The Curse of The 6 House?

The fatal stabbing possibly caused by a spilled beer is catching a lot of attention, and the Herald's Michele McPhee reported yesterday that Commish Ed Davis wants to close down the South Boston bar where it took place.

The Herald explains that The 6 House used to be Triple O's, where Whitey Bulger – gasp! - nested. Also, City Councilor Bill Linehan's son sustained injuries from a stabbing near The 6 House the night Linehan won his election.

Um, do you guys freak out much? It's called "The 6 House," not "The 666 House." Shutting down a spot where a crime took place isn't going to do anything to stop someone who is in the mood to stab and happened to have a knife handy. The alleged stabber, Bernard Piscopo of Dorchester, turned himself in and has been charged. It's not as if death lurks within the walls of The 6 House.

Yet Peter Gelznis picked up McPhee's baton and ran with it, calling The 6 House a "bucket of blood" and "Whitey Bulger's personal hellhole." Now that is writing at its most gory and juicy!

Gelznis tops himself by calling for an exorcism, and we would pay to see a group of priests standing in front of The 6 House and taking on the demons.

But Gelznis himself says later in the editorial that the bar brawl is now rumored to have started over a woman – not the ghosts of gangsters past.

Gelznis' description of The 6 House is a far cry from one provided by the New Yorker, which outlined the difference between Triple O's and The 6 House: "Now, instead of being known as a convenient drop-off spot for dead bodies, the bar is known as the 6 House, which is the nickname for the local police precinct, and among its customers are scrubbed and well-shaved managers from the Gillette Corporation, whose offices are a few blocks away."

Universal Hub points its readers to Angela, who flat-out calls The 6 House a "yuppie bar."

We understand why some people in the city would freak out, and Boston tends to be sensitive about these sorts of things. (Bombs, Bulgers, you know) But the fact that more than a few assholes have spent time in The 6 House doesn't mean it's cursed. The management could afford to have stricter policies and stronger bouncers, sure, but the whole curse-speak is just glorifying a bloody bar brawl that had an ugly ending and perpetuating a myth of an unchanging South Boston.

Cropped image of The 6 House front from Yelp review.