The Long Hard Road Out of Hell

AND HANDS AND FEET,
    OF THE MEMBERS OF M ARILYN M ANSON,
    SO THAT THEY CANNOT SOW LIES
    AND SPREAD DISCONTENT AMONG OUR YOUTH,
    OR PLAY THEIR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS,
    OR TRESPASS ON OUR COMMUNITY.
    I N THE NAME OF J ESUS C HRIST WE BIND THESE DEMONS,
    AND BY H IS HAND WE KNOW THEY SHALL BE BOUND.
    O UR SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY FOR THIS ACTION IS AS FOLLOWS:
    M ARK 16:15-18 (KJV)
    15 A ND HE SAID UNTO THEM , G O YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.
    16 H E THAT BELIEVETH AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED; BUT HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT SHALL BE DAMNED.
    17 A ND THESE SIGNS SHALL FOLLOW THEM THAT BELIEVE ; I N MY NAME SHALL THEY CAST OUT DEVILS; THEY SHALL SPEAK WITH NEW TONGUES;
    18 T HEY SHALL TAKE UP SERPENTS; AND IF THEY DRINK ANY DEADLY THING, IT SHALL NOT HURT THEM; THEY SHALL LAY HANDS ON THE SICK, AND THEY SHALL RECOVER.
    â€”P RAYER DISTRIBUTED BY PROTESTORS BEFORE M ARILYN M ANSON CONCERT IN O RLANDO , F LORIDA

NOVEMBER 2, 1996, NEW JERSEY
    There’s something exciting and terrifying about club shows and theater shows, but the arena concert is so Antichrist Superstar . And tonight seeing six thousand people raise their fist to “Beautiful People” is so Nero, so powerful, bombastic, fascistic, rock and roll. It’s disgusting and I love it.
NOVEMBER 6, 1996, WASHINGTON, D.C.
    Twiggy and I called Trent. No response. I don’t know what I did to be so hated. If it was being myself, then I guess that’s the price I have to pay. It’s behind me now. I hold no grudges. I just wish the tension would be resolved.
NOVEMBER 15, 1996, FORT LAUDERDALE
    It’s funny because for the past two years Twiggy and I have listened to Dr. Hook’s “Cover of the Rolling Stone” ritualistically, as if maybe it would actually land us in the magazine. And strangely enough that interview came today. I’m not sure if the writer was gay or not, so I did most of the interview in the hot tub to either confuse or excite him. I think it did both. I informed him that this would be one of the most important articles he would write, and I know that to be true.
NOVEMBER 16, 1996, FORT LAUDERDALE
    Our homecoming show was better than I expected. I thought people would be negative and resentful because they feel like I owe them something or they knew me when. But in fact, I never had a lot of friends here because nobody ever really believed in what I was trying to do. The only people I feel I owe anything to are my parents for supporting me when I didn’t have a job. Anyone I may have used should feel happy that they even had a use. It’s better than being useless.
NOVEMBER 23, 1996, SOUTH AMERICA
    Tonight we went to some bar in Santiago and the floor was made out of Plexiglas and there were weird lights shining out of it and we got really drunk on Chilean wine. Some bizarre character came up to me and asked if I liked Ziggy Stardust. I told him that it was a great record. He seemed upset and repeated the phrase Ziggy Stardust, making a sniffing noise this time. He explained that he wanted to sell us a bunch of hard-core South American cocaine. We hadn’t really binged on the dust since recording Antichrist Superstar . But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So we figured when in South America, do as the South Americans do and snort a lot of hard-core cocaine. Someone said a bunch of cops were outside. In Chile, cops aren’t guys in blue suits with nightsticks. They’re a squadron in a tank with machine guns. Somehow we escaped. We stayed up all night anyway, drinking wine and making people snort mysterious pink dust a roadie bought in a park outside a death metal concert. Of course we had to fly in the morning, which is where I’m writing this from, on the plane. And I feel sick.
DECEMBER 3, 1996, GERMANY
    Last night I left Twiggy at about six A.M. Apparently he stayed up until about noon. All of the hair on his forehead is missing.
DECEMBER 19, 1996, DAY OFF
    What happens someday if more people own my record than the bible? Will that make me god because more people believe in me than him? Because it’s just about popularity. There are plenty of people in the world who have never heard of Jesus, while in America he’s taken for granted. The key to changing the way people think is to change what’s popular. That’s why rather than submit to the mainstream, you have to become it—and then overcome it.

    Â 
    March 19, 1997
    TO: Mississippi Coast