On December 12, 1972 banking heiress Marie-Hélène de Rothschild held her now infamous Surrealist Ball at the Château de Ferrières, one of many European mansions owned by her family. Invitations were written backwards, requiring guests to look in the mirror in order to read them. Now, I’m sure many of you reading this have seen the Stanley Kubrick’s film “Eyes Wide Shut”. This party was pretty damn close to that creepy wonderland. The requirements for the evening were “Black tie, long dresses & Surrealists heads”.
Upon arriving, guests were greeted by amber lights that were cast upon the mansion. This was designed in order to give the illusion the building was on fire. Once inside, Rothschild had guests walk through black ribbons that were meant to mimic cobwebs and a hellish labyrinth maze that was filled with servants and footmen dressed as cats (all in various poses of sleep). Were you to get lost, one of these feline/human hybrids would rescue you and whisk you away to the ballroom where you would be formally greeted by Marie-Hélène herself wearing a Baphomet head covered in tears of diamonds.
