PALACE'S GHOSTS

WHERE: Palace Theater
(630 S Broadway, Los Angeles) Map
STATUS: Dormant

THE GHOST(S):

Although this theater is probably best known as the one Michael Jackson danced in front of in the Thriller video (before he turned into a werewolf), this movie palace has the distinction of being the oldest movie theater in Los Angeles, as in the oldest theater that showed movies. Since the Palace had an earlier life as a vaudeville theater before being converted to a cinema, it is much older than the other theaters that were build to show movies. Because of this little quirk, it was built in an era before amplified sound, so all seats had to be built within eighty feet of the stage (so patrons could hear the live actors), and thus is one of the more intimate movie palaces downtown. Also, because of this earlier life predating the cinemas as we know them today, it also has a dark secret. It is one of the few building still standing that had a segregated “Negroes Only" balcony (later transformed into a "third class" balcony for the poor) with it's own separate entrance from the side alley, making it impossible from someone in that balcony to mingle with anyone else in the theater.

Needless to say, that ominous third balcony is one of the spiritual "hot spots" of this very haunted theater. People, while standing on the stage, have seen "figures" in the darkness standing in, or walking about, the third balcony (when the only door to that level is locked). Additionally, witnesses have claimed to see a woman on stage walking from center stage to the wings (stage right), and disappearing once backstage. She is said to be dressed in a white (very lacy) gown. Her identity is unknown, but she is believed to be a performer from the days of the vaudeville circuit. It should be pointed out, that she always vanishes at the location of a giant electric transformers used to operate the lights. Perhaps these electric-magnetic fields generated affect the ghost. It is also interesting to note, that the cremated remains of two adults and one child were found in a box in the basement level of the theater. Who these people were, their connection to this theater, or why their ashes were placed there is still a mystery. Could it be related to the woman on the stage, or the people in the balcony? We may never know.

http://www.losangelestheatre.com/downtownpalace.html

If you know of another ghost story (or another version of a story mentioned), or if you have personally experienced something strange at this theater, please leave a comment.

(to read about another haunted theater in the L.A. area...)