NOTICE: The TV show cancelled their filming at the Forbidden Lounge. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Also GHOULA would like to thank member Bobby G for his suggestion of this alternate location.
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: November 13th, 2012 (Tuesday)
THE PLACE: Bar 107
104 West 4th Street, Downtown LA Map
THE TIME: 8:00pm to ???
THE GHOST(S):
Disneyland's "Main Street, USA" is mysteriously missing a few staples that could be found in any small town. In addition to the absence of a church, Disney's recreated town is also missing a saloon. One would think if a neighborhood bar did exist there, it would most likely be tucked away, down a side street, and decorated with Americana kitsch.
GHOULA would like to think that such a saloon would probably be like Bar 107, which is tucked away, around the corner from Los Angeles' Main Street (a possible inspiration for the theme-park counter-part). Although, this Magic Kingdom connection may seem like a stretch, what other local tavern has an authentic "Welcome to Disneyland" sign, when you pass through the entrance?
Bar 107 (a reference to its address) is on the ground floor of the Barclay Hotel (formerly the Van Nuys Hotel), which first opened January 19th, 1897. As far as anyone can tell the building has always (since day 1) had a bar on their ground floor. Originally, there was the redundantly titled "400 Hundred Saloon," which was notorious for it's "disorderly patrons" and "lewd women" (according to newspaper accounts). In the late 1930's legendary folk hero, Elfego Baca (also the subject of a TV series produced by Walt Disney) held court here, entertaining listeners with his tales and recollections of the Old West.
Naturally, such a colorful location has a colorful ghost (one of many spirits connected to the hotel). Employees and staff of this establishment claim that there are spooky antics afoot in the back room, where the dance floor is located. Phantom hands invisibly grab, push, and pull unsuspecting individuals minding their own business. What makes this phenomena interesting is that they occur in the DJ booth and other elevated areas above the ground floor. Its as if this specter is suspended high in the air and reaches out to anyone that comes up to its level. Why does it hang out up there?
In 1897, during the hotel's first year of operation, a tragic event occurred that resulted in a man's death. A waiter delivering food to a guest's room, stepped on to the elevator at the ground floor. The young ,inexperienced elevator operator took him up to the 3rd floor, and slid open the door. When the elevator continued to move upward (despite the control switch), the operator panicked and jumped off, through the door. The waiter (not knowing how to stop a moving elevator), attempted to follow the operator through the shrinking gap. Unfortunately, the waiter was too late, and his legs got stuck between the floor of the elevator and the top of the door. Both legs snapped, and the elevator continued up, pulling the rest of his body into the elevator shaft. For a couple of moments, he hung by one foot, before he dropped three stories to his death.
Could this saloon's ghost be that ill-fated waiter, who still reaches out for help? Come down to Bar 107, have a drink, and ponder the possibilities.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-107-los-angeles/
(for more ghost stories about this haunted location...)
(to read about last month's haunted location... )
(to see a map of previous SPIRITS with SPIRITS locations... )
GHOST HUNTERS OF URBAN LOS ANGELES
Call for Comic Art Submissions: GHOULA COMIX Issue #3
Deadline: December 31, 2012
GHOULA is seeking contributing comic book artists for issue number three of the Los Angeles Ghost Stories Anthology.
Guidelines are as follows:
· Narrative must take place in Los Angeles County
- Narrative must include a ghost
- Narrative can be fictional or based on local ghost folklore
- Narrative can be any tone (humorous or scary)
- Submit artwork in black and white only
- Submit original artwork or digital files at 300dpi
- Comic Book size: Must fit within 7”Wx10”H
- No limit on # of pages!
GHOULA is dedicated to the preservation of greater L.A.'s rich haunted history, and the promotion and celebration of this local lore through ghostly gatherings, paranormal experiments, and events.
Any money raised through this comic book project will go into the club funds to create other ghost-themed events.
Comic scheduled to be released in 2013!
Contact: Richard Carradine
ghoulahq@live.com
ghoula.org
(to see GHOULA Comix #2...)
(to see GHOULA Comix #1...)
NOTICE: (Added 11/9/12) The TV show cancelled their filming at the Forbidden Lounge. For the new location (and the ghost story) for Tuesday's SPIRITS with SPIRITS click here. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
The Doors at the Doors Workshop (8512 Santa Monica Blvd, WeHo)
"Playful ghosts have interrupted our tour"
-Haunted Mansion, Disneyland
WARNING!:
GHOULA is going to do something a little different this month (we just couldn't resist this unique opportunity). We will do the previously unthinkable, and repeat a popular location from the past, breaking our uninterrupted streak of more than four years of different haunted bars. (Yes, you read that right.)
A TV show will be filming an episode at a local haunted bar, and they have asked GHOULA to be part of the fun. The bar will be closed to the public, and is just opening for our "Spirits with Spirits" meet-up. Thus, feel free to bring any ghost-hunting tools or spirit-communication devices to take advantage of this unique access. A signature alcoholic cocktail will be created by the show just for our group (the production company will also be buying a round of drinks).
So, come out for this special "Best of" edition of "Spirits with Spirits," be on TV, get a free drink, and perhaps even see the ghost of "The Lizard King."
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: November 13th, 2012 (Tuesday)
THE PLACE: Forbidden Lounge
(8512 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood) Map
THE TIME: 8:00pm to ???
PARKING: Free parking at Al and Ed's parking lot.
(Next door on the SW corner of La Cienega and Santa Monica Blvd)
THE GHOST(S):
Near the corner of La Cienega and Santa Monica Blvd, and not far from the hill that local motorists fear, sits what would be a very nondescript building if it weren't oozing with local Rock n' Roll history. Although, this plain building has had many tenants (and colors) over the years, it is perhaps most famous as the (bright yellow) headquarters (and crash pad) of the quintessential L.A. band, "The Doors." From the late 1960's thru the early 1970's, this simple two-story structure was known as "The Doors Workshop."
The upstairs was their offices, where business was conducted and fan mail answered. The ground floor served as their rehearsal space. After a suggestion from a producer at Elektra Sound Studios, the album "L.A. Woman" was recorded in this building to avoid the time pressures of rented studios (between October of 1970 and February of 1971). A few months later on July 3, 1971, Jim Morrison, The Doors' charismatic lead singer (a.k.a. "The Lizard King") died in a bath tub in Paris.
Ever since, legions of devoted fans make pilgrimages to his grave in France on the anniversary of his death, while ghost hunters journey to this West Hollywood restaurant to make contact with his ghost. The fact that most paranormal investigators head to the restroom inside this establishment is no reflection on the cuisine, or an allusion to Morrison death (which occurred in a bathroom), but instead is based on the belief that his spirit is felt strongest in this room. Before becoming a unisex latrine, this small chamber was once the sound booth, where Morrison recorded his vocals. Thus, perhaps his frustrated spirit is still trying to lay down one more track since witnesses claim the room's doorknob will sometimes inexplicably jiggle, as if someone where trying to enter (or exit).
Also, throughout the restaurant, employees have noticed lights that turn on an off by themselves, as well as "phantom footsteps" and drinking glasses that shatter for no apparent reason. (Note: on a recent visit, a member of GHOULA witnessed this phenomena as a water glass that had been set down on a table, suddenly split in half, cracking into two equal-sized pieces.)
Although, his ghost has also been seen in his former Laurel Canyon home over the years, and there have been other ghostly claims from many local bars, clubs, motels, and liquors stores he frequented in this small section of town. In a recent interview, The Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger, while visiting this restaurant to reminisce about the "Doors Workshop" said "His spirit is here for sure!"
http://forbiddenrestaurant.com/
(to read about last month's haunted location... )
(to see a map of previous SPIRITS with SPIRITS locations... )
When: Friday, November 1st (Day of the Dead)
Time: Tours start at 8pm
Meeting Place: The palm tree-lined island in front of Union Station
(800 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012)
Price: FREE TOUR + Metro Day Pass ($6.00)
Please purchase the Metro Pass before the meet-up to save time.
Parking: See below.
NOTE: This encore subway/walking tour will be last tour (at least until next year... maybe), so this may be your only chance to see it. Also, this tour will start an hour later (at 8:00pm), so people can enjoy the Olvera Street "Day of the Dead" procession at 7:00pm (across the street from the meet-up spot). So, come out this Friday for an night of remembering local spirits.
Los Angeles' lore is filled with tales of secret tunnels. Whether its supposed opium dens, rum-running passages, discontinued "Red Car" tunnels, munchkin transports, celebrity/mistress escape routes, or simply chambers belonging to a race of subterranean lizard people, many buildings and homes claimed to be connected to other buildings and homes below street level (if only we could find their openings).
So, is there a better way to explore the haunted history of Los Angeles than by traveling underground from location to location via our very own (dead) Red Line Metro Subway with the other living dead of this city?
We will meet-up at Union Station (the starting point for the Red Line) and then travel through 13 stops to the North Hollywood Station (at the end of the line), getting off and on along the way. In addition to Union Station and the North Hollywood Station, we will stop at few other stations, step off the train, rise to street-level, and discuss the ghosts and haunted sites visible from that spot before going back aboard to the next stop on our tour.
Come out and hear spooky tales about a spirit solider, a vanishing padre, and a ghostly car. As well as many other phantom figures from our past that haunt our present.
Parking: Since everyone participating in the tour will need a Metro Day Pass to ride the subway, it is advisable to park at one of the FREE lots provided by the Metro at either the North Hollywood Station (our end point) or the Universal City Station, and then just take the Subway to Union Station to meet-up with the group (The lots around Union Station are not free and they may close early).
