Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles

Monday, September 28, 2015

ALL A-BOOOO-OARD!

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When: October 4th, October 11th, October 18th, October 25
(Each SUNDAY in October)

Time: Tour starts at 6 pm (tour is about 3 hours)

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

Price: FREE (donation-based) Tour
NOTE: Each person will need to purchase a Metro "Day Pass" ($7 + $1 "Tap Card"). Please purchase the Metro Pass (not a "Metrolink" ticket) before the meet-up to save time. The machines can be confusing, so look for metro "day fare" and not "add fare."

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 claim 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.

(see a review of this tour here...)

Parking: Since everyone on 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 (map), or the Universal City Station (or any of the other free lots on connecting Metro lines), and then just take the Subway to Union Station to meet-up with the group (The lots around Union Station are expensive and may close early).

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Hunt Ghosts with Your Nose!

PHANTOSMIA
AN HISTORIC GUIDE TO THE AROMATIC APPARITIONS IN LA

(presented by GHOULA and the Institute for Art and Olfaction’s Smelly Vials Perfume Club)

Date: Saturday, October 3rd
Time: Kick-off party starts at 5pm
Location: The Institute for Art and Olfaction
932 Chung King Road, LA CA 90012 (map)
Admsission: The Party is FREE! (to RSVP click here)
Limited Edition "Phantosmia Maps" are $5 (see below)
"Ghost Smell Kits" are $60 (see below)

This is one of our most unusual ghostly events. Its a unique self-guided tour of local sites that are haunted by SMELL. So, come to the kick-off party and get a "Phantosmia Map" (and a "Ghost Smell Kit"), so you can go off on your own para-aroma adventure as we recreate the odors of 13 SMELLY GHOSTS !

"Phantosmia" (făn-tŏs′mē-ă) is the perception of an odor when no physical source is present, a phantom smell (also known as "clairscent"). Yes, with some ghost stories, in certain locations, people not only claim to see "something," but they may also smell "something" associated with that spirit. Furthermore, there are psychics that can smell a victim's perfume, and get "readings" of the crime, or be able to locate the body. Now, its time to put your abilities to the test...

What will you conjure up when exposed to the specific scents associated with these local spirits? From Peg Entwistle’s sweet gardenia perfume floating inexplicably around the Hollywood sign to the phantom smell of Rudolph Valentino’s horse, these ghost smells are sensorial reminders of the lurid, turbulent and baroque history of this City of Angels; where dreams come to be born and – just as often – die terrible, lonely and often painful deaths.

On October 3rd, 2015, join us for the kick-off party for our self-guided tour. At this "scent event," you will be able to purchase the limited edition "Phantosmia Map" and the "Ghost Smell Kits," or you can buy now (in case the limited quantities sell out). Then, at your leisure, you can explore the city’s famous and not-so-famous haunts – notable for their paranormal disturbances uniquely driven by scent.

The Limited Edition "Phantosmia Maps" designed by Micah Hahn (http://www.allies.la/) are $5 (while supplies last), and fold-out to reveal our guide to 13 aromatic apparitions of LA, with the locations and stories related to the hauntings.

The "Ghost Smell Kits" are $60 (while supplies last), containing thirteen ghostly scents created by The Smelly Viles Perfume Club in 3ml spray bottles (one for each stop on the self-guided tour) and the limited edition fold-out map to the locations with stories related to the hauntings, and a few extra goodies. (only a limited number of the kits were made, so if interested, get it now, before they are all gone).

As part of the project, guests are invited to visit each location on their own, experience the space with their haunted smells and collect a rubbing from the Phantosmia marker hidden nearby. Guests who visit all thirteen sites (and have the rubbings to prove it!) will be invited to a special blending session at the IAO, where they will be able to explore their own olfactory version of ghostly LA. experience.

Due to USPS regulations we are unable to ship kits – they are only available for pick-up only.

ABOUT THE SMELLY VIALS PERFUME CLUB Smelly Vials Perfume Club (SVPC) is a collaborative perfume club rooted in an ethos of experimentation, knowledge-sharing and a gonzo approach to creativity and learning. SVPC is a program of The Institute for Art and Olfaction, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. More information

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

4th Annual Peg Entwistle Memorial Hike

HIKE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Due to the high temperatures and limited access, everyone is on their own for this. We recommend that if you plan on going, bring water, and hike with a buddy.

On September 16th, 1932, Peg Entwistle committed suicide by hiking up to the Hollywood sign, and jumping of the "H," not only ensuring her name would live on in infamy, but likewise becoming Hollywood's most famous spirit. Come out and join us for a self-guided hike along that haunted trail to Hollywood's most famous haunted landmark (which celebrates it 92th anniversary this year), and meet-up behind the "H," if you dare...

THE DATE: September 16th, 2015 (Wednesday)
(on the anniversary of her death)
THE PLACE: Behind the "H" of the Hollywood Sign
(Directions to the "H" are below)
THE TIME: 5:00pm - 7:00pm (Sunset)
(meet us at the top)

NOTE: Since everyone goes at their own speed, and everyone will be arriving at different times after work, there is no set meet-up time. We will just be hanging out at the sign during the time mentioned above. The hike is normally about 3-4 miles (round trip) and takes about 1-2 hours (round trip), but see "NOTE" (and updated directions) below. Also, there is no organized paranormal investigation included in this hike, but local ghost-hunters are welcome to bring their own equipment, and investigate on their own if they wish.

THE GHOSTS:

"I was hiking near the Hollywood sign today, and near the bottom I found a woman's shoe and jacket. A little further on I noticed a purse. In it was a suicide note. I looked down the mountain and saw a body...."
--- Anonymous call to the Hollywood Police Station

82 years ago, this September, a sad, depressed, possibly drunk, unemployed actress left her home on Beachwood Drive and started walking up the road to the Hollywood sign. She had been completely cut out of a RKO movie that was to be her big break in Hollywood. On that treacherous hike, that probably took her most of the night, she eventually made it to her destination, the fifty-foot letter "H" at the beginning of the internationally recognized Hollywood sign (then the Hollywoodland Sign). She climbed a ladder that was attached to the backside of the flat metal structure, and leaped to her death once she reached the top. It is thought that she did not die instantly, but instead lingered for hours in the brush below, where her corpse was eventually discovered by hikers. For a short time she was simply known as "The Hollywood Sign Girl," until her published suicide note was recognized by her uncle. Her name was Peg Entwistle.

When people tell her tale, they always point out the ironic twist that occurred shortly after her death, a letter arrived at her address, stating that she had landed the lead role in a high-profile play about a woman who commits suicide. However, there's the bigger (more obvious) irony. This act of desperation over the lack of a show-biz career, ended up making her more famous (or infamous) than any of her working contemporaries. Not everyone can easily name the stars of the early 1930's, but most people know the Hollywood Sign Girl.

Her legend seems to grow with each passing year, and as it does, so do the stories of her restless ghost near the famous landmark. Most people describe her apparition as a young woman dressed in a 1930's style white gown walking along a trail (sometimes dazed). She is most commonly seen by hikers (not unlike those that originally found her body) and dog walkers in the very early or very late hours. Witnesses claim that she is accompanied by the strong scent of the gardenia flower (her favorite perfume). Some accounts even describe her reenacting her final moments stepping off of the top of the "H" only to vanish as she falls. She seems doomed to repeat the last moments of that last night over and over again, just as we also seemed doomed to repeat those last moments with each retelling of her story. (for more info about the ghost of Peg Entwistle...)

NOTE (and updated directions): Because the surrounding neighborhood has complained about traffic, the city might cut off the closest access points to the public trails (even for pedestrians). As a result, you might not be able access the Hollywood Sign from Beachwood Canyon, so please consult a map. It appears the next best way to get to the Hollywood Sign is to follow Canyon Dr. up the hill to the end, and park in the lot (as if you were going to the famous Bronson Cave). That paved road turns into a trail. Follow the trail extension from Canyon Dr up the hill til it dead-ends at the Mulholland Hwy (trail), and go left on this trail as it zigs-zags across the mountains until you get to a split in this trail. Follow the right-side trail that goes up hill (and not the left downward one). Once on that new trail, follow it (going towards the Hollywood sign) until it dead ends at a paved road (Mt. Lee Drive). Turn right on the paved road, seemingly away from the Hollywood sign. The road will take you up the backside of Mt. Lee, offering great views of the San Fernando Valley and Forest Lawn Cemetery, to the top of the mountain and a dramatic reveal of the Hollywood sign, the same view Peg Entwistle had before she jumped (incidentally Peg's studio, RKO, is dead center in this view). Below is a link to a map, which you should study, before going out there, since its very easy to get turned around out there on the trails (and there is limited cell reception up there.) There's another route that's shorter but more difficult... Park on Lake Hollywood Dr. (at Wonder View Dr.). Walk up Wonder View Dr. to Trail Head, and take the "Tree of Life" Trail along the ridgeline to the Hollywood Sign. Again, consult a map before attempting.
(for more info on alternate ways to the Hollywood Sign...)

DIRECTIONS: (See "NOTE" and updated directions above) Follow N. Beachwood Drive up the hill to the end (just before the "Sunset Ranch Hollywood" stables). You'll see cars parked around a trail head, so park anywhere you can. Follow (on foot) the dirt trail up and along the ridge adjacent to the stables. Cell phone reception is not very good up there, so note the directions before you set off on foot. This trail will merge into a larger trail (Mulholland Hwy). Make a hairpin turn left (South-West) on this new trail, and follow it (going towards the Hollywood sign) until it dead ends at a paved road (Mt. Lee Drive). Turn right on the paved road, seemingly away from the Hollywood sign. The road will take you up the backside of Mt. Lee, offering great views of the San Fernando Valley and Forest Lawn, to the top of the mountain and a dramatic reveal of the Hollywood sign, the same view Peg Entwistle had before she jumped (incidentally Peg's studio, RKO, is dead center in this view). Below is a link to a map, which you should study, before going out there, since its very easy to get turned around out there on the trails.

View Larger Map