking for? If so great, and if not then throw it out.

[@jeffcristina4667]

Considering that Toole was the medievalist at LSU, I always chuckle that Ignatius won’t go to Baton Rouge. As a product of that History department, and a New Orleans native, I can attest that the dynamic has hardly changed. Also, I was introduced to Dr. Sledge through your last collaboration, and I must say, thanks! What a wonderful project at Esoterica. Cheers to you both.

[@Alexlalpaca]

This man is drinking straight absinthe. See the glass with the funny ball at the bottom? That indicates the amount of absinthe you are meant to add, filling the rest of the glass with water. Dear lord.

[@PRAGMAGICK]

Truly a beautiful testament to cinematic art seldom seen in the journalistic/broadcasting mediums these days. Damn fine work. Damn fine.

[@andrewz1313]

Nice to see Dr. Sledge and you doing a video together. I'm a huge fan of both of your channels so seeing a team up made my day better. Thanks for the amazing video. I learn something every upload.

[@unseen2021]

I found it funny that Yeats and Crowley had a magic battle in London. It ended with Yeats kid Crowley down some stairs. It was a very magical battle!

[@jacobprice2579]

A collab between two of my favourite channels about my favourite cooky occultist?!?! Yes please!

[@thomaslawson7469]

Two of my faves. Thanks for collaborating guys!

[@tracepuckett619]

atun shei refuses to miss on a single video

[@markwilliams2620]

You're never too old.

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Was waiting for you, can't wait to watch

[@JBBost]

Hail Eris, this is the kind of folksy occult history I've been hankering for

[@JBBost]

Absolutely great exploration of the time, place, and context of the ole Beast. Cheers, here's to that problematic old bastage!!!

[@Ninny1965]

The ambiance, the GREEN! But most of all, the wordsmithing!!! Thank you, just beautiful.

[@RaoulDuke-cs2wn]

I made a comment on the last episode of frozen 50s man and decided to do a follow-up for this one. My grandmother passed away after an extended illness and I know this is a predominantly educational channel but you have brought such laughter and joy through a hard time and for that. I thank you mr.Atun Shei.

[@EmperorTigerstar]

*Ozzy Osbourne music intensifies*

[@Matt-xc6sp]

“I’m not like other dames” Gets wasted on pumpkin spice absinthe The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[@superhetoric]

esoterica is the best channel, I'm so excited to watch this crossover

[@pmgn8444]

Nice job! Atun-Shei and Esoterica team up to discuss Crowley and Absinthe in New Orleans.

[@ScrumbynPlumbo]

This video is so fun to watch after recently visiting the French quarter and recognizing the locations of shots.

[@JB-hl1qx]

Ahhhh brings me memories of the Absinthe House on Bourbon Street!

[@nowhereman6019]

Really cool seeing Professor Sledge on this channel. Love his videos.

[@valkyrie3631]

One of these days I’m going to run into you, I live not far from New Orleans I’ve watched your stuff for years and it’s why I’m now getting a history degree! Thanks

[@GnosticInformant]

amazing!

[@AnnieVanAuken]

I enjoyed this video. For the record, not a pun, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band never recorded an album in the acoustic horn era. 8:29 They made single discs, released individually. 78 RPM albums didn't come into existence until around 1940. (This is my area of expertise.)

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Thanks for the clarification. "Album" was a poor word choice

[@karlwilhelmmeinert7592]

@@AtunSheiFilms But it was not! One shellac reccord can only hold four minutes on either side of music, just enough for a single. But quite early reccord companies got the the idea of combining several of them in a special book, an ,album'. So they were there at the time! There are even full operas on a dozen discs or so.

[@goblin3359]

What a wonderful mix of history, esoteric creativity and magnificently sinister lighting. Thank you both.

[@sutto9032]

Me and the wife love the channel. Please keep up the great work. We’ll be here for the next anniversary for sure!

[@carlhannah1884]

The witchfinder would deliver him to the magistrates in the court in the shire in which he dwells.

[@emanuelpracic4021]

The Atun Shei and Esoterica crossover is a surprise to be sure but a welcome one

[@Iamthesenateiwillmakeitlegal]

Hello there

[@rustysquid]

Most of my life has been "Cleveland" but once I had the privilege of dancing with the true Green Fairy. My goodness, what a mind expanding journey. Thank you for this interesting look into this New Orleans sub culture.

[@hallamhal]

I had a night out on absinthe in London when I was about 19, it was such an average night... Fun don't get me wrong, but it's funny the reputation it's built up over the years and interesting to learn more about it in this video!

[@marknelson8724]

I have read that Ernest Hemingway would drink Absinthe while writing. This makes sense to me as you get wrecked but you have amazing focus. What is right in front of you is fascinating and things like time or hunger just don't matter. His early work is so stripped down and focused. He also would only stop writing when he knew what would come next as starting in and facing a blank page can be insurmountable. I take that as good advice.

[@history_by_lamplight]

The ultimate collaboration! I love you both to pieces! ❤

[@JustEuropeanTJ]

Long time fan from Denmark. Your shit is really something, love your work. :))

[@AwesomeRepix]

Hello fellow Danish person, jeg kan godt lide dig.

[@maciektkaczuk6142]

Amazing collaboration! I hope more is to come

[@theshenpartei]

New Orleans is probably the most interesting city when it comes to lore Crowley is just the icing on the cake

[@Kittylover074]

It's unlike any other American city let alone the south.

[@theshenpartei]

@@Kittylover074 it’s like it’s own little world

[@feudela4357]

I'm Texan born and raised. A lot of these topics seem like they're in far away places, but I had the time and money to visit New Orleans with a ton of friends for fun and spend a few days in the French Quarter. We thought St. Ann and Bourbon were awesome as you can probably guess why. It hits so much different being able to recognize the street names mentioned in your video and knowing I walked them. Thanks for all these videos, I have a new-found appreciation for them.

[@localroger]

Considering the project I just finished, this is very amusing. I never gave much thought to the fact that I was born and raised in New Orleans, but this place does have an amazing history. It's odd that I need Andy to show it to me.

[@burninsherman1037]

My favorite occult channel, and favorite history channel doing a collab is fucking sick. Even more so since I've finally got time to watch after such a wait.

[@Zardox2]

Nice! Excellent presentation! Tough to get the TONS of history into such a brief video! 😁👍

[@NancyRutland]

As usual, you taught me a lot tonight. I’d never known the extent Absinthe did to society. You brought it home. You do SO much work on your videos, put in SO much research, which, I understand, you love. I want to find a way to let you do more like this in concert halls, outdoor theaters---get yourself better KNOWN. You’re to be cherished in our community--& you WILL be by & by. I just wish could become famous NOW. (Maybe something silly like Big Freida might invite you onstage somewhere to share a few minutes- I don’t know. Knowing our history makes me love this city even MORE.

[@NotA-Lizard]

God, its amazing to think about the people and ideas that floated the bars and pubs that i spent my younger years drinking and performing in.

[@FrostRare]

I must express my profound gratitude for your thorough, stylish, sensitive, and boldly truthful delivery of jazz history. The fact that you went out of your way to expand on the racially charged and African-American heart that birthed jazz means more to me (and I’m sure others) than you may know. Seriously. Thank you.

[@sc6658]

I love seeing two of my favorite channels come together.

[@Jojothegodofrandom]

Yoooo I love the mashup!

[@1-eye-willy]

im glad im not the only one who felt some type a way when i was walking the french quarter

[@spoofbaby]

I'm very much the opposite of a Crowley fan, but it's delightful to see two of my favorite KZbin historians singing the praises of the Green Fairy in New Orleans

[@sisuka6505]

A collab I wasn't expecting, but delighted to see

[@rifleman1122]

One time Crowley was kicked down a flight of stairs by WB Yeats. One might say he was "Yeated"

[@lukejuarez6594]

Most normal new Orleans resident

[@theshenpartei]

He fits in like a charm

[@eyeessee]

Nice to see Justin. Love his channel ❤️

[@NationalHooeyLeague]

I am so excited to watch this! What a crossover!

[@ВикторЦай-л7я]

Wow! That was amazing! Thank you both!

[@lvil2295]

Yes, didn't know I needed this collab!

[@granola-approach]

i figured absinthe was like, a weird ancient witch that the drink was named after when i saw the original ESOTERICA video but... nope. just a funny alcohol. iconic shes serving

[@kleinjahr]

Ah yes, absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.

[@chriscasperson5927]

I thought it was "Absinthe makes the fart go 'Honda.'"

[@christianminton]

Youn always do colabs with my favorite channels. Nice work!

[@DarthAidan]

I too found myself in the absinthe house backroom, almost by accident. I need to return that place was a wonder!

[@alexdelcastillo1220]

Every time I heard “Do Watcha Wanna” I always wondered if there was a Crowley connection to Nola. And now I know. Thanks and well done.

[@CherrysJubileeJoyfully]

Loved it! back to the other video ❤

[@azaraelhyzer3874]

Thank you esoterica for helping me discover this great channel. Keep the flame on 🔥

[@VonZipper624]

Thank you : ) These are the notifications I'm most excited for ⚜

[@inappropriatejohnson]

Thank you both/all for this lovely essay.

[@kmaher1424]

Rainy mist in this city to the west. The skies have been crying for a friend to many and a brilliant writer whose life is ticking out. Early on his adventure he studied absinthe in Prague. Before it was "discovered." A place of magic I have heard. This moody and atmospheric slice of history fits the mood Now, which high class cocktail dive in this town serves the green fairy?

[@pant0sand0hat]

Somehow y'all just made me nostalgic for things I've never felt and places I've never been.

[@mindwipe8788]

I would love to hear him do a video essay on Halloween in turn of the century New Orleans, not only because I think it would be a fascinating subject but also I’m a big fan when it comes to discussing Halloween of the 19th-early 20th century especially when it was in other parts of the country.

[@mariacallas9962]

Remarquable! Salutations du vieux continent.

[@aaronbecker5617]

Wildly enjoyable videos!

[@pencilpauli9442]

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.

[@blackswangothika8920]

Love this video on one of my favorite cities dear to my heart . With the perfect drink and the perfect bedfellow its a befitting tale of both.

[@samhaine6804]

i would LOVE a video by you about the history of freemasonry in america, its role in american independence etc. its a topic that only gets really discussed by conspiracy types, but i think youd be able to make something really enlightening on it. great vid as always, and great to see prof sledge collaborating ;¬)

[@MegCazalet]

This was absolutely beautiful.

[@altohippiegabber]

Kudos for pronouncing 'Crowley' the correct way, it rhymes with 'holy'. I blame Ozzy for popularising the incorrect pronunciation that rhymes with 'foully'.

[@Hastenforthedawm]

The worst part is that the correct pronunciation is there in the word itself: Crow (the bird) Lee

[@zeltzamer4010]

@@HastenforthedawmCan’t really blame someone for thinking it’s pronounced otherwise when English isn’t exactly known for phonetic consistency.

[@jetpetty1613]

I loved watching this excellent doc

[@silasakron4692]

Wonderfully done fellas, thank you.

[@euansmith3699]

Wow! What a cool and classy crossover. 😍

[@tea_time_t]

As someone from Baton Rouge, I do not blame you for not coming here.

[@mike_nolan]

Prohibition is always morally reprehensible

[@shivam10575]

Amazing video

[@ScabiousGarde]

This is great, glad I didn't sleep on this one

[@tiredman4540]

This was excellent fun! Had never thought of Tou Mega Therion being present at the inception of Jazz!

[@leeshiflett1863]

Only been to New Orleans once...but it left its impression.

[@kevinkruger1686]

This is awesome!

[@kingofcards9]

Interesting video, God bless.