Seance this Sunday!

Forget the Oscars this Sunday, and do what Lincoln would have done if he were around (even if it was only hinted at in the Oscar-nominated movie)...

Go to a seance!

What: Jill Tracy's Musical Seance
Where: Dibble House, Historical Monument 157
3110 North Broadway, Lincoln Heights (map)
When:9pm (Doors open at 8pm)
Admission: Free (suggested donation $10)
Website: http://jilltracy.com/jt/

On June 18, 1896, the usually jovial, soft-spoken Horace P. Dibble went to his job at the Pacific Crockery and Tinware Company. Before the day ended, he stabbed a shipping clerk to death in a violent skuffle. He lived in this odd Queen Anne style house, which is now simply known as Historical Monument 157 in Los Angeles.

Join chanteuse, pianist and storyteller Jill Tracy and violinist Paul Mercer for a very rare evening inside the Dibble House, with a full concert, tales of ghosts, and their acclaimed Musical Seance.

Hailed by LA Weekly as “the cult darling of the Underworld,” Jill Tracy’s dark cinematic elegance pairs with Mercer’s eerie improvisational style which summons the aid of various centuries-old violins and violas. Since joining forces on Halloween 2007, the duo have become widely known for their astonishing channeled duets on piano and violin. The pair affectionately refer to their collaborations as “spontaneous musical combustion.” Their uncanny ability to conjure unsettlingly lavish compositions has led to spellbinding results, transporting the room into “a musical seance.”

Audience members are asked to bring small objects of special significance, such as a photo, talisman, jewelry, toy, token. This is a very crucial part of manifesting the music. Every object holds its story, its spirit. Energy, resonance, impressions from anyone who has ever held the object, to the experiences and emotions passed through it.

The duo have conjured music in such unusual locales as abandoned asylums, caves, haunted castles, decrepit gardens, and were special guests at Anne Rice’s famed Halloween Ball in New Orleans in addition to working on film scores and touring internationally.

For more info...
http://jilltracy.com/jt/

February'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.

NOTE: check the bar's website about details concerning the dress code.

THE DATE: February 13th, 2013 (Wednesday)
THE PLACE:The Edison (at the bottom of the steps)
108 W 2nd St, Downtown,
(enter from the alley behind the building) (map)
THE TIME: 8:00pm - ?
(Happy Hour 5pm - 7pm)

THE GHOST(S):

So, if the popular image of "Heaven" is a peaceful environment high above Earth amongst fluffy white clouds, then it would seem "Hell" is the opposite. One could imagine Satan's domain as a dark, subterranean lair with giant industrial machinery and crowded with the damned (strippers, musicians, posers, etc). Strangely (or maybe not so strangely), this description also matches The Edison (Bar) in the heart of Downtown, under the Higgins Building. As if that weren't enough, the bar, itself, makes subtle allusions and references to Satan, and Satanism.

First of all, the bar's namesake, Thomas Edison, has long been rumored to be a Satanist, and theories of his Satanic connections can be found all over the Internet. Additionally, there is a large mural of Prometheus as one descends into the bar. Prometheus also has connections to Satanism and the Occult. Prometheus (generally depicted holding a torch or fire) in Greek mythology was an immortal that was punished by Zeus for tampering with the humans (possibly making him the inspiration for the Christian "Devil").

Likewise, one of the Devil's nicknames is "Lucifer," which roughly translated means the "bringer of light" not unlike the illuminated Prometheus. It is also thought that animal sacrifices, commonly associated with Satanism, started as a means of worshiping Prometheus (a ritual that Thomas Edison used to record himself doing with the then-new invention, the movie-camera). It should also be no surprise that the Edison Building, a couple of blocks away from this night club, also has artistic renderings of Prometheus at its entrance.

Anecdotally, in 1913, an anonymous prankster, took out an ad falsely announcing that the Higgins building was a refuge for any unwanted cats, a place where they would get good care. In the days that followed, people began dropping these feline creatures off in the lobby, until the building became over run with cats (also an animal associated with the Occult and Satanism).

Even if The Edison (Bar) is a recreation of "Hell," it seems that there is only one soul damned to spend eternity here. The staff says that the spirit of a well-dressed man seems to linger near the restrooms, and is seen most often late at night, after the bar is closed to the public. The identity of this man is a mystery, but there is an often repeated story associated with him. The claim is that before the basement (containing the original 1910 "power apparatus") was converted into a bar, is was flooded with water. When the dirty water was drained, a skeleton was found at the bottom. Were these the remains of the man that haunts the bar? No one knows how long those bones were down there.

So, come out to one of Los Angeles' truly underground bars, have a cocktail, .and check to make sure that well-dressed gentleman standing near you is really there .. if you dare.

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

Highlights from Jan's SWS

Thanks to all those who came out to enjoy Taix's atmosphere as well as their "French Toast" (stand-up comedy night). However, it saddens GHOULA to report that a psychic-healer has announced that she cleansed the restaurant of all spirits recently, so unfortunately (according to her), it is no longer haunted.

However, it must also be noted that she admitted that ghosts can be very tricky, and sometimes they sneak back inside the places, where they have been asked to leave.
So, who knows for sure.

GHOULA would like to believe that Taix's ghost is one of the tricky ones.

(to read about the ghost of Taix...)

January'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: January 13th, 2013 (Sunday)
THE PLACE:Taix (at the bar)
1911 W. Sunset Blvd, Echo Park (map)
THE TIME: 8:00pm - ?
(Kitchen closes at 9pm)

THE GHOST(S):

Taix (pronounced "Tex") first appeared on to GHOULA'S radar a few years ago, when a strange story was reported to us involving mysterious voices heard in the bar area. According to a witness, on one of the nights when live music can be heard in the bar, disembodied, cryptic phrases came out of the speakers, as if someone were whispering into an unseen microphone. Although, the sentence fragments were in whispered tones, those present felt it was a male voice. Everyone just assumed it was interference from a police radio or a walkie-talkie, so the periodical messages were just ignored, while the performers did their best to continue playing. At the end of the night however, when all the sound equipment was off and unplugged, the (unamplified) whispering continued, and sounded like it was coming from within the room (and was not heard outside of the room). Even though a search for the source of the faint whispers commenced, it was never found.

Taix is one of the few local restaurants that GHOULA occasionally get inquires about (When is "Spirits with Spirits" going there?). Even though, GHOULA first heard about it because of the story mentioned, the ghost that everyone knows about is the full-bodied apparition of a man in a white shirt. This male figure is only seen in the kitchen and basement, and is generally seen in the mornings before the restaurant opens. Who this "man" is (or if its the same ghost whispering in the bar) remains a mystery. Who could this ghost that seemingly shows up to work at the start of the day be?

Could it be a member of the Taix Family? This historic restaurant is not only one of the oldest in Los Angeles, it is one of the few in that group that is still owned by the same family. Originally, Taix opened in 1927 at 321 Commercial Street in downtown, when Marius Taix took over a speak-easy, and turned it into a simple restaurant, serving one thing each day, and using long "family-style" tables. These "pot-luck" dinners, where everyone rubbed elbows, was an instant success. In 1963, the next generation opened a second location in Echo Park and called it Les Freres Taix ("The Brothers Taix"), but most called it "The New Taix." Although they denied the new location was part of a plan to move the beloved business out of downtown, within two years the original landmark restaurant was torn down to make way for the Harbor Freeway. Could the ghost be a guardian from the family, keeping an eye on the place?

Maybe its the ghost of Noah Botwin, the man who owned "Botwin's Cafe" at this Echo Park location before the Brothers Taix moved in. Botwin and his restaurant seemed to always be plagued with problems, from expensive battles with unions to a corruption scandal involving pay-offs for an illegal liquor license, so it would kind of make sense that this notorious figure would be cursed to spend eternity here.

Then again, perhaps the spirit is a former employee still reporting to work from beyond the grave. When the new Taix opened, restaurant reporter, Art Ryon wrote that the Echo Park location had young waitresses, instead of the old men at the downtown location. That said, the new location currently has three men who have each worked there for over fifty years. Could the ghost be one of the long line of old men, who have dedicated decades of service toTaix. Or, is it the cursed bartender...

There is a probably apocryphal story of a bartender (in the early 1950s when it was Botwin's Cafe), who bought Mr. Botwin's former car at a cheap price because Botwin felt it was unlucky. Botwin had lost a (then) "20 dollar" gold coin inside the car, and could never find it. Shortly after the bartender bought the car, he drove it off of a bridge and died. It is said that when the tow-ruck lifted the mangled wreck, the gold coin dropped out.

So come out and toast one of Los Angeles' oldest bars, and if you are lucky, and you listen carefully, you may find out who haunts it... if you dare.

http://taixfrench.com/
(to read more about the ghost of this haunted location... )
(to read about last month's haunted location... )
(to see a map of previous SPIRITS with SPIRITS locations... )