Sunday's Secret Screening Location!

Location: Linda Vista Hospital
610 South Saint Louis Street, Los Angeles (map)

Come out for our third free outdoor screening tomorrow (Sun, 0ct 17, @7:30pm) and see "House on Haunted Hill" at this real haunted hospital (like the one in the movie). Also, hear about this local landmark's dark history (and ghost stories) from Sarah Troop of the BHPP (Boyle Heights Paranormal Project).

When this hospital (originally built for Santa Fe Railroad employees) opened in 1904, it may have had a simple design on the outside, but it was all state-of-the-art on the inside. Among the many (then) high-tech gadgets found here were automatic elevators (push-button), automatic fire escapes (using body weight to lower slowly), and automatic wheelchairs (???). Some of the revolutionary design elements used in the construction (and now commonplace) were individually heated/cooled rooms, park lands surrounding the hospital, large interconnected halls on each floor and passages to each building (which created one overall structure), so beds and bath tubs could be rolled easily from any room to any other room. Also, within this maze, the walls were curved at each intersection (to make turning easier for wheel chairs). The Hospital also featured tiled surgical rooms so cleaning could be done simply with a water hose. These features made it the most sanitary and best equipped hospital on the Pacific Coast, and one of the largest hospitals in the country at that time.

Unfortunately, these improvements (as with any hospital) are never enough to keep patients from dying within their walls. In over a hundred years, there has been a lot of death and sadness at this site. So, it is no wonder that just about any kind of paranormal experience that one can imagine has happened within these buildings.

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)