Love is a Devil...

It's hard to resist the temptation of a bad boy. As much as we all say we want someone kind, sweet, and thoughtful you can't deny that a tough and sexy narcissist attracts a lot of attention and lustful thoughts, to say the least. But when we go after the hell-raisers and pass over the innocents it can lead to some dangerous situations. Playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacassa takes this idea almost too literally in his comedic theatrical piece Say You Love Satan.

Set in Baltimore, the play revolves around a graduate student named Andrew with a picture-perfect and sweet quasi-boyfriend named Jarrod. While reading Dostoyevsky in a laundromat one night, he spies the gorgeous, shirtless Jack and sparks fly... despite the fact that Jack happens to have "666" burned into his forehead at his hair line. When Andrew asks his new flame about it, Jack explains that he's not a satanist, "But [his] father - he is the devil." Though his fag-hag friend Bernadette objects, Andrew pursues the relationship and begins to discover that Jack isn't really the son of the devil, but his real identity is far worse. "Evil incarnate," as Andrew explains, "has a six pack... and zero percent body fat..."

This is the final week you can catch Say You Love Satan in Cleveland, Ohio at The Liminis in Tremont produced by Convergence-Continuum. The play runs through Saturday, starring Scott Gorbach as Andrew and Lucas Roberts as the steamy Jack. If you live in Arizona you can catch it at Live Theatre Workshop in Tuscon from October 21 through November 6. Here's a little video message about the Cleveland production from one of the cast:

Indiana Jones and the Thespians of Doom...

Last night was a reunion of sorts; the (very) few of us from an old ghost hunting group reunited for an evening in an old theatre facing demolition. At 8:00 PM, we were locked inside the partially-renovated structure to begin our vigil. Of course, we spent a good portion of our time reminiscing and laughing, recalling funny moments from the past and laughing at the occasional mindless remark spoken without thinking of the consequences. Needless to say, we all have an overabundant sense of humor.

Amid heaps of dismantled theater seats, we explored each floor of the structure. In the basement, I noticed some old bits of history: old signs from the facade, doors for the entrances and rooms, and broken stained glass. Dust filled the air. I wished I had brought anything to drink with me. Both the laughter and stale air prolonged the headache which plagued me all day.

We heard a few faint noises, some of which could be explained by outside traffic. Occasional knocks came from far corners, but with the echo in the auditorium, it was impossible to locate a source. While exploring the projection booth, a bang came from the cutting room. While the woman I was with quickly headed the opposite way, I ventured in to explore it. There seemed to be no known source of the sound.

Being the history buff that I am, I couldn't leave the 80-year-old structure without a souvenir or two. It was, after all, expected to be demolished if possible plans to salvage it didn't go through. I found a wooden arm from one of the old seats with a brass number plate (lucky number seven) and placed it with my things. And while exploring the projection area, I couldn't help but notice a set of old cast iron, hand-cranked reel rewinds (judging by their appearance, original to the building) bolted to a makeshift table. Lacking the necessary tools, a washer made a decent screwdriver to remove them.

I'm a film and history buff. I couldn't resist.

We left after midnight, failing to make any definitive contact with "Elizabeth", a spirit who may dwell there. I headed out the front door, lugging my antiquated (and quite heavy) cargo. It wasn't until I made my way home and had a very late supper that my headache finally abated.

I did get a little flack for removing artifacts from a haunted structure. I did get permission to take the objects, mind you, but one person in particular asked me about any concern I might have taking something ghostly along with them. Bollocks. "Nah, I'm not worried. I've taken things before over the years. Nothing has ever happened," I said. And it's true. I've never had anything odd happen after removing something from a haunted place. Perhaps it's because I've always had good intent when removing anything. They have always been "souvenirs", but with the mindset of preserving a bit of history that would otherwise be destroyed. It has never been "because the place is haunted". It is always "because it'll end up in a landfill and no one gives a darn about preserving these sorts of things".

I think any spooks appreciate that.

Queer Paranormal Road Trip: Queen's Theatre

The Queen's Theatre can be found in the heart of Soho, only a few blocks from London's Leicester Square. London has become infamous for hauntings, and even it's gay neighborhood would not be complete without, you guessed it, a gay ghost.

The Queen's Theatre opened it's doors on Shaftesbury Avenue on October 8, 1907. Originally, it was to be named Central Theatre (to which Bernard Shaw stated, "as if it were a criminal court or a railway terminus"), but after much debate the name Queen's was attached, and a portrait of Queen Alexandra was fixed above the fireplace in the grand entrance foyer.

On September 24, 1940, during World War II, a bomb was dropped on the theater, ripping off the front of the building, destroying the stone dome and foyer, and killing three unnamed people. After a costly reconstruction, it reopened in 1959 and has been showing plays ever since. In fact, the longest running performance of Les Misérables still can be seen there to this day.

While the theater is host to a few supernatural entities, one in particular made his presence known to medium Becky Walsh during an investigation for Spirit & Destiny Magazine in 2006. A male presence had been spotted periodically in the upper circle. The team had been notified that ushers have felt uncomfortable stares while changing in the stall bars. During a séance conducted in a corridor which formerly connected to backstage, a male presence did indeed come through. And he had a message to deliver.

He fancied one of them men on the team. And he enjoyed watching the boys changing into their uniforms.

An ethereal queen in the Queen's Theatre? What are the odds?

So if you find yourself in London at one of the top theaters on the West End, be sure to keep a lookout for a male figure looming in the shadows. If you're an attractive man, he just might be looking back at you...