Highlights from Oct's SWS

A ghoul time was had by all. It seems when we do these events in hotels, it's hard to gauge how many people attend, since most people want to explore the haunted hotel. One member said that they were part of a small group that sneaked into the basement. When they heard others coming down a corridor, they hid, until they realized the other group also had GHOULA buttons, and had also sneaked down there as well.

A security guard told us a story that he was once walking down a hall on the 11th floor, when he saw an elderly lady slowly walking toward him. Just as they past each other, he decided to see if see needed help, but when he turned around to talk to her, she was gone. The hall was empty. It is also interesting to note, that a young woman just recently fell to her death from the 11th floor.

One of the waitresses also told us that there is a stairway near the pool, where many employees have heard foot steps when no one was there. Thank you all, who came out to the Biltmore, and we'll see you again next 13th.

(to read more about the ghosts of the Biltmore...)

The Great Million Dollar Ghost Hunt!

A special event hosted by GHOULA (Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles) and LAVA Visionary Nick Matonak immediately following the monthly Sunday Salon at Clifton's Cafeteria. To reserve, click this link (reservations are good for one person only-- each person in a group must sign up individually).

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 this is your first ghost hunt, GHOULA wants you!

If you are up for the challenge, come be a part of the biggest "ecto-experiment" ever attempted in Los Angeles (and possibly the world).

On Halloween (Oct. 31st) @ 2:30pm, the doors to the historic, haunted Million Dollar Theater will open, and everyone will have exactly two and a half hours (til 5:00pm), to document anything "out of the ordinary." From electro-magnetic anomalies to shivers down your spine, if you feel it, witness it, or record it, we want to hear about it, and we want to know exactly where it happened. So bring your EMF meters, your EVP recorders, your cameras, or just yourself.

Each participant will receive their own individual map, which will be used to record the location of any "activity." Please keep your info confidential until after the experiment, to discourage copy-cat contamination.The maps will then be returned at the end of the event to GHOULA.



Based on everyone's data, "hot spots" will be determined and posted online. Then, the actual stories associated with this theater's ghost(s) will be revealed, and compared to the collected data. Those that have devices that need time to be reviewed (i.e. digital recorders, infra-red video, etc.) will have one week (til Nov. 7) to report any additional "places of interest" to be included before our big reveal at GHOULA's monthly "Spirits with Spirits" mixer. The results will be posted the next day @ http://www.ghoula.org/.

For this once in a lifetime opportunity to explore this haunted landmark with others from the paranormal community, a $5.00 donation is requested that will go to help preserve Los Angeles' amazing theaters for future generations to enjoy.

This event will also be limited to the first 100 people interested, and the online guest list will be closed at 11am on Sunday, October 31. To reserve, click this link (reservations are good for one person only-- each person in a group must sign up individually). Good luck.

Oct. 10th Screening

The legendary Count Smokula (the vaudevillian vampire) sang soulful songs of his homeland, Smokeslyvania (with his accordion of death), while standing in front of the San Fernando Valley's most famous Gothic castle. His Svengali-like powers were strong that night as the crowd of 40 sang along and clapped into the night. Then, as the gathered phantom fans hushed, the ghost stories of this local landmark were told. Afterward, the movie Haunted Castle was screened in front of an actual haunted castle.

Castle Park may be a place for family fun during the daytime, but late at night, after the park closes, golfers of another kind appear. According to the night shift, most of the paranormal activity occurs along the northern border of the property, parallel with the southern bank of the Los Angeles River. One encounter involved a giggling little boy, playfully hiding and peeking up from behind the bushes (next to the miniature castle) who vanished when told that the park was closed. Other sightings of this mischievous lad have occurred in the Castle's arcade and the restrooms. Also, a woman dressed in black with her head down has been seen near the fake "haunted house" on the 6th hole of course #3 walking along the fence. She then disappears when a flashlight is shined on her. The origin of these ghosts (as past down through the decades) is that one night, while playing a round of mini-golf, a mother and her child met with an unfortunate end (apparently without any of the staff noticing). The next morning, both were found at the bottom of the central pond with head injuries. Whether these deaths were the result of a tragic accident or foul play is still a mystery. Although no one has ever verified this story, the legend still persists to this day. It is also interesting to note that this tale is not unlike the legend of "La Llorona" ("The Weeping Woman"), the ghost of a crying Mexican mother (dressed in black), who wanders the banks of rivers and other bodies of water in the South-Western United States and Mexico, grieving for her own drowned children. Could there be a connection?

For more info about Count Smokula
(or to buy his CD) go to
http://www.countsmokula.com/
(photos by Kristin Bedford)
Ghostswanted: Putt-Putt Poltergeist

(more info on this haunted location)

October's SPIRITS with SPIRITS

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 G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have one, please wear it so others can find you.

THE DATE: October 13th, 2010 (Wednesday)
THE PLACE: Gallery Bar, Biltmore Hotel
(506 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles) Map
THE TIME 8:00pm to 11:00pm

THE GHOST(S):

When the Biltmore Hotel opened in 1923, it was the largest hotel west of the Mississippi. Five years later they expanded, and built the world's largest ballroom. Everything about this place is big and ornate, from the repeating angel motif carved into the moldings (to represent Los Angeles) to the hotel's nautically-themed health club and indoor pool, which was modeled after the decks of the (famously haunted) Queen Mary. Even the ghost stories are numerous and bigger than life.

Most famously the ghost of legendary murder victim, Elizabeth Short (better known as "The Black Dahlia") has been seen (wearing a black dress) through out the lobby, elevators, and halls of this famous hotel. The bar is said to be last last public place she was seen alive.

There is also a lost little girl that has been seen in the lobby, who vanishes into thin air when staff approach her to help.

There are two ghosts trapped in the basement, a young red-haired woman, and a solemn nun, who probably dates back to the late 1800's when St. Vincent's College occupied this land (which later became Loyola Marymount University). Or, could this be two sides of the same ghost? Could the nun actually have red hair under her habit?

The oddest apparition that has been reported in the hotel is that of a well-dressed male phantom that loiters on various floors, but always near an ice machine. When a hotel guest approaches (and steps around the "man") to fill his ice bucket, he will feel a hand slide into his pocket (as if an attempt to steal it contents or "pick-pocket"). Once caught in the act, the phantom man vanishes into thin air.

Additionally, there is a man in a tuxedo that has been seen by bartenders over the years, but only in the reflection of one of the many mirrors in the bar room. When they look at the actual part of the room where he should be standing (or sitting) there is no one, but when they look back at the mirror, there he is.

There have also been reports of knocks coming from inside the walls. Apparently during a renovation, rooms were combined to create larger suites. In such cases, the extra bathrooms were walled in, instead of removed. So, every now and then, someone will hear desperate pounding on the other side, as if someone was trapped inside one of those hidden rooms.

The most well known ghost story amongst the employees is that of "Mrs. Baker," who it is said lived in the hotel for over sixty years. She apparently had a deal with the management, that she would only pay the prices (including all hotel services, food, and even rent) as they were set sixty years previous, when she originally moved in. This agreement was supposedly written into every contract for sale for every subsequent owner of the property. The legend goes that when she was old and senile, a previous owner (who wanted more money for her suite), unceremoniously moved her into retirement home, where she died shortly there after. Ever since then, her elderly ghost continues to occupy her old suite.

Why do so many of the spirits that reside in the hotel seem to be trapped here?

Is it any mystery that when the film Ghostbusters needed a location for the very haunted "Sedgewick Hotel" (the home of "Slimer"), the location mangers turned to the very haunted Biltmore?

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