GHOULA's Annual Report 2015

(Alhambran F.E. Ormsby, creator of the 13 month calendar, 1929)

HAPPY BOOOOOOOOO YEAR!

GHOULA has many great things planned for the upcoming year.

But first, let's take a last look back at 2015.

The question that we were asked most often last year  (as well as in 2014) was "When is SPIRITS with SPIRIT coming back?" So, let's address this first... We took a break from our monthly meet-ups in historic (haunted) bars to concentrate on other events we wanted to do, namely off-beat ghost events that celebrate the twisted history of our city. The temporary hiatus will continue thru 2016, so that we can focus on other events in mind for 2016. This is not the end however, "SPIRITS with SPIRITS" will return, since there are still so many haunted restaurants/bars we haven't been to yet.

The big news of last year was PHANTOSMIA, a collaboration with THE SMELLY VIALS PERFUME CLUB (of The Institute for Art and Olfaction). Since some ghost stories have a smell that accompanies the sighting (like Peg Entwistle’s ghost and her gardenia perfume) or not just a smell (like Orson Welles' phantom cigar smoke), we explored that idea with a celebration of LA's 13 smelliest ghost with kits that contained perfumes that recreate those spooky odors and a map of each location with the fragrant ghost stories.

GHOULA also conducted "Haunted House tours" of the very historic and very haunted Perry Mansion in Heritage Square, where we lead people through this Victorian era house, stopping in the haunted rooms to discuss the ghost stories of the building.

Last April, GHOULA collaborated with our friends at Captured Aural Phantasy Theater to create a tribute to the spooky puppet films of Kevin Mcturk at the world famous (haunted) Bob Baker Marionette Theater (oldest in the U.S.) called "Beneath the STRINGS that Go Bump in the Night."

Also in October, GHOULA (with the EPFC Filmmobile) brought back "Haunted Films in Haunted Places" with a special screening of "NIGHT STALKERS," a documentary about Los Angeles' local Ghost-hunting culture. The Filmmaker, Wayne Poe, was present to answer questions. The screening was held at the East end of Pasadena's (haunted) "Suicide Bridge."

Because of our group's LA-centric interest in the phantom folklore of this city, GHOULA once again participated in Los Angeles' Halloween Convention, ScareLA, where other groups and companies that create spooky content and events in October, got together under one roof to share (and promote) what would be happening in October with each other and the public. It was so much fun, GHOULA plans on returning next year.

GHOULA was also invited to tell ghost stories to our local journalists at the October meeting of the L.A. Press Club.

Last, but not least, last year GHOULA not only brought back its "Haunted Red Line Tour" (which uses the Metro to explore haunted areas of our city) in October, but we expanded it, offering tours throughout the summer as well.

2015 was a great year for GHOULA, and judging from the surprises that are in the works, 2016 will be even better.

PHANTOSMIA: Ghost Stories

PHANTOSMIA: Ghost Stories
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: Thursday, December 10th
Time: party starts at 7pm
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)

NOTE: Re-hosting due to popular demand. Drawing from Ghost Hunters of Urban LA’s extensive research into haunted Los Angeles, Phantosmia is a self-guided tour of the city’s famous and not-so-famous haunts – notable for their paranormal disturbances uniquely driven by scent. 6:30 to 8:30pm, at IAO HQ Pre-Order your kit, map, or just RSVP (Quanitities are very limited)

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.

LAST CALL!

When: Sunday, October 25 (This is the last one until next year))

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).

5th Annual Haunted Films at Haunted Places

It's that time again...

...for our annual "Haunted Films at Haunted Places."

In a partnership with the Echo Park Film Center Filmmobile, we present a free outdoor screening of a horror film at an unusual location that is said to be haunted, and discuss that ghost lore before showing the film. All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Don't forget to bring chairs and flashlights.

Date: October 26th (Monday)
Time: movie starts at 8:00pm
Location: SUICIDE BRIDGE (Colorado St. Bridge)
East end of the bridge at Defenders Park, adjacent to...
1 S. Grand Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105 (Map)
Admission: FREE!
Movie: NIGHT STALKERS (2011)

NIGHT STALKERS is a documentary feature focusing on Southern California's paranormal investigators, and why they hunt ghosts. In addition to featuring several local ghost-hunting teams and haunted locations around town, the movie was granted unprecedented access to the inner-workings of these normally private groups, creating a unique glimpse in to this large nocturnal subculture of our city.  Thus, NIGHT STALKERS is a an insightful time capsule of the paranormal investigation scene in Los Angeles of 2010.

WAYNE POE, the film's director, will be present at the screening for a Q and A afterward.

ALSO: For those interested in learning more about ghost-hunting, a demo and mini ghost-hunt of the haunted bridge will be conducted at 7:00pm (an hour before the movie) by Connor Bright and Scott Marcus from whatsyourghoststory.com.