The Michel Guide to
H O R R O R
CAFES, PUBS, CLUBS AND RESTAURANTS OF THE
WORLD
I've always loved horror cafes - the kind of place where you sit at a coffin-shaped table and your
drinks come in skull mugs served by a vampire waitress who looks like Morticia Addams. I don't know
what strange genius first had the idea of opening such an establishment, or when or where the first one
was, but I suspect it was probably in the 50's. Horror cafes seem as much a by-product of the beatnik
coffee-house era as Charles Addams' original cartoons were.
I can trace my own enthusiasm for such places to my childhood in Brussels, Belgium. As a very young
child I became fascinated by a sinister alleyway a few minutes away from the town center, the famous
Grand Place. At the end of this alley was a house with a huge painting of a grinning red
Devil with horns. The Devil's leering mouth was the doorway into the building. To my infant imagination
it was both terrifying and enticing. I was quite prepared to believe this really was the doorway
to Hell...
Eventually, I learned it was in fact the entrance to a nightclub called L'Enfer ("Hell".)
A small sign warned that no one under 18 was allowed in...Sometimes it seems to me that I've
spent a large part of my life, one way or another, trying to get through that doorway!
(Strangely enough, Brussels remains the Horror Cafe Capital of the World. I know of at least three
horror cafes/restaurants only a few minutes' walk from the site of that long-forgotten nightclub.)
This site is intended as a guide to all known horror-themed coffee-houses, pubs and restaurants
around the world. For easy reference I've divided the world into three main areas: The Americas, Europe
and the Rest of the World. I know the Guide is far from complete as yet. I hope all you Horror
Fiends out there will let me know about other horror-themed establishments you know of. I'll add more places
as I hear about them. Photographs would be very welcome too.
Michel Parry (Head Guide and Maitre'd)
CLICK for details of Horror Cafes etc in these areas:
The Americas
Europe
Rest of the World
GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN!
The following Horror Cafes are sadly no longer with us, but are still fondly remembered...
Cafe de Dood (Cafe of the Dead), Amsterdam, Holland
This was around in the late 70's. A small, typical old-style horror cafe with coffin tables and
skull mugs. I remember hearing the B52's Planet Claire for the first time here.
Cafe Frankenstein, Venice, California
I read about this in Famous Monsters of Filmland. It must have been around in the late 50s, early
60's. It had Frankenstein murals by one of the artists who did the covers for FMOF. Probably Basil
Gogos. Wonder what happened to the murals?
Le Macabre, Soho, London
One of the original 50's Soho coffee bars (along with the 'two i's' round the corner in Old Compton
Street.) I think it survived into the early 70's. Tim Stout's horror magazine 'Supernatural Horror
Filming' had its launch party in the basement. Film of Le Macabre turns up in documentaries about the
early days of rock'n'roll in Britain and it was also in some tame Mondo Cane-type expose of 'Swinging
London' (probably an Arnold Miller film.)
Transilvania Horror Bar, 335 West End Lane, West Hampstead, London, NW6.
This was opened by Italians which explains the unusual spelling of Transylvania, and maybe
why they opened it in such a - uh - lifeless area of London. Rumor had it that it was
part of a chain part-owned by Dario Argento. (The main owner was Umberto Ferri.) A sign claimed
there were other branches in Rome, Tokyo and (I think) Miami.
One of the attractions was a
friendly python which customers could pet. Several scenes of the
low-budget vampire movie 'Razor Blade Smile' were filmed there. It closed suddenly in 1998. A
rumor claimed it was going to reopen in the livelier location of Camden Town, but so far it hasn't.
"Well apart from the initial wonderment as to why they can't spell Transylvania properly, you
will have died and gone to heaven when you enter this restaurant/bar (mainly restaurant). Served
by really cool goth waitresses (one of which is my friend Gina), you are cordially seated at
tables shaped like coffins, with glass tops and bones inside (probably customers who didn't pay!).
The decor is dark, candlelit, with images on the wall very reminiscent of the sort you get in
catholic churches depicting the walk of Jesus to his death and showing how truly drunk he was as
he kept falling over!. The menu is short on choice but large in style with culinary choices such
as Drac Burgers and Dead Body, drinks like Nosferatu, Blue Blood and I can heartily recommend
Transilvania Suicide. My Ex loves Satan's Balls, but then again she always did! There's also a
collection of souvenirs to remind you of the experience, but as one drunk once told me "If you
remember it, you have'ne been." (Richard Ramos)
Special thanks to Rob Brautigam of International Vampire, Amsterdam, for his enthusiasm for this
project from the start, and for sharing his knowledge and splendid photos. Thanks also to
Richard Ramos in London and Erdspark (Joseph) in New York for their reviews.
Know of a horror cafe, pub or restraurant anywhere? Or one that used to exist but is sadly no longer around?
I'd like to hear about it! Send the gory details to: Michel@pumpkinpie.com
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