The Ghost(s):
"Residual energy" is the term that the ghost-hunting community uses to explain a certain kind of "haunting." The belief is that an intense moment (in a human life) can, whether good or bad, somehow be absorbed (or recorded) by the surrounding environment, and as a result that specific event gets reenacted, over and over, like a scene from a DVD being replayed again and again. In such cases, the spirits seem to have no awareness of the contemporary surroundings, "it" is just doomed to repeat those same actions in a never ending loop.
The Fox Westwood Village Theater (now the Mann Village Theater), built in 1931, is not only one of the best places in the city to experience the magic of the movies (with 1500 seats to choose from), but this monolithic structure that towers over the village may also be one of the best places to experience "residue energy."
Around 10:00am, January 11, 1932, two bandits broke into the lobby with the intention of stealing the theater's weekend receipts. At gun point, they rounded up a janitor, and two delivery men, and mistakenly believing that one of the delivery men was the manager, ordered him to open the safe. When the three hostages eventually convinced the gunmen that they didn't know the combination, they were bound and gagged. The bandits then waited for the real manager to arrive.
As if this attempted robbery wasn't going badly enough, instead of the manager showing up, a police officer wandered in off of the street. A gun-fight erupted, and the officer took two direct hits in the mid-section, and died almost instantly. Outside, a third accomplice (their "get-away driver"), heard the shots and sped away, just as the bandits came running outside (wounded and without the loot). Ironically, the robbery was the driver's idea, and he assured his two buddies it would be extremely quick and easy.
In what turned out to be the unluckiest part of this whole debacle, the officer they had murdered, was an extremely well-beloved detective, who had endeared himself to the Hollywood community when he had (only a couple of years before) walked in on another robbery at the Grauman's Chinese Theater (now the Mann Grauman's Chinese Theater) and apprehended the assailants. As a result of his popularity, many celebrities (including Clark Gable, Tom Mix, and Jimmy Durante) rallied the public against these small time crooks. Thus, after a well publicized man-hunt, capture, and trial, the perpetrators received the death penalty.
Ever since then, every now and then in this historic Westwood landmark, when the theater is "empty," and things are quiet, a member of the staff will hear gunshots, yelling, and commotion coming from the lobby area, as if the events of that day were happening all over again. It seems that even in death those bandits are doomed to repeat the worse day of their lives. Is there a more fitting punishment for their crimes?
http://www.regencymovies.com/main.php?theaterId=27
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...)
