GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. “SPIRITS with SPIRITS” is a casual gathering of regional ghost hunters and those that just like ghost stories. Open to all, from the curious skeptic to the passionate phantom pursuer. Make friends, and toast a ghost! Let's put the “Boo!” back into “booze.”
All those who attend will receive a free (square) G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have one, please wear it so others can find you, without asking the staff.
THE DATE: June 13th, 2011 (Monday)
THE PLACE: Veranda Bar (Hotel Figueroa)
939 Figueroa Street (Map)
(a couple of blocks from a METRO station)
THE TIME: 8:00pm to 11:00pm
THE GHOSTS:
The Hotel Figueroa is one of the few places downtown that can make one feel that the pessimistic future depicted in the 1980's sci-fi classic BLADE RUNNER might actually come true. With it's elegant, ethnic, and eerie vibe, this historic hotel sits in the shadows of the recently erected glass towers that are covered with tacky neon and billboard-sized TV screens repeating commercials on a loop. One almost expects that film's detective, Rick Deckard, (played by Harrison Ford) to pass through the vintage-looking lobby at any moment, as he searches for renegade androids.
That eternal battle between Man and Machine also seems to play out throughout the hotel and its 13 floors. Legend has it that at times, the electrical appliances and equipment appear to have a mind of their own, lights and TVs turn off and on by themselves, and the elevators travel to floors without be called to do so.
Additionally there seems to be an ominous presence that travels through the halls, some witnesses have even heard footsteps when no one was there. Who (or what) causes this phenomena, no one seems to know.
There have been two tragic deaths that have occurred at this address, as reported by the Los Angeles Times (and perhaps more that went unreported). Both deaths were the result of a guest going to the top of the building, leaping from the fire escape on the back (west) side, and going splat on to the patio that currently is the hotel's Veranda Bar. Interestingly, both cases were declared to be suicides by the police, because both individuals seem to go willingly to meet their maker, although neither left a "suicide note," and both showed no signs of being suicidal. One even jumped half-way through his dinner, as if the idea had suddenly hit him.
Is the weird electro-magnetic energy, causing the machines to malfunction throughout this building, the result of those individuals who took their own lives here? Or, are these strange vibes the actual reason these men did what they did? Modern folklore (and movies) are filled with stories of people going crazy as a result of a "possessed" building. Likewise, experiments have been done that suggest these electro-magnetic anomalies can cause the human brain to act out in unexpected ways, from hallucinations to intense feelings of dread. What causes these anomalies (common in haunted places) to appear outside of a controlled laboratory is still unknown.
Then again, maybe these are just coincidences. Either way, come to the Hotel Figueroa's Veranda Bar and check it out for yourself... if you dare.
http://www.figueroahotel.com/
All those who attend will receive a free (square) G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have one, please wear it so others can find you, without asking the staff.
THE DATE: June 13th, 2011 (Monday)
THE PLACE: Veranda Bar (Hotel Figueroa)
939 Figueroa Street (Map)
(a couple of blocks from a METRO station)
THE TIME: 8:00pm to 11:00pm
THE GHOSTS:
The Hotel Figueroa is one of the few places downtown that can make one feel that the pessimistic future depicted in the 1980's sci-fi classic BLADE RUNNER might actually come true. With it's elegant, ethnic, and eerie vibe, this historic hotel sits in the shadows of the recently erected glass towers that are covered with tacky neon and billboard-sized TV screens repeating commercials on a loop. One almost expects that film's detective, Rick Deckard, (played by Harrison Ford) to pass through the vintage-looking lobby at any moment, as he searches for renegade androids.
That eternal battle between Man and Machine also seems to play out throughout the hotel and its 13 floors. Legend has it that at times, the electrical appliances and equipment appear to have a mind of their own, lights and TVs turn off and on by themselves, and the elevators travel to floors without be called to do so.
Additionally there seems to be an ominous presence that travels through the halls, some witnesses have even heard footsteps when no one was there. Who (or what) causes this phenomena, no one seems to know.
There have been two tragic deaths that have occurred at this address, as reported by the Los Angeles Times (and perhaps more that went unreported). Both deaths were the result of a guest going to the top of the building, leaping from the fire escape on the back (west) side, and going splat on to the patio that currently is the hotel's Veranda Bar. Interestingly, both cases were declared to be suicides by the police, because both individuals seem to go willingly to meet their maker, although neither left a "suicide note," and both showed no signs of being suicidal. One even jumped half-way through his dinner, as if the idea had suddenly hit him.
Is the weird electro-magnetic energy, causing the machines to malfunction throughout this building, the result of those individuals who took their own lives here? Or, are these strange vibes the actual reason these men did what they did? Modern folklore (and movies) are filled with stories of people going crazy as a result of a "possessed" building. Likewise, experiments have been done that suggest these electro-magnetic anomalies can cause the human brain to act out in unexpected ways, from hallucinations to intense feelings of dread. What causes these anomalies (common in haunted places) to appear outside of a controlled laboratory is still unknown.
Then again, maybe these are just coincidences. Either way, come to the Hotel Figueroa's Veranda Bar and check it out for yourself... if you dare.
http://www.figueroahotel.com/
1 comment:
I never been? I want to go. What's it like?
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