Thursday, September 19, 2013

GHOULA CHALLENGE: The Curious Case of the Puzzling Pioneer Cemetery


"Abandoned grave markers. Under huge pepper tree lie remains of some San Fernando Valley pioneers..." ---Photograph caption (December 31, 1947)

GHOULA will be doing its 4th Annual "Haunted Films at Haunted Places" screening at the historic (haunted) San Fernando Valley Pioneer Memorial Cemetery. Since the San Fernando Valley Historical Society has been kind enough to open its graveyard gates to us, GHOULA wants to raise awareness of this important piece of our history, and extend an additional invitation to our members, followers, and friends...

Calling all ghost-hunters, paranormal-investigators, psychics, sensitives, and those interested in getting a glimpse of the "other side." Whether you are acting alone, or in a team, GHOULA wants you! Whether you are a seasoned pro or first-timer,...

GHOULA WANTS YOU!


Date: October 5th (Saturday)
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: San Fernando Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
14451 Bledsoe St, Sylmar (map)

Admission FREE!

The San Fernando Valley Pioneer Cemetery has over 6oo bodies buried there, and only 13 tombstones (and those markers are not necessarily over a body). The last official burial was in 1939, when the owner died (and was buried elsewhere). For the next 19 years, the abandoned graveyard was vandalized, and tombstones were stolen or moved. Not even the cement pathway around the grounds (put in the 1970s) corresponds with the plots, crossing over people's remains. The actual locations of those known to be buried there has been lost. The original boundaries of where the bodies are buried is also up for debate, meaning there could be plots outside the gates.

There are so many questions, mysteries, and legends connected to these hollowed grounds (including tales of a Mexican section, a mass grave for victims of the St. Francis Dam disaster, and an area known as "Baby Land.")... Which brings us to our challenge.

Everyone will have exactly one hour (til 8:00pm), to document anything "out of the ordinary." From electro-magnetic anomalies to shivers down your spine, if you feel it, witness it, or hear it, we want to know about it, and we want to know exactly where it happened. So, bring your EMF meters, your "Spirit Boxes," your cameras, or just yourself, and let your "goose-flesh" guide you.

Each participant will receive their own individual map, which will be used to record the location of any activity, evidence, or "heebee-jeebees." Please keep your info confidential until after the experiment, to discourage copy-cat contamination. Then, at the end of the hour (before the screening), the maps will then be returned to GHOULA.

Based on everyone's data, "hot spots" will be determined and revealed at the end of the screening. The actual stories associated with the graveyard's ghost(s) will be revealed, and compared to the collected data.

(for info about our 4th Annual "Haunted Films at Haunted Places"... )

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