Not many people know of the fascinating individual Brian Hugh Warner is. However, millions of people are gripped by his alter ego: Marilyn Manson. One of the many things you probably did not know about him is his legal name. The American superstar coined his nickname from two opposites of the pop culture – the iconic Marilyn Monroe and mass murderer Charles Manson. This spooky and eerie persona which many people never fully understood, unforgettable songs like “The Dope Show” and “The Beautiful People” appeared.
His Mother May Have Had Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome
Manson was often ill as a child. From suffering from multiple bouts of pneumonia to being anemic, he was told by his mother to stay away from several unusual things, such as fabric softener and eggs, as she claimed he was allergic to them. She also insisted that Manson’s earlobes were too long and pressured him into fixing them with plastic surgery once his career was stabilized.
To this, Manson claims that his mother suffered from Munchausen by Proxy syndrome. It is a form of child abuse involving the parent feigning or even causing illness to their child so as to fulfill personal psychological needs. Manson firmly believes that he never actually suffered from multiple illnesses and much of the symptoms were caused by his mother.
“I didn’t find out about the Munchausen until later in life, and I’m not sure how far back she had it. What I can say is that mental illness runs in the family.”
His First Pack Of Cigarettes Were Bought By Macaulay Culkin
Manson recalled the time spent on Party Monster’s set, a 2003 film which starred Macaulay Culkin, in an interview with Jay Leno. Manson played a small role as a smoking character in the film. This presented a problem for the non-smoking musician. Culkin was there to help out and he bought Manson his first-ever pack of Virginia Slims Lite at a liquor store.
He And Johnny Depp Have Matching Tattoos
Johnny Depp and Manson share a strong bond. Their friendship has led to strange places from on-stage performances together to attempts at buying antique Nazi guns together. The pair of them also have two matching tattoos. On their wrists, the pair have “no reason” inked and on their backs they have “Charles Baudelaire, the flowers of evil, this giant skeleton thing”. When asked about the meaning behind these tattoos, Manson was vague stating:
“[They’re] kind of a secret. People say to us, ‘Why did you get that?’ And we say, ‘No reason.'”
He Was Accused Of Severing His Own Penis
In 2003, Manson was arrested in Italy following a fan’s accusation of him cutting off his genitals mid-concert and throwing them at the audience. In order to prove his innocence, Manson chose to flash the Italian police.
His Personal Hygiene Is Questionable
In 2015, while in an interview with Rolling Stone, Manson said “I’m not big on showering. If anything, I do more of a ‘hooker shower,’ undercarriage and armpits.” He also added how he doesn’t change his clothes often – inclusive of his underwear.
He Shoplifts On Occasion
Manson’s estimated worth of $25 million does not come in the way of his occasional shoplifting. Once he stole a pair of sunglasses from the John Varvatos store. He did inform them of it later, so in Manson’s book it doesn’t count. He also nicked a packet of spearmint gum from a CVS but he simply threw it away without consuming.
Growing Up He Had A Bizarre Relationship With His Grandfather
When he was still known as Brian Warner, Manson as a child would often go down to his grandfather’s basement. There he would watch the old man masturbate to adult videos which featured bestiality. When discussing these incidents, Manson says that at the time he found his grandfather’s habits repulsive but now he is capable of empathizing with him as he too has been misunderstood.
Charles Manson Sent Him A Bizarre Postcard
Part of Manson’s name is derived from the infamous Charles Manson, a serial killer who gripped southern California with fear in the 1960s. Currently behind bars, the murderer sent Manson a postcard in 2012. The note rambled on and did contain some vaguely threatening statements:
“It’s taken me a long time to get there from where I could touch M. Manson. Now I got a card to play – you may look into my non-profit, ATWA, and give Manson what you think he’s got coming for Air, Trees, Water, and you. Or I will pay Manson what you think Manson got coming – the music has make Manson into Abraxas Devil, and I’m SURE you would want some of what I got from what I got. It’s a far out balance.”
The convicted killer never heard back from Manson.
He Has More Than 450 Scars
Manson’s autobiography “The Long Hard Road out of Hell” states that the musician has over 450 scars on his body. Some of these scars are attributed to on-stage performances where he cut himself deliberately. Other scars have a more personal past. For instance, Manson broke up with an ex in 2008 and reacted by calling her 158 times. Each time she did not pick up, he would cut himself either on his face or hands. When reflecting on the incident later, Manson said:
“I look back and it was a really stupid thing to do. This was intentional, this was a scarification, and this was like a tattoo. I wanted to show her the pain she put me through. It was like, ‘I want you to physically see what you’ve done.’ It sounds made up, but it’s completely true and I don’t give a sh*t if people believe it or not. I’ve got the scars to prove it.”
He Believes The Columbine Shooting Shut Down His Career
Following the Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, multiple media outlets reported that the two shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Kleblod and Eric Harris, were largely inspired by Manson’s music. Although this was later proven to be false, Manson believes that the damage had been done. He claims that his career was “shut down” and his shows were cancelled due to the false connection to Columbine.
Following the shooting with a few months, Manson wrote down an op-ed about the tragedy for Rolling Stone:
“When it comes down to who’s to blame for the high school murders in Littleton, Colorado, throw a rock and you’ll hit someone who’s guilty. We’re the people who sit back and tolerate children owning guns, and we’re the ones who tune in and watch the up-to-the-minute details of what they do with them. I think it’s terrible when anyone dies, especially if it is someone you know and love. But what is more offensive is that when these tragedies happen, most people don’t really care any more than they would about the season finale of Friends or The Real World.”
He Launched An Award-Winning Absinthe
Manson is known to be involved in unique business ventures. One of the more notable ones was the creation of his own absinthe brand called “Mansinthe”. It contained wormwood alongside a generous 66.6% proof punch. At the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the Mansinthe won a gold medal.
Reportedly, the musician exclusively consumed absinthe. However, in 2015 he claimed to have stopped consuming it entirely.
He Has A Sweet Side
Despite his scary appearance, Manson cares a lot about his fans. In 2015, he partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to bring 14-year-old April Ramirez’s dreams to life. Ramirez who is a huge fan of Manson, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Leukemia in May 2015. She met with Manson in July and even went to his concert where he dedicated one of his songs to her. In the end he even gifted Ramirez one of his lipsticks.
Similarly, in 2002, 16-year-old Andrew Baines got the chance to be in Manson’s recording studio and to record backing vocals for The Golden Age of Grotesque album. He was another teen who suffered from a life-threatening illness.
Wal-Mart, K-Mart, And Target Refused To Sell His Album
The “inappropriate” nature of Manson’s 1998 album, Mechanical Animals’, cover and content, Target, K-Mart and Wal-Mart all collectively refused to stock it. The cover was a display of Manson’s head edited onto the body of a naked alien. As far as the lyrics are concerned, they needed a parental advisory sticker. Interscope and Labels Nothing both offered censorship options to the stores such as placing stickers on the alien’s breasts. They even offered to enclose the entire thing in blue cellophane. The massive retailers still declined.
He Collects Creepy Objects
Manson gave a quick tour of his home in Hollywood Hills during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2015. The items he pointed out during the tour range from unusual to downright disturbing.
“There’s a stack of children’s books (This Little Piggy, Winnie the Pooh Meets Gopher). An unused canister of Zyklon B, the poisonous gas Hitler used to exterminate Jews. A pistol and a rifle on a coffee table. A prized clown painting done by rapist and serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Basically, it’s all stuff you might expect from a guy like him.”
He’s An Avid Video Gamer
Manson enjoys playing video games in his spare time – a habit most people find surprising. He says that he is “pretty good at Mario Kart,” and also mentions that his friend got him “this little Japanese lawyer game. It’s f*cking amazing.” If our guess is right, he means Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Apart from playing video games, Manson also enjoys contributing to the gaming industry. Many games such as WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, The Darkness and Saints Row: The Third have made use of his songs. In Area 51, he even made and appearance as an alien character, a role he chose specifically because of his “distaste for mankind in general.”
The deeper you read through Marilyn Manson’s personal life and biography, the more unusual tales will come to light. Fostering friendships with everyone from Macaulay Culkin to Johnny Depp, he is a leading member of the Church of Satan. Manson house in itself is a mysterious abode, filled with bizarre and creepy artifacts like children’s books alongside paintings by convicted killers. A lot of people find him disturbing, but the more accurate term is complicated. As concluded by these facts, Marilyn Manson is one of the most intriguing icons in the music scene.