Albin Grau (December 22, 1884 in

Leipzig-Schönefeld Schönefeld is a city quarter in the Northeast of Leipzig. Concerning administrative matters Schönefeld-Ost is a district of Leipzig, while the rest of Schönefeld, together with Abtnaundorf forms a district called Schönefeld-Abtnaundorf. His ...

– March 27, 1971) was a German artist, architect and

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

, and the producer and production designer for F.W. Murnau's ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...

'' (1922). He was largely responsible for the look and spirit of the film, including the sets, costumes, storyboards and promotional materials. Wismar Markt Nosferatu 01

A lifelong student of the occult and member of

Fraternitas Saturni Fraternitas Saturni (lat.: "Brotherhood of Saturn") is a German magical order, founded in 1926 by Eugen Grosche a.k.a. Gregor A. Gregorius and four others. It is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. The lodge is, as ...

, under the magical name of Master Pacitius, Grau was able to imbue ''Nosferatu'' with

hermetic Hermetic or related forms may refer to: * of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes * of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth ** , the ancient and m ...

and mystical undertones.Tobias Churton. ''The Beast in Berlin: Art, Sex and Magick in the Weimar Republic''. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions,2014, p. 68 One example in particular was the cryptic contract that

Count Orlok Count Orlok (german: Graf Orlok), commonly but erroneously known as Nosferatu, is the main antagonist and title character portrayed by German actor Max Schreck (1879–1936) in the silent film ''Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922). He ...

and Knock exchanged, which was filled in

Enochian Enochian ( ) is an occult constructed language — said by its originators to have been received from angels — recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who w ...

, hermetic and

alchemical Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

symbols. Grau was also a strong influence on Orlok's verminous and emaciated look. Grau had originally gotten the idea of shooting a vampire film while serving in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when a Serbian farmer told him that his father was a vampire and one of the

Undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...

. Before Grau and Murnau collaborated on ''Nosferatu'', which was shot in 1921, Grau was planning to create several movies devoted to the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

and supernatural through his studio, Prana Film. Since ''Nosferatu'' was a loose and unauthorized translation of Bram Stoker's ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' Prana had to declare bankruptcy in order to evade infringement lawsuits. This made ''Nosferatu'' its one and only release.

The Weida Conference

In 1925 Grau participated in the Weida Conference, an international meeting of occult leaders at

Hohenleuben Hohenleuben is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 12 km northwest of Greiz, and 19 km south of Gera. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), Hohenleuben was part of the Principality of Reuss-G ...

, along with his lodge secretary Eugen Grosche (Frater Gregorius), Master of the Danzig Lodge, Otto Gebhardi (Frater Ich will), Gebhardi's lover Martha Kuntzel (Soror Ich will es), Heinrich Tranker (as Frater Recnartus, head of the Rosicrucian occult lodge Collegium Pansophicum, aka Pansophic Orient Lodge, Berlin) and his wife Helen, and

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

with his entourage of

Leah Hirsig Leah Hirsig (April 9, 1883 – February 22, 1975) was an American schoolteacher and occultist, notable for her magical record, ''The Magical Record of the Scarlet Woman'', which describes her experiences as a victim of occult writer Aleister Cro ...

, Dorothy Olsen, and Norman Mudd. Grau shot a film of the conference, currently lost. The conference was not a smooth event and Traenker withdrew his support of Crowley. The differences between Traenker and Crowley led to a schism in the Pansophical Lodge between the brothers who disagreed with Crowley and those who accepted Crowley's Law of Thelema, including Gregorius and Grau. Following these differences the Pansophical Lodge would be officially closed in 1926. Those brothers of the Pansophia Lodge who accepted the teachings of Crowley would join Grosche in founding the

. Pacitius (Grau) gave up all his lodge titles, refusing the invitation to head the new order, and left the Master's Chair of the Fraternitas Saturni, Orient Berlin, to Eugen Grosche, who would lead it as Master Gregorius into the new Aquarian/Saturnian age. Grau contributed fascinating, if mathematically obscure, articles on sacred geometry to ''Saturn Gnosis'', the periodical of the Fraternitas Saturni (five issues between July 1928 and March 1930).''The Beast in Berlin: Art, Sex and Magick in the Weimar Republic''. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions,2014, pp72-73. Note: this book reproduces several examples of Grau's occult artwork in full colour (see Plates 15-20) and three in sepia tones, including his portraits of

Henry Cornelius Agrippa Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (; ; 14 September 1486 – 18 February 1535) was a German polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's ''Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' published in 1533 drew ...

and of

Eliphas Levi Eliphaz is one of Esau's sons in the Bible. Eliphaz or Eliphas is also the given name of: * Eliphaz (Job), another person in the Bible * Eliphaz Dow (1705-1755), the first male executed in New Hampshire, for murder * Eliphaz Fay (1797–1854), f ...

Later years

After Fraternitas Saturni was prohibited in 1936 by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime, Albin Grau was threatened with persecution but managed to emigrate to Switzerland. After the war, he returned to Germany and pursued a career in commercial art and lived in the Alpine village of Bayrischzell, Upper Bavaria, until his death in 1971. Bayrischzell honours him to this day.

In popular culture

Albin Grau was one of the main characters in the fictionalized movie account of the filming of ''

'', titled ''

Shadow of the Vampire ''Shadow of the Vampire'' is a 2000 Independent film, independent metacinema, meta historical fiction, period horror comedy film directed by E. Elias Merhige, written by Steven A. Katz, Steven Katz, and starring John Malkovich and Willem Daf ...

'' (2000), directed by American filmmaker E. Elias Merhige. He was played by

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grau, Albin 1884 births 1971 deaths Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Fraternitas Saturni 20th-century German architects German Army personnel of World War I German occultists German production designers Film people from Leipzig