Catacombs nightclub, Ohio

Skeletons in the closets, under the table and, well, everywhere.

Chris Wild

1940

A lady standing above an underground skeleton. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A view showing the brightly light exterior of the Catacombs nightclub. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Located in Columbus, Ohio, Catacombs nightclub was a delightful pocket of horrors. Opened in August 1940 by hotelier Albert Pick, the venue was presented as 300 feet underground. Guests entered by an "elevator" which, while not moving at all, was shaken about so as to appear to descend that distance. Catacombs had a horror theme replete with fake skeletons and mummified bodies in chains. Chains clanked, spider webs hung from the ceiling, the roof dripped, and unseen bodies shrieked and wailed.
Catacombs also featured an aptly named "Nut House," presided over by Marcus the Mad Magician, perpetrating all manner of practical jokes on thrilled patrons. Shortly after the club opened, LIFE magazine sent photographer Ralph Morse to record a typical evening's entertainments.According to LIFE, Catacombs success was "instantaneous and immense."  But that success was short-lived; less than a year later, in July 1941, the club closed. History does not relate why. Catacombs was sealed off for good.

Plaster skulls and skeletons. "Julius" was connected to a record amplifier, and as guests passed he chattered, gibbered, mumbled, shrieked and yelled. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A young man, dressed as a skeleton, posing with plaster skulls and skeletons. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A woman startled at the sight of a skeleton (actually a student from Ohio University). Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A magician pulling a rabbit out of a man's jacket. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A gag waiter cutting the sleeve off a guest's shirt. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A woman throwing the crumbs from the tablecloth onto the floor. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A waitress throwing peanuts into the face of a customer. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A cigarette girl carrying plaster skulls on her tray. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A candle lighting the room filled with plaster skulls. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A woman feeling the skeleton wrapped in tattered burlap. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A woman looking at a plaster skull. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Not all of LIFE's readers enjoyed the article. One wrote in: What type of decadent perverted minds, what sort of people, can find pleasure in mocking the bones of those who have died before them? For they too must pass through the dark gates of Death. Bad taste and sordid vulgarity have reached their nadir in Columbus Ohio.

The keeper of the tombs, in the Chapel of a Thousand Skulls, sitting near a skeleton wrapped in burlap. The skeleton is known as the Guest of Honor. Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images