June Spirits with Spirits Event Summary: Hotel Roosevelt

Here are some of the breaking headlines from last Friday nights “Spirits with Spirits” at the famous Roosevelt Hotel…

THE MARILYN MONROE MIRROR IS GONE!

Perhaps the most famous “haunted” mirror in the world has been removed from its usual location in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel.

Tourists and “Marilynites” are now greeted by an empty wall, where once hung the mirror that was used in Marilyn Monroe’s private poolside suite.

Not too long ago, one could stare into the same mirror that Marilyn would gaze into, and possibly see Marilyn, herself, staring back in the reflection.

A representative of the hotel has assured GHOULA that the famous mirror will return to its proper location once the hotel has finished remodeling the lobby. In the meantime, it has been safely stored with other items from the hotel’s art collection.

NEW GHOST DISCOVERED IN HOTEL’S BASEMENT

While wandering around the Roosevelt Hotels public spaces, Psychic Lee Barron picked up a lot of unusual but unfocused energy like orbs and a blue cloud in the Ballroom. Then, he came upon an empty hallway directly below the famous haunted lobby, and in that darkened space, the energy intensified revealing a new ghost. Psychic Lee Barron reports that it was an apparition of a man wearing a janitor-like uniform and holding a mop.

Although, Psychic Lee Barron sensed the male spirit toiled for many years in the hotel, its energy was contended as if, in life, this janitor enjoyed his job, and his role in keeping this historic hotel looking beautiful. Perhaps, this ghost lingers to keep a watchful eye on his fellow staff as they maintain the hotel’s high standards.

Note the ghost orbs in the foreground to the left side of the old service hallway beneath the glowing red light. Using flash photography with a standard digital camera, three orbs are clearly visible. Below is the same point of view photographed without flash.

NEW GHOST THEORY REVEALED

Mrs. Carradine discussed her new “Energy-Transference Theory” that answers the question that has troubled Ghost-hunters for the last two-hundred years.

“Why do ghost wear clothes?”

More specifically, how can the spirit realm be inhabited by inanimate objects, or in other words, how can you have ghosts of things that had no “life force” to begin with? How are things like ghost ships or phantom carriages possible? This question was first asked by Frederic W.H. Myers in Phantasms of the Living (1886) and to this day, debate rages on. Until now?

Mrs. Carradine’s solution is very simple and straight forward. All objects, no matter how “inanimate,” are made of energy. At their core, they still have electrons swirling around (and perhaps even vibrating strings at the sub-sub-sub atomic level). Since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and it can only be transferred, it is therefore possible that “inanimate” objects can “absorb” some of that “life force” from humans (i.e. the uniform and sword of a soldier will also carry that same emotional residue of that tormented the soldier, himself.)

NEXT HAUNTED LOCATION
FOR “SPIRITS WITH SPIRTS” ANNOUNCED!

July 13, 2008
El Compadre Restaurant
7408 W. Sunset Blvd.
Full event info to be posted on July 1st.

Thanks to everyone who attended a wonderful event. The handmade Victorian-era scrying tool pictured above will soon be available exclusively in the GHOULA online store. See you soon!

(to read about the SPIRITS of this location...)

Spirits with Spirits: June 13th, 2008

GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. Spirits with Spirits is a casual gathering of regional ghost hunters. Open to all, from the curious skeptic to the passionate phantom pursuer. Make friends, find ghosts!

THE DATE: June 13th, 2008 (Friday the 13TH)
THE PLACE: The Library Bar (located in the haunted lobby of the Hotel Roosevelt) map

THE GHOSTS:

This hotel is as famous for the list of celebrities who have stayed there, as it is for the ghosts that continue to stay there, including a couple of celebrities who are also ghosts (or vice-versa). Most famously, Marilyn Monroe is said to haunt a mirror that hangs in the lobby near the elevators. Witnesses have claimed to have seen her phantom reflection smiling back at them. Legend has it that the mirror was one of her favorite possessions in her private poolside suite.

The lobby is also the home for two other ghosts. First, there is the unidentified “man in white” who walks along the mezzanine level of the lobby, eventually disappearing as he steps through the solid, locked doors on the north-east corner of the building... Many believe he is connected to the first Academy Award ceremony, which was held in that room. Perhaps, he is a forgotten celebrity from the silent era of movies.

Second, there is the ghost of a little girl seen playing in the lobby who is solid as can be one second, only to vanish into thin air the next. Could this be the ghost of Shirley Temple, who used to practice her dance routines in this very space?

Also, haunting this famous Hollywood landmark is Marilyn Monroe’s co-star from her last completed movie, Montgomery Clift, who is said to occupy Room 928. Over the years, people have claimed to have heard him pacing and practicing the trumpet (for his role in “From here to Eternity”). Some even believe the dark shadows seen moving in that hall are connected to his troubled spirit.

Other celebrity ghostly guests seen over the years include Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, and Harry Lee (who committed suicide by jumping of a fire escape). Maintenance workers, while on the rooftop, have felt invisible hands pushing them towards the edge. Could this energy by connected to Harry Lee's death? Perhaps, he was pushed, and his spirit will not rest until the true cause of his death is known.

In addition to those celebrity guests, Housekeeping and patrons have reported voices from empty halls and vacant rooms. Lights turning on and off by themselves, phone receivers that would lift from their cradles by an unseen force, telephones from vacant rooms calling the front desk, bedspreads that move off the beds, a typewriter in an office that types by itself, cold spots in the ballroom, and even one housekeeper that was shoved into a supply closet by invisible hands. Could this be the handy work of other temperamental stars that need attention? What ever the answer, one thing is for sure… The Hotel Roosevelt provides the best accommodations for ghosts with discerning tastes.

It is also worth noting, that across the street from the Hotel, at the world famous “Chinese Theater,” the ghost of TV star, Victor Killian, has been seen strolling along the side walk. It is said, that in death, he is repeating that last walk from the Roosevelt’s bar (his regular hang-out) to his Hollywood apartment, where he was murdered.