Revision as of 12:37, 4 November 2007

All of Marilyn Manson's tattoos were done by four people: Lou Sciberras, Donovan Stringer, Albert Sgambati and Ken Cameron - who all worked at Tattoos By Lou in South Beach, Miami, Florida. The tattoos were created over a four-year span, beginning in January 1991, with the exception of a tattoo created in early-2007. In the credits of the band's first album Portrait of an American Family Albert Sgambati and Donovan Stringer were credited for tattoos, the latter simply referred to as 'Donovan'. All tattoos are listed on this page in the order they were inked.

Baphomet

Baphomet tattoo

On Manson's 21st birthday, band member and friend Gidget Gein took him to Tattoos By Lou in Miami, Florida to get his first tattoo. At this same session Gein got a Creepy Crawly Spider tattooed on his wrist. The Baphomet is an idol or image of uncertain provenance. It came to popular consciousness in the nineteenth century, when it was applied to pseudo-historical conspiracy theories elaborating on the suppression of the Templars, and it became associated with a "Sabbatic Goat" image drawn by Eliphas Lévi. The tattoo appears on his upper left arm, under the Red Fly.

Tree

Also on Manson's 21st birthday, Manson requested a second tattoo that would mark his retribution. He presented to Lou Sciberras a rough drawing of a spooky tree reminiscent of a tree that appeared in several of the band's promotional ads, exclaiming how it had been copied without his authorization by a man referred to as Carl, who had persistently been imitating Manson. Manson's intent of getting the image inked onto him would be his form of permanently copyrighting his own creation. A skull was added as an extension of this tree, making the tree appear to be rooting from the skull. The tattoo appears across the outside of his right arm.

Cyaegha

Cyaegha tattoo

In July 1992, Manson and Gein returned to Tattoos By Lou where Manson would receive his third and fourth tattoos. This time around, tattoo artist Donovan Stringer was presented with Manson's pre-drawn art interpreting the Western German mythic creature formally called "Cyaegha the Great Old One". Both tattoos are typically comprised of a circular green eye at the center of a mass of black tentacles, each one slightly variating from the other. Reportedly, the right arm was tattooed first, and both were done in the same session. The fee was also reportedly $50.00 and a six-pack of Heineken brew. The tattoos appear across the inside of both lower arms.

Cyclops

Cyclops tattoo

Sometime in 1991, Manson (possibly returning with Gein once again, but this is not certain) returned to Tattoos By Lou to receive his fifth work of body art. The tattooing was performed by Albert Sgambati, and came to depict the head of a cyclops, which Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids has recorded a song bearing the same name. The tattoo appears on his right shoulder.

The Lucky Devil

The Lucky Devil tattoo

Sometime around September 1993, Manson and Sgambati began collaborating on artwork that would become Manson's sixth and most flamboyant tattoo. The Lucky Devil depicts a grinning red devil amongst a horseshoe with '1' and '3' at each respective end. Above the devil's head is an 8-ball and below it three dice, each displaying the number '6'. Staying ever mindful of how it would look onstage, Manson still gave Albert lots of freedom with the elements surrounding the devil's head. The tattoo appears on his left shoulder.

Skull

Skull and Tree tattoos

Sometime during mid-1993, Manson came to notice a sketch Albert Sgambati had been working on, depicting a long and narrow skull. The tattoo became Manson's seventh tattoo, and would become an addition of a previously inked tattoo, a deviated tree. The tattoo appears across the outside of his right arm.

Uncle Creepy

Uncle Creepy and Cobweb tattoos

In Fall 1994, Manson had been looking into getting a tattoo of a character from the Frank Frazetta comic, Uncle Creepy, a character to which the series was named after. Manson approached longtime tattoo artist Albert Sgambati in regards to the tattoo, but Sgambati had been and would be busy for some time. As an alternative, Sgambati suggested that fellow Tattoos By Lou artist Ken Cameron work on the tattoo. The tattoo appears across the outside of his lower left arm.

Cobweb

It is widely believed that this simple tattoo depicting a cobweb was won by Manson as a bonus for winning the award for Best Vocalist at the Slammie Awards in Florida on July 3, 1994. However this is uncertain due to the fact that the tattoo offer was offered by Outrageous Tattoos, whereas all of Manson's tattoos by this point were inked by Tattoos By Lou. An alternative to the theory on the artist responsible is that Ken Cameron returned to ink it in conjunction with the Uncle Creepy tattoo, similar to the case of the Skull and Tree tattoo. The tattoo appears on his left wrist.

Red Fly

Red Fly tattoo

In Spring 1995, Manson returned to Tattoos By Lou to attain what would be his tenth and last tattoo for well over 11 years, inked again by Albert Sgambati. This tattoo depicts a red fly with skulls in its wings, and is implied to be a symbolic representation of Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies. While not directly a fly, two eighteenth century magical textbooks, the Grimorium Verum and the Grand Grimoure, state that the supreme trinity of evil consists of Lucifer, Beelzebub and Astaroth. When summoned by a magician, Beelzebub appears in the form of a huge fly, allegedly. The tattoo appears on his upper left arm, under the Cyclops.

Spiral Heart

Spiral Heart tattoo

On February 14, 2007 - over 11 years since his last tattoo - Manson had a new tattoo inked on his right wrist at the same time Evan Rachel Wood had her thigh tattooed in a joint session at their home. It is a simple tattoo of a spiral heart used throughout the Eat Me, Drink Me era, though it is unknown as to who the artist is.