GHOULA's Haunted Red Line Tour

When: October 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th,
(Every Sunday in October)

Time: Tours start at 7pm
(Except on Oct 13th, when the tour will start at 5pm to accommodate "SPIRITS with SPIRITS" that evening, which will be in North Hollywood at the end point of the tour)

Meeting Place: The palm tree-lined island in front of Union Station
800 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (map)

Price: FREE TOUR + Metro Day Pass ($5.00)
Please purchase the Metro Pass before the meet-up to save time.

Parking: See below.

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 expensive and they may close early).

The RETURN of STRINGS That Go Bump in the Night!

GHOULA presents...
The RETURN of
STRINGS That Go Bump in the Night!
An ALL NEW evening of movies, marionettes, and the mysterious.

THE DATE: October 12th, 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 may be your last chance to see more macabre marionette movies on a big screen in an actual haunted marionette theater (before it possibly closes its doors forever)...

Because of a copyright/legal issue, GHOULA can not advertise the main feature film. Trust us, it's a good one that rarely gets screened. Hint: It is a twisted movie from the 1970's that features the puppetry and designs of Bob Baker (pictured above).

Like our previous "STRINGS That Go Bump in the Night," there will be a LIVE horror-themed marionette performance by master puppeteer Eli Presser, a spooky performance from the Bob Baker Marionettes, 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...)

ALMAS: Voices of the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery

NOTE: This is not a GHOULA event. This is a ghost-themed event that GHOULA feels its members will enjoy.

San Fernando Valley Historical Society and
LA Mission College Drama Club present:

Voices of the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
ALMAS
A Day of the Dead Celebration

Historical Re-enactments and Phantasmagorical Installations.
A fund-raiser to restore tombstones and preserve history.

DATE: OCT 25,26, NOV 1,2
TIME: 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm, Midnight
WHERE: San Fernando Valley pioneer Memorial Cemetery (map)
ADMISSION : $15 (in advance) $20 (at the gate)

http://tinyurl.com/pioneervoices (tickets)
http://tinyurl.com/voicesyalmas (donations)
www.voicesofpioneercemetery.com (info)

August'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: August 13th, 2013 (Tuesday)
THE PLACE: The Hollywood Bowl
2301 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles (Map)
THE TIME: 8:00pm to the witching hour

"Playful ghosts have interrupted our tour"
-Haunted Mansion, Disneyland

NOTICE:
GHOULA is doing something a little different this month (we just couldn't resist this unique opportunity). We have wanted to do a SPIRITS with SPIRITS at the Hollywood Bowl for years, but since it would be hard to coordinate a meet-up there (parking, seating, tickets, etc.), everyone will be on their own for this 13th. So, if you want to go to one of the great outdoor venues in the world and enjoy an evening of death-themed classical music, bring a bottle of wine (preferably from one of California's haunted vineyards), and go to the Bowl on Tuesday to see Verdi's Requiem. (the same spooky show will repeat on Thursday). Otherwise we will see you all next month on a special Friday the 13th edition of SPIRITS with SPIRITS.

THE GHOSTS:

Despite Hollywood's elite shelling out big dough to sit up front near the "shell," GHOULA believes the best seats at the Hollywood Bowl are the ones at the far back, and as high up as you can go (sections V, W, and X). The reasons for this are many. The seats are cheaper. The atmosphere is more casual and laid back. The sound is said to be better given the natural acoustics of the sloping terrain (the reason the Bowl is there). The view of the Hollywood sign and the city is great (which can't be seen from the expensive seats). But, the best reason of all is the "nose-bleed" seats are said to be haunted...

It has been said that late at night, after the concerts, and after the patrons have left, staff members (clean-up crews or security) will see a man sitting alone on a bench at the far end of the Bowl, and naturally according to the tale... when that staff member makes the trek up there to tell the person to go home, the man vanishes into thin air.

Who this spirit is, and why he haunts the top of the hill is a mystery. But what makes him interesting is the possibility that this male apparition may be connected to the Hollywood Bowl's greatest mystery... The Curse of the Cahuenga Pass.

Back in the days before "Hollywood," when the area was just known as the "Cactus Patch," a poor Mexican sheepherder buried a cache of stolen gold and jewelry in the Cahuenga Pass. The only reference points to the location of this hidden treasure is that it was up a hill above a tavern (roughly located where Highland Ave meets the 101), and it was buried in six hole all equidistant from a "Fresno Tree" (also known a Western Ash Tree).

The circumstances behind how this traveling peasant was in the possession of this great wealth is a long and complicated story, and the details can be read about elsewhere on the Internet, or in historian Horace Bell's "On the Old West Coast." However, simply put, the gold and jewelry were stolen from churches in Mexico during military campaigns, and then went through a series of hands (all of whom died under mysterious circumstances) until it was buried in the Cahuenga Pass. It is said that all those that either seek or handle these riches meet an untimely end. The lonely sheepherder, himself, revealed what little info we have on his death bed. Since then, a few others have searched for this treasure, and have met tragic fates before they could enjoy the spoils.

The most colorful legend connected to the curse is that a Basque farmer accidentally discovered one of the packages of gold, and split town. Fearful that someone may rob him, he had secret pockets sewn into his clothes, that equally distributed the jewelry and gold coins all over his body. As he stood against the rail of a steamship as it approached Spain, he accidentally fell overboard, and because of the weight of all the booty in his suit, he sank like a rock and drowned.

Many believe the location of the buried treasure is where the Hollywood Bowl is today. Is it possible that the "X section" marks the spot? Could this male ghost at the top of the hill be one of the many victims of this legendary treasure?

Incidentally, this land was once owned by "Greek George," who is most famous for harboring the notorious bandit (and possible inspiration for "Zorro") Tiburco Vasquez when he was captured and hanged. Did Vasquez hide in this area as well as some believe? Could this site possibly be one of the many places supposedly where Vasquez hid his stolen gold? What are the chances that two famous lost treasures are buried under the Hollywood Bowl? Maybe the ghost is Vasquez?

Additionally, it has been said that on nights when the Bowl was empty, the noted (and notorious)actor John Barrymore, used the deserted seats as his secret drinking spot. His chronic alcoholism most likely led to his death in 1942. Could his ghost be the man seated alone?

So, come out to picnic and enjoy the music at the site once known as "Magic Valley," because of its strange acoustic quality that causes even whispers spoken dozens of yards away to seem as if they were disembodied voices whispering in your ear... If you dare.

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