The Nov.7th Screening

A group of 40 brave people assembled for a rare screening of "House on Haunted Hill" (1999), featuring a fictional Los Angeles based haunted hospital closed because of patient neglect, at an actual Los Angeles based haunted hospital that was closed because of patient neglect. After Sarah Troop (of the Boyle Heights Paranormal Project) gave an amazing lecture of the sorted dark history and ghost lore of this historic structure, a suggestion was made to the audience to look above the screen ever now and then, and scan the dark windows of this foreboding building to see if perhaps you could catch a glimpse of one of the ghosts routinely seen by residents of the neighborhood as the walk past or look out their own windows. At the end of the screening, a couple of movie-goers confessed that they had indeed seen strange activity in a couple of the windows of this locked and empty building. Also on hand, in the event anyone came close to death from fright were the good doctors and nurses from "The Art of Bleeding" with their vintage ambulance parked nearby in case of an emergency.

It's Baaaaaaaack! The Make-Up Screening

Date: November 7th (Sunday)
Time: 8:00pm
Movie: "House on Haunted Hill" (1999)
Location: The Haunted Linda Vista Hospital
610 South Saint Louis Street, Los Angeles (map)

Come out for our last free outdoor-screening of the "Haunted Films at Haunted Places" film series presented by GHOULA and the EPFC Filmmobile, and see "House on Haunted Hill" (1999) at this real haunted hospital (like the one in the movie). Also, hear about this local landmark's dark history (and ghost stories) with special guests, Sarah Troop of The Boyle Heights Paranormal Project and the Art of Bleeding.

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 so beds and bath tubs could be rolled easily from any room to any other room. 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.

This Sunday's movie, "House on Haunted Hill" (1999) is an odd (but fun) remake of the 1959 classic. In addition to adding more blood in the scenes, the producers inexplicably set the story in a hospital on a hill (as opposed to a "house" like the title suggests). Geoffrey Rush (who must reprise the role created by the great Vincent Prince) delivers his own great scenery-chewing performance that surely would make Vincent Price's corpse smile. It is also interesting to note, that this time around the main character designs theme park attractions for a living. Is this a nod to the influence William Castle (the creator of the original "House on Haunted Hill) had on the development of Disneyland (for more info...)

Strangest Ghost Promo of 2010!

Oct. 31st Screening

Thank you all who came out for this special screening of the strangely prescient silent Houdini film about reincarnation. There was a discussion of the local ghosts and dark history of the intersection of Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Lookout Mountain, as well as a brief history of the legends surrounding the "Houdini Mansion" with a recreation of the last official seance to be held to contact Houdini's spirit. At that last seance, a trumpet was set on a table, and the master of ceremonies begged Houdini to sound the horn. At that precise moment a car horn sounded in the distance. Despite this odd coincidence, it was determined that Houdini's spirit was not present, and his wife, Bess, gave up the hunt. After the film, the gathered folks (about 40 people) headed across the street to explore the ruins of the 2 bedroom house where Bess Houdini conducted her many seance's to communicate with here dead husband. Although she tried for ten years, Houdini's secret coded message (agreed upon before his death) never materialized. Likewise, this Halloween night, Houdini's elusive ghost also did not materialize at our screening... although there were many cars that honked as they past. Could it have been him?