February Spirits with Spirits at Traxx Bar in Union Station

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 curios skeptic to the passionate phantom pursuer. Make friends, find ghosts! Come see all the “hot spots” with “cold spots.”

All those who attend will receive a free GHOULA button. If you have already received your button, please wear it so others can find you.

G.H.O.U.L.A. t-shirts will be available for sale. ($10.00 each)

Union Station began receiving trains in 1939, so be a part of its 70 years of history by taking one of the “light rail” (Red, Gold, Blue, or Purple) options to this deco-destination. Besides avoiding traffic, it will spare you any parking headaches.

THE DATE: February 13th, 2009 (Friday)
THE PLACE: TRAXX Bar (Union Station) map
THE TIME: 8pm to the Witching Hour

THE GHOST(S):

In addition to Union Station being one of the few truly iconic landmarks in Los Angeles (with its unique “mission moderne” design), it has also been one of those locations that members have felt GHOULA should explore. Although, several employees of the station (as well as Amtrak employees) have confessed that it is haunted, GHOULA, through research and interviews, could not get any first-hand accounts from witnesses (or even second-hand accounts). No one was willing to discuss who possibly haunts it (one employee said that management told them not to talk about the ghosts). However, even if these unknown ghost stories are just urban legends, it’s one of those places that should be haunted.

For starters, Union Station was built on the site of the bloodiest riot in this city’s history, in which a Chinese gang war erupted in to a lynch mob that spilled into neighboring communities. When the dust settled, fifteen bodies (some accounts claim as many 19) hung from the trees along Los Angeles Street, near where the entrance to the Union Station stands today. As a result, that dirt road was nicknamed “Hangman’s Street.” Although the legends of catacombs discovered during construction (Indian burial sites, Chinese opium dens, “Lizard People” tunnels, etc.) are apparently not true, the many stories of corpses, folded or in pieces, found in luggage at Union Station are true.

The most famous occurrence of trunks dripping blood involved Winnie Ruth Judd, the infamous “Tiger Woman” of Los Angeles (a.k.a. the “Velvet Tigress” to avoid confusion with the two other notorious local killers also given the nickname the “Tiger Woman”). In addition, the murderer of “Lower 13” was arrested on the platforms as he and his slashed victim rolled into Union Station (perhaps on the now-closed track 13, whose walled-in gateway can still be seen).

On top of all of that, the area near Union Station's baggage claim, was at one time this city's "lover's lane," where all kinds of illicit behavior took place. But the most “spirit-inducing” piece of strange history connected to the station doesn’t involve anything scandalous or macabre.

Union Station’s abandon (but preserved) “restaurant” had the good fortune to be designed by visionary architect Mary Jane Colter. Although notable for creating spaces that fuse Spanish and Native-American influences, she was also fascinated with the supernatural. She used to try to build places that felt like they had history, places where ghosts would feel comfortable. Two of her most famous commissions “The Ghost House” and “Phantom Ranch” reflect that spirit. It is not surprising that most of the locations she created have ghost stories attached to them. Thus, maybe the reason why no one will discuss Union Station's spirits is because they are locked up in the room where “ghosts feel comfortable,” and everyone wants them left undisturded.

http://www.traxxrestaurant.com/
(to read more about the ghosts of Union Station...)
(to see last month's SPIRITS with SPIRITS location...)

Highlights from Jan 2009 Spirits with Spirits at Mel's Diner

The spirits were against us. Or were they?

Water, sometimes known for its connection to paranormal activity, was to blame for our disastrous meeting. Due to a busted underground pipe, water service for Hollywood Blvd. was shut off. Musso and Frank’s Grill was forced to cancel dinner service and close their doors. GHOULA marched up and down “the boulevard of broken dreams” for an alternative haunted venue, but all other bars (ghostly or not) in the vicinity were also forced to close as well.

Tired and weary, GHOULA eventually had to settle for Mel’s Diner, located in the historic Max Factor Building and make due with rounds of sodas and milkshakes instead of the traditional cocktails. The strange turn of events however did not dampen the spirits of those that stayed. There were ghost stories a plenty from new members as well as an in depth discussion/debate of the nature of “orbs” in photos.

The surprise guest of the evening was Steve Cohen (pictured above with the "13" tattoo on his wrist), the owner of Larchmont’s Village Pizzeria, who joined our discussion while waiting for a take-out order. It turns out that in addition to his passion for creating great pizza, he also has a passion for the number 13, which seems to invade his life from all angles. So, you can imagine his interest and delight encountering a group of people that meet every 13th of the month.



(to read about the SPIRITS of our intended location...)

January 13th: Spirits with Spirits at Musso & Frank's Grill in Hollywood

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! Come see the “hot spots” with “cold spots.”

All those who attend will receive a free G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you have already received your button, please wear it so others can find you. Also, G.H.O.U.L.A t-shirts will be available for sale. ($10.00 each).

Musso and Frank’s Grill proudly boasts itself as “the oldest restaurant in Hollywood. How old is it? They first opened their doors in 1919, which means this year the restaurant turns 90 years old. So, come out and join GHOULA as we celebrate this local institution’s milestone of achievement.

THE DATE: January 13th, 2008 (Tuesday)
THE PLACE: Musso and Frank's Grill
(6667 Hollywood Blvd.) map
THE TIME: 8pm to the Witching Hour

THE GHOST(S):

Although just about every movie star one can think of (going back to the silent era) has at one time eaten here, and although the restaurant serves some of the best food in this town (especially their world famous flannel cakes), it is neither the celebrities nor the cuisine that has fascinated literate locals for decades.

For some inexplicable reason, writers (for better or worse) have always been drawn to this location. F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, John O’Shea, Dorothy Parker, Dashiel Hammet, Ernest Hemingway, Nathanial West, Bud Schulburg, Jim Thompson, and Charles Bukowski are just some of the writer’s that have been linked to this famous watering hole.

Not only is Musso and Frank’s grill mentioned in Raymond Chandler’s “The Big Sleep,” it is said that the entire book was written between drinks while Chandler sat at the bar (which may explain the famously convoluted nature of his famous mystery novel). So many writers and screenwriters have frequented this place that it is sometimes referred to as “The Algonquin West,” a reference to the east coast’s “Algonquin Round Table” (the center of New York’s literary scene in the 1920s).

Strangely, none of these famous writer’s that ultimately drank their lives away at this location haunt this establishment, instead the ghosts appear to be a collection of famous celebrities that (even more strangely) haunt other local locations as well. The spirits of Errol Flynn (who also haunts his former residence), Lionel Barrymore (who also haunts his former residence), Orson Wells (who also haunts another restaurant in West Hollywood), Carole Lombard (who also haunts the Hotel Roosevelt), and Jean Harlow (who also busily haunts three of her former homes in Beverly Hills) have all been seen at various locations inside this famous upscale eatery.

Apparently, in the after-life, Musso and Frank’s Grill still serves as the “meeting spot” where Hollywood's ecto-elite go to take a break from their normal haunting duties and just relax and mingle with their phantom friends. It’s nice to know that even after death some things never change in Hollywood.

Additionally, there have been rumors that a hidden back room is said to be haunted by spirits connected to an age when that room was supposedly an illegal speak-easy. Interestingly, the restaurant neighboring Musso and Frank's to the West claims that they were the original site of Musso and Frank's before they moved to their current location next door, and as such they claim that their location was where the speak-easy was originally and that it also is haunted by spirits from that age.

http://www.mussoandfrankgrill.com

(to see last month's SPIRITS with SPIRITS location...)

SWS Round Up: Carlito's Way A.K.A. Pair-A-Dice A.K.A. Lucerna A.K.A. The Tender Trap

In one of the most bizarre set of circumstances to date, dedicated GHOULA members, by word of mouth, decided to meet at Carlito's Way Cocktail Lounge in Van Nuys based on local patrons who had captured a series of ghost orbs on the small yet inviting dance floor.

Shortly after introductions were made, GHOULA members discovered that they were in fact in THE TENDER TRAP, the bar which was prominently featured in the film The Twilight Zone (1982), made famous for the tragic decapitation deaths of Vic Morrow (Jennifer Jason Leigh's Father) and two child actors during filming.

Morrow, My-Ca Dinh Le, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen were shooting a scene for the Vietnam sequence; they were running from a pursuing helicopter. The helicopter was flying at a low level when pyrotechnic explosions caused the helicopter to lose control and crash on top of the three. Morrow and Le were both decapitated by the blades; Chen was fatally crushed underneath the helicopter's landing skid. For the full story, click here.

Further conversation revealed Carlito's Way Cocktail Lounge to be the focus of an unsolved America's Most Wanted Crime! In February of 2007, the former owner of the bar, David Weir, shot and killed his girlfriend, and has been on the run ever since. At the time of this death, Carlito's Way was known as LUCERNA. Here is the AMW excerpt:

It was their sophomore year in high school when Victoria Ramirez and David Allen Weir met. While the relationship weathered its share of ups and downs, cops say Weir's drug use and infidelity was finally breaking the pair apart. Victoria told friends that it was over, but before she could break up with Weir, police say he ended things... with murder.

Patrons of the bar told police that the couple was known to argue and fight, sometimes even at Lucerna. On August 5, 2006, the pair arrived for work and alternated between socializing with the bar's patrons and bartending duties. However, it wouldn't be long before casual conversation gave way to another one of the couple's feuds.

Click here for the full story.

LAPD is looking for the public's assistance in locating David Weir. He may be armed and is considered extremely dangerous. Police say Weir was last spotted in San Diego, but since he may have access to his family's fortune, he could be hiding anywhere. So, if you have seen this man, please call John Walsh at 1-800-CRIME-TV.

But back to GHOULA: Guest psychic Lee Barron did sense a death imprint from the seventies on the dance floor adjacent to the dart boards, Mara Holland performed improptu rune readings with great success, and Richard Carradine received first hand accounts (in translation) of La Llorona in which GHOULA members were advised, "If you see her, you better run".

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