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I.C.U.
The Peeping Tom of Montreal
By Leonard Calcagno
Published December 2001

Friday Night at 12am at the Carre St-Louis in Montreal:

I meet Denis, a well-dressed 30-year-old who looks like he’s a success. As we exchange salutations and small talk, he asks me if I’m afraid of heights. No problem; we head to the center of town.

As we get near Pine avenue, we climb up a fire escape ladder next to an old British architecture building. After five minutes, we get to the top of the building where a few other buildings connect with each other. We are near McGill University, and the many windows in these buildings are lit up.

Denis: You'll be surprised what you can see in this area. Depending on the month, you'll see some crazy shit. I will never send my kids to university after knowing what these kids do.

Leonardo: What?

Denis: Kids doing drugs, having sex with more than two partners at the same time, going without sleep for some stupid term paper, getting dumped and watching them cry for hours, prostitution. There are battered girlfriends sticking with the same asshole after getting their butt kicked, date rapes, roommates getting robbed by their best friend....you get the idea. What gets me going, though, is naked girls taking a bath, combing their long beautiful hair, cooking, making out with their boyfriends, just being themselves for a couple of hours.

Leonardo: So you’re a hard-core voyeur?

Denis: I love spying on someone’s private life! It's a James Bond thing! I’ve been fascinated by peeping on people since I was a young kid. It gets me high watching people doing their everyday life, but it’s better if they’re naked or having sex.

It’s now 1 am and we are on the roof waiting for anything to happen. Denis pulls my shirt and points to a window where a blond raver-type student has just come in.

Denis: I've been watching her for almost 5 months every two days. When she gets home she checks her answering machine and goes to the shower.

As she gets undressed, Denis is silent watching his free peep show

Leonardo: So what do you do after watching people?

Denis: Nothing. I just watch them. I'm not a perverted voyeur who masturbates or stalks them! I'm not that disturbed!

Leonardo: I know there are voyeur web sites, videos and magazines! Do you contribute to this scene?

Denis: No way. There are limits. I only have taken maybe 10 to 15 pictures in my life, 'cause there were some amazing girls. All those voyeur sites that don't respect people are fucked up and perverted!

Leonardo: Are their any voyeur clubs?

Denis: Sure, but there’s no official club. Voyeurism is illegal by law

Denis points at me to another window, where two guys in underwear are cooking and kissing each other.

Denis: You see those two guys? They’re gay!

Leonardo: So what?

Denis: I know, it doesn't matter that they’re gay. What's funny is that these guys pretend to be friends when their parents visit.

Leonardo: So your voyeurism is pretty innocent? You just like watching people.

Denis: I guess. You must be disappointed. I'm sure you were expecting some freak.

As we go down the fire escape, we head up to Mont-Royal street between Hotel de Ville and St-Laurent. Here houses are glued together with many long alleys in the back. It's almost 2:30 am. We go up an old rusted crooked stairs.

Denis: This is a great spot to see people wasted after they come out of the bars. Alleys are a great spot to have sex, do or buy drugs and puke your heart out. I come here for this Portuguese chick that it's just too beautiful to resist.

Leonardo: Have you taken her picture?

Denis: She is too beautiful.…I think she is a widow. She never invites anybody to her apartment, beside family, and she’s always praying. But she is sooooo beautiful. There’s also those punky bi girls that have wild parties. They sell pot for a living.

Leonardo: What do you do in life?

Denis: I work as a customs agent. I check strange and illegal packages from all over the world coming into Dorval Airport.

Leonardo: So what happens when people see you?

Denis: It depends. Guys want to kick my ass. Some people get turned on. I've had a couple of girls that start masturbating or just open the curtain or window wide open to let me have a better peek. There are many exhibitionists in the city.

Leonardo Calcagno, well know writer in Montreal Canada. He's been writing for local Canadian, Americano and European e-zines and zines in French, Spanish and English for almost 5 years. More known to get hate letters from right-wing housewives and to get into fights with promoters who don't let him interview bands! You will mostly see him eating tofu dogs and drinking Guinness with his laptop in Montreal writing another article about politics, music and sex. Graduated with a bachelor degree in International Politics with a minor on international law... his parents are still wondering why he took on a life of sex writer! Tattooed with Che, Husker Du and ARA! Played chino-Hispanic punk on Les Kalisses D'immigrant, Trash Blues on Les Tetes Reduites and now stoner rock on Your Sister ! He contributes on Freezerbox.com, Kerozen, Indymedia.org, Stooky.com, Eroticandy.com, Biotech Montreal Action, QuebecTel, Zona de Obra and other zines!

For more of Leonardo's work, please visit www.montrealnightguide.com and www.montrealconfidential.com

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