July's SPIRITS with SPIRITS

GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. “SPIRITS with SPIRITS” is a casual social 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 (square) G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have one, please wear it so others can find you, without asking the staff about our group. (i.e. LOOK FOR SOMEONE WITH A GHOULA BUTTON)

THE DATE: July 13th, 2013(Saturday)
THE PLACE: The Bona Vista Lounge (34th floor of the Bonaventure Hotel)
404 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles (Downtown) (Map)
THE TIME: 8:00pm

THE GHOSTS:

Local architectural critic, Edward W. Soja described the post-modern design of the Bonaventure Hotel as "a concentrated representation of the restructured spatiality of the late capitalist city: fragmented and fragmenting, homogeneous and homogenizing, divertingly packaged yet curiously incomprehensible, seemingly open in presenting itself to view but constantly pressing to enclose, to compartmentalize, to circumscribe, to incarcerate." Or, as another local architectural critic, Charles Moore, put it more simply "The place is as frustrating as a Piranesi prison drawing."

It's easy to get lost in this 1970's futuristic downtown landmark with so many identical areas and repeating patterns. The only way out appears to be through the ceiling via the glass elevators. Yes, the elevators are the star attraction of this building (check out the plaques at each identical elevator listing their movie appearances). Some say they were inspired by the (spirit-designed) open-air elevator shafts of the Bradbury Building a couple of blocks away. For others, breaking through the glass ceiling brings to mind the "Wonkavator" from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Their ability to travel along the exterior skin of the hotel (past the windows to the suites) also earned them an entry into the book "L.A. Bizarro" as "L.A.'s Premier Moving Peep Show." We, at GHOULA, prefer to think of these elevators as a metaphor for the ascent to heaven, after one dies. Even the 80's TV show, "It's a Living," (set in the bar on the roof) eludes to life and death in its title.

Speaking of dying and/or being trapped in brutalist prison-like architecture. The Bonaventure Hotel is home to at least one trapped spirit... in the underground parking garage.

Given that Southern California is the car-culture capital of the world, one would think that parking garage ghosts would be more common, and yet this is the only one we have heard about. There is a haunted parking lot a couple of blocks away on Main Street, but this oddly seems to be the only haunted garage. Although, the "darkness" in this dimly-lit space has been attributed to grisly murders that occurred on the 24th floor in 1979, involving bodies being chopped into pieces with a meat cleaver, there is another possible explanation for the Bonaventure's underground ghost...

The hotel sits on top of Los Angeles' original subway route, a portion of a Pacific Electric "Red Car" line that went underground. During the hotel's construction, the old subway tunnel was caved-in to build the foundation (and parking garage). However, a section of that original tunnel still exists, starting from the Subway Terminal Building (417 South Hill Street) and ending at the Bonaventure. Hidden from the public, this tunnel can be accessed from the Terminal Building and from the nearby Biltmore Hotel. Those that have entered this forgotten corridor have claimed to have seen a little red-hared girl, maybe 7 years old. No one knows her identity or why she wanders these tracks. According to local lore, those that have seen this little girl are so frightened by the sight that they mark the spot where they saw her (with a spray-painted cross) to warn others. Supposedly, this otherwise empty tunnel is filled with painted crosses, lining the walls.

Could the "presence" that frightens garage attendants be the ghost of this frustrated redhead, forever sealed into that abandoned tunnel, her own underground tomb?

Come out to LA's largest hotel (over 1300 rooms), and drink a toast to LA's scariest readhead... if you dare.

(for more info about this ghost, check out "Gourmet Ghosts" by James Bartlett...)

(to read about more ghosts of this bar... )
(to read about last month's haunted location... )
(to see a map of previous SPIRITS with SPIRITS locations... )

(to see more photos of the old subway... http://io9.com/5912316/shadowy-scenes-from-the-abandoned-los-angeles-subway-system)

STRINGS That Go Bump in the Night!

GHOULA presents...
STRINGS That Go Bump in the Night!
An evening of movies, marionettes, and the macabre.

THE DATE: August 17th, 2013 (Saturday)
THE PLACE: The Bob Baker Marionette Theater
1345 W 1st St Los Angeles, CA 90026 (Downtown) (map)
THE TIME: 7:30pm - 9:30
ADMISSION: ALL SEATS ARE $13 (for ticket info...)
All proceeds go to the preservation of the Bob Baker Marionettes.

This is your chance to see a killer double bill of macabre marionette movies on a big screen in an actual haunted marionette theater (before it possibly closes its doors forever)...

THE NARRATIVE OF VICTOR KARLOCH (2012, 15 mins.) is a Victorian ghost story puppet short film that utilizes 30 inch tall rod puppets, traditional shadow puppetry, rotoscope and rear projection to present the adventure of Victor Karloch, an alchemist, scholar, and ghost hunter, as he battles the supernatural forces of the Unknown.

BLUEBEARD (1944, 70 mins.) with its tagline "The most sinister love story ever told!" this cult classic (starring John Carradine) tells the tale of a 19th-century Parisian puppeteer/serial killer, who murders every woman he employs. This film was not only John Carradine's favorite movie, but it also a favorite of the legendary Bob Baker, who did the puppets and the puppetry seen in the film.

Plus... a LIVE horror-themed marionette performance by master puppeteer Eli Presser,
and...a few surprises and special guests...

Please come out to this enchanted oasis (while it lasts) that has been entertaining the children (and adults) of our city for over fifty years, for this rare spooky night-time event that tempts the spirits... if you dare.

THE BOB BAKER MARIONETTE THEATER'S GHOST(S):

Although people generally associate ghosts with violent/sudden deaths, there are many other theories as to why a ghost will haunt a certain location. Some believe that spirits will return to places that (in life) gave them great pleasure, or perhaps sites where (in life) much time was spent. There is also a theory that confused ghosts sometimes seek out humanoid objects to possess like wax figures, mannequins, or dolls, and thus gravitate to spots where these objects can be found (old wax museums, children's bedroom's, etc.)

So, naturally (or super-naturally) the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, the oldest continuously-operating puppet theater in the United States, is said to have a phantom of a former puppeteer lingering around (seen by staff), watching the staff from his favorite seat on the east side of the theater (last row against the wall, three seats from the aisle). Perhaps he just doesn't want to leave this happy place, or maybe he just likes being around puppets. Additionally, he is seen in the backstage area. On the wings (on the West side of the building), there are mirrors so that performers can check their puppets, or practice moves. While doing this, they will see the ghostly puppeteer (in the mirror's reflection) watching them.  When they turn around, no one is there. Plus, whenever something goes wrong during a performance such as a string breaking or a set falling, it's always blamed on the resident spook, presumably unhappy about something in the show.

In ancient times, the "illusion of life" created by marionettes was thought to be work of other-worldly forces. Who knows, maybe this resident "ex-puppeteer" still lends a hand during performances, animating the inanimate objects, and making them move in realistic ways. Is it possible that old habits die hard,... even if the ghost didn't?

(for ticket info...)

June's SPIRITS with SPIRITS

GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. “SPIRITS with SPIRITS” is a casual social 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 (square) G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have one, please wear it so others can find you, without asking the staff about our group.

THE DATE: June 13th, 2013 (Thursday)
THE PLACE: Ray's and Stark Bar (LACMA)
5905 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles (Behind the "Urban Light" pictured above) (Map)
THE TIME: 8:00pm to 11:00pm

THE GHOSTS:

Part of GHOULA's mission statement concerns the preservation of greater L.A.'s rich haunted history, so we feel its necessary to document some ghost stories of a local landmark that is soon to be demolished, and erased from our local landscape.

Granted, the section of Whilshire Blvd's "Miracle Mile," which is home to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) could spontaneously explode at any moment, reducing all eight buildings into rubble, thanks to the flammable methane gas trapped underground that sometimes bubbles up into the adjacent tar pits. (This happened to another nearby building in 1985.) LACMA's can't wait that long to get rid of a few structures.

Last month, LACMA announced they will tear down the last of the beige buildings from its original 1965, Pereia-designed complex to make way for a whole new thematic museum campus that resembles the black pools of death that made its location famous. Just as the redundantly titled "La Brea Tar Pits (which gets even more redundant when people say "The La Brea Tar Pits") has preserved specimens from the Ice Age that fatally mistook the pits for water holes, one hopes that some of the folklore surrounding this local institution will also be preserved...

The old Ahmanson Building (which towers above Ray's and Stark Bar), has a haunted floor... the 3rd floor. It is said that the staff does not like to be up there after hours. People have seen a ghostly woman in a white dress with a long train of fabric following her as she wanders the rooms, or they just see the end trail of fabric, slowly moving along the floor, disappearing around a corner (and when they look around the corner no one is there).

Some also claim that the statue on the East side of the elevators will move when viewed in the reflection of an nearby antique mirror. The elevators, themselves, also seem to have minds of their own and always go to (or stop on) that floor on their own. So, one working alone on that floor will continually see the doors opening and closing, accompanied by the announcing bell. Most believe the strange happenings are more likely to be connected to the very old/ancient artifacts on display than to the building itself (so, maybe the ghosts will follow the objects to the new building).

The oddest story GHOULA heard about the third floor comes from a security guard, who said on his first day on the job (before he knew the floor's reputation), he was stationed in front of the bank of elevators on the 3rd floor, with the instructions to make sure people from a private party on the ground floor didn't wander on to that floor. At one point he saw his manager walk past him and down the hall into a darkened room (oddly the only room with no lights on).

Although there are many emergency exits (with stair wells) on that floor, the only way to exit that floor without setting off an alarm are the elevators or the stairs next to the elevators, where the guard stood. So, after a long stretch of time had occurred and the manager had not emerged from the darkened room, he decided to investigate.

The guard said that as he stepped into the darkness, he felt a chill that caused him to step back into the light. Thinking that his imagination was playing tricks on him (especially with all the creepy religious art on the walls), he laughed and proceeded into the darkness. Not only had his manager disappeared, but as he was leaving the space he felt two invisible hands push him out of the room.

Strangely, that manager didn't show up for work the next day or any other day after that. That incident on the 3rd floor was the last sighting of him. It was assumed he quit without telling anyone,... but who knows.

Also, in the Leo S. Bing Theater in the Bing Building on the East side of the campus, some museum staff claim to have seen the phantom of an elderly woman who sits in the back SW corner of the auditorium, who also vanishes into thin air when approached. Perhaps she is a former patron of LACMA's senior matinees.

Additionally, there are possibly as many as three other ghosts that roam this square block that luckily will not be threaten by the wrecking ball...

It is rumored that LACMA West's 1939 art deco building (formerly the May Co.) is the home to a couple of spirits, and by "couple," we mean married ghosts (husband and wife).

The legend is that back in the days when it was a department store, there was a pink restaurant/tea room for customers upstairs with a view of the city (the windows can still be seen from Fairfax Ave.), one day while a Culver City woman was playing card games with friends over snacks, her husband stormed in, pulled out a gun and shot her at point blank range just before turning the gun on himself. Supposedly, the other women present at the table, as well as other regular card players, later asked the police if they could go back into the crime scene to finish their game. This story is so widely told that it is even on LACMA's website.

Lastly, there are the disembodied screams heard from the park late at night, where the tar bubbles up that are believed to be the death cries of the "La Brea Woman," the victim of Los Angeles' oldest unsolved murder case (nine thousand years old).

So, come out to this outdoor bar in LA's  deadliest city park, and have a drink on the sight where millions of living creatures met their death attempting to have a drink... if you dare.

(to read about last month's haunted location... )
(to see a map of previous SPIRITS with SPIRITS locations... )

Local Ghost Film at LA Film FEST

Delivery
The Beyond

(USA, 2013, 87 mins, HDCam)

World Premiere!

Tue, Jun 18th 9:50pm
 American Airlines Theatre/Regal 11

Tue, Jun 21st 7:30pm
American Airlines Theatre/Regal 11

Regal Cinemas 10
(for more info... )

 

Directed By: Brian Netto

Producer: Adam Schindler
Screenwriters: Brian Netto, Adam Schindler
Cinematographer: Andy Bates
Editors: Adam Schindler, Brian Netto, Andy Bates
Cast: Laurel Vail, Danny Barclay, Rob Cobuzio
Music: Daniel Cossu

In this unnerving chiller, Kyle and Rachel Massy are a young couple who have agreed to document their first pregnancy for a reality show. During the production and after moving to a new home, a series of unexplained phenomena start plaguing the couple, eventually derailing the production of the show. Rachel, growing increasingly paranoid, starts to believe that there might be something seriously wrong with their unborn bundle of joy.

Told through the show's un-aired footage and interviews from friends, family and production members, Brian Netto's savvy debut feature injects the found footage genre with a fresh perspective and enough eeriness to keep you on the edge of your seat.