The Phantom Hearse Coach Club is one of the more popular clubs in the nation that celebrates the fascination and love of funeral limousines and hearses. It was formed in the spring of 1994 and continues to be a social club in southern California. As a result of its popularity, the magazine Top Gear did an interview with the club a few years ago, but it’s still relevant today. Here are some highlights from that interview.
The Wrong Kind of Attention: The President of the local Los Angeles branch of the Phantom Hearse Coach Club owns a 23-foot Cadillac that bellows as it goes down street. He loves it, but doesn’t love some of the negative attention it sometimes brings. One neighbor even complained to one of his friends that Perrin threatened to kill her and he had a coffin ready for her. Perrin, however, said he never even talked to that particular neighbor.
Terminology: Jeff Perrin is also knows as the Chairman of the Morgue as president of the local branch. Club members also have several names for their hearses, including “stiff shifter,” “terminal taxis,” “check-out chariots” and “coffin carriages.”
International Appeal: The Phantom Hearse Coach Club has chapters in several states and internationally, including Las Vegas, New Orleans and even Australia.
Why Hearse Clubs are so Popular in California: According to member Mark Villarino, hears clubs are more popular in the Golden State because Californians are a “lot less conservative than people from other states.” He also said that hearses in California are in better condition because they don’t go through the extreme weather differences that other states do.
That’s just some of the interesting findings from page one of the interview. We’ll have more fascinating excerpts from the interview in tomorrow’s post.
