THE GIFT ‘ANGEL OF DEATH” (STATUE) BY LEILAH WENDELL

This lifesize work is titled “The Gift” (above) created by Leilah Wendell and George Hisham now stands in the hotel’s Grand Dining Hall.  It is of Leilah in the arms of the Angel of Death.  This was also used as the model for one of the cards in her deck The Gothic Tarot.  It is our great honor that Leilah has just donated this signature piece to the Grand Midway Hotel.  It was a great adventure to pick up and transport of this work for 2014.  At first it resided in room, #25, but it became so popular we simply moved it front and center downstairs for the world to enjoy.

(The Angel of Death by Evelyn de Morgan, 1855-1919)

Leilah Wendell created the famed necromantic Westgate Gallery down in New Orleans.  The Westgate was extremely popular as a New Orleans destination point through the 1990s.  In the mid-1990s I visited the Westgate Gallery and became instant friends with Leilah and Daniel Kemp, the curator.  That same weekend I met Damien Youth, seeing him perform for the first time at the Anne Rice Memnoch Ball.  it was like a thunderbolt hitting me.  After the show I ran up to him and introduced myself, throwing it out there that intuitively I knew we were going to be friends and work together.  Who could have foreseen we were eventually going to purchase the Grand Midway Hotel together states away?  I met so many artists that first weekend in the Gothic realm, from author Poppy Z. Brite to poet Stan Rice, I simply joined their ranks entirely and dove in.  I relocated from Hollywood to New Orleans for a full year of dark art and enchantment.  Leilah Wendell actually became my landlord as I rented the balcony apartment next door to the Westgate Gallery.   It was a grand, rich, fun, enchanting season.  I kind of thought of Leilah as my new cool, creepy Aunt.  She liked to do long, daily walks down the sidewalks of New Orleans and gaze at the beautiful romantic architecture.  Sometimes I would join her.  Leilah did the cover art of two of Damien’s classic albums (cassette tapes at that time).  Leilah was championed endlessly at that time as the cutting edge creator of necromantic art.

(Leilah Wendell & Daniel Kemp, 2007)

In 1988, Leilah’s book Our Name Is Melancholy: The Complete Books of Azrael exploded on the scene.  Goodreads writes, “A unique and haunting ‘autobiography’ of the Angel of Death, hailed by readers and reviewers as “The most fascinating true story of the 20th century!” A 12 year Best Seller of occult non-fiction, it sparked a subtle revolution in the way we deal with death in general, and Death, the entity. It brought us up close and personal with the melancholy spectre known as The Reaper. Through the Angel of Death’s own words and the writings of His incarnate ‘soul-mate’, this awesome spirit reveals to all His true nature and purpose.  Also included are selections from The Necromantic Ritual Book, Shadows in The Half-Light, and treatises from Infinite Possibilities.  Azrael is an eerie herald, come to enchant the world with a divine Dance Macabre. A story mighty in both sorrow and joy. The ultimate tale of Love & Death is, indeed, a True Story!”  In 1996, when Anne Rice released her book Servant of the Bones about an “Azriel” character several goth fans raised an eyebrow noting the similarities.   One review simply read, “Whoa, jump back Leilah Wendell!”

From her webpage, “Westgate moved lock, stock & barrel to the Crescent City’s famed Magazine Street where it stood as both monument, and museum/Temple to the Angel of Death.  The opening of the Westgate signified that the time has come for mankind to reconcile Life with Death. The place stood out like a beacon, calling to all souls who feel an affinity to what it represents; A physical & symbolic manifestation of the true Westgate through which we all pass upon our death. “The House of Death”, as we were more commonly called, was a place for special souls, and you know who you are, to gather & feel at home. After all, it is His house!  Our purpose remains to put forth the word of the Angel of Death & thereby conquer fear through understanding. We endeavor to make people aware of the essential nature of Death & to help humanity see their universe through His eyes, & thereby gain a macrocosmic understanding of both, Life & Death. We must loosen this last remaining fear that keeps many tethered to the narrow view & burdened by the weight of flesh. We must learn to view the world from neither side of eternity, but rather from the threshold between the dimensions of space & time. For over three decades, The Westgate has been rekindling primeval memory, & replacing fear with love and serving as a point of contact between Life & Death. A place where folks can come & be touched by the melancholy spectre of the Angel of Death, & hopefully come away with a new & poignant understanding. It is a threshold between two worlds & a place where Love & Death embrace unabashed by their own spectacle.  The ideals of the Westgate are a quantum leap beyond the veil of fear that still exists, even among the most “enlightened”. We stay with love & commitment to our cause in being the voice & vision of the Angel of Death. Our determination & success over the past 33 years has spear-headed His message from the fringe, to the forefront of a wave that sweeps beyond current revelationary thinking into an area that The Westgate alone has charted.”

(“Death & the Maiden” Elna Borch -Photo Copyright by Scott Davies)

Despite great attention, the Westgate Gallery eventually shut it’s doors.