I snapped the above shot of Magickal Childe back in about 1997. Today, as noted here, 35 West 19th Street is a tapas restaurant. But once upon a time, it was a place to procure all sorts of dark materials.
Today, Ruben Iglesias over on the excellent Facebook page, Manhattan Before 1990, put up a screenshot from "Vampire's Kiss" (Nic Cage's arguably ludicrous vampire movie), featuring a fleeting glimpse of the exterior of this fabled shop. As a bonus, however, Ruben included this fetching little clip below.
Enjoy a trip back in time as you step inside Magical Childe and peruse their wares....
Footnote: Regardless of your feelings about the occult and despite what the hirsute gent with the microphone says, West 19th Street is NOT "in the Village."
Mrs. Schindler worked in an office next door back when it was still there.
Posted by: R | October 24, 2015 at 07:38 PM
Back in the early to mid 1970's there was a similar shop in midtown. On the east side of Third avenue, between 32nd and 33rd there's a high rise condo, that has stores that are below street level with stairs leading down to them. I just looked at google maps, and I believe it is now a "nail spa", but back then it was a "Occult" place. I went in once, and the guy behind the counter looked liked something out of "central casting". He invited me to a gathering in a loft down in Soho. It always struck me a odd place for that kind of store.
Posted by: Martin | October 27, 2015 at 12:21 PM
Haven't talked to you in a while, Alex, hope you are well. This is a great story my old friend Alan Cabal wrote about the place:
http://www.nypress.com/the-doom-that-came-to-chelsea/
Posted by: Chris Simunek | November 03, 2015 at 09:07 PM