Disney on Ice! (Day #4 of 13)

Note: This event is part of the "13 Days of Christmas." There will be more events for each day leading up to Christmas, itself. (info @ creepyxmas.com)

Date: December 16 (Thursday)
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: STAPLES Center
1111 S. Figueroa Street (map)
Admission: $16.00 (for the cheap seats)

What do you do the day after Disney died (December 15th)?
You put him on ice, of course!

DISNEY ON ICE: Let's Celebrate!

Ever since these costumed skating shows began touring, people have cracked jokes about the unintentional reference to the urban legend that Walt Disney's body (or maybe just his head) is somewhere (maybe under Disneyland) perfectly preserved, frozen in ice. Now, GHOULA is taking the same cheap shot at (along with some cheap seats to) this ice-tastic spectacle.

Let's Celebrate is a compilation show that is "one big colossal party on ice!" It's a "magical medley of holidays, celebrations, and festivals from around the globe," including a "Winter Wonderland" with Mickey & Minnie, a "Halloween Haunt" with several of the Disney Villains, and Alice's "Very Merry Unbirthday" (for baby Jesus).

Disney's Death Day (Day #3 of 13)

Note: This event is part of the "13 Days of Christmas." There will be more events for each day leading up to Christmas, itself. (info @ creepyxmas.com)

Date: December 15 (the day Disney died in 1966)
Location: Forest Lawn Memorial Park
1712 S. Glendale Avenue (map)
Time: 3:00pm

Warning: Despite this the number of celebrities that are interred here (more than any other cemetery) and their normally tourist-friendly attitude, the management strongly discourages "star gawking," so please keep a low profile, be respectful, follow all their rules, and do not ask about Disney's grave. (below is a map to his plot.)

We will be meeting at the site (map)
of Walt Disney's ...grave? ...marker? ...empty tomb? ...place where everyone claims his remains are kept (despite the popular urban legend that says his deceased body, or maybe just his head, is frozen and locked in a secret chamber under "The Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction). Then, we will informally explore the grounds of what has been lovingly referred to as the "Disneyland of Death" (even back in Disney's time). Like Disneyland, Forest Lawn is divided in to "lands," has story-book architecture, actors portraying historical figures, music from speakers hidden behind bushes, and a steady flow of tourists. Plus, like the real Disneyland, it has many ghosts (according to the numerous EVP's obtained by local ghost hunters.)

In 1912, Hubert Lewright Eaton began working (selling plots) at a dreary grave-yard in the new town of Tropico (now called Glendale). When he came up with the revolutionary idea of selling "before needed" plots (as in buying your own grave while you're still living), he made so much money on his commissions, he was able to buy the place, and become the boss. Which is what he did, because this man had big ideas for this little cemetery. For instance he wanted to remove the sad stigma associated with such monuments of death, so he eliminated the tombstones, recreated famous churches from around the world, installed exact replicas of masterpieces of art, displayed historical artifacts, built auditoriums for shows, and created a souvenir shop. Lastly, he removed the dreaded "c word" (cemetery), and changed the name of this final resting place to the more tourist-friendly "Memorial Park."

Evelyn Waugh's book, "The Loved One" (which later spawned a cult film also called "The Loved One"), lampooned the "death industry" with a fictional cemetery theme park with statues wired for sound, a gift shop with grave-yard post cards, and an actor portraying Abraham Lincoln wandering the grounds (obviously based on Forest Lawn). When the book came out, Eaton was not amused. His "memorial" empire was serious business. So, use this opportunity to come out and visit one of the weirdest (haunted) tourist attractions in Los Angeles (which is really saying something).

P.S. Currently there is an exhibit in their museum featuring the art of Marc Davis, one of Disney's "nine old men," whose concept art was instrumental in the creation of the actual Disneyland.

Holiday Movies @ Haunted Theater (Day #2 of 13)

THE DATE: Tuesday (Dec.14)

THE TIME: 7:30
THE PLACE: The New Beverly Cinema
(7165 W. Beverly Blvd.) map
THE ADMISSION PRICE: $7.00 (for the double feature)

THE MOVIES:
Black Christmas (1974) Trailer
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974) Trailer

To all those who plan to attend this event: If you have a (square) G.H.O.U.L.A. button, please wear it so others can find you.

Note: This event is part of the "13 Days of Christmas." There will be more events for each day leading up to Christmas, itself. (info @ creepyxmas.com)

The New Beverly Cinema is said to be the home of a phantom projectionist, and an audience member apparition... (read more)

December's SPIRITS with SPIRITS (Day #1 of 13)

BOO! BOO! BOOOOOOOO-OWLING!

GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. “SPIRITS with SPIRITS” is a casual 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.

THE DATE: December 13th, 2010 (Monday)
THE PLACE: Where: Pickwick Bowl

1001 Riverside Drive, Burbank (map)
THE TIME: 8:00pm to 11:00pm

Note: This event is the first event in the "13 Days of Christmas." There will be more events for each day (henceforth) leading up to Christmas, itself. (info at creepyxmas.com)

THE GHOST(S):

The recreation center known today as The Pickwick Bowl, in the 1940's, was just a trailer park with a community swimming pool. Despite the innocuous slogan "For 'fun in the sun' meet me at the Pickwick Pool," this small body of water had more than its share of scandal and urban legends. Not only did a "squeaky clean" teen-age celebrity reputedly get caught exposing himself to the other swimmers (leading to his firing at Disney Studios, and essentially the end of his career), but for some strange reason the pool area seemed to attract fatal injuries as children died from drownings and diving board accidents. Safety concerns were most likely the reason the pool was eventually filled in with dirt (creating the Pickwick Gardens). In 1958, construction began on the bowling alleys and adjacent ice rink. However, they may have built over the old "death magnet" at that site, but apparently they didn't get rid out it. Employees have told GHOULA confidentially that the management doesn't want it known (and denies) that many people have died (accidentally) on the ice rink. Strangely, all the death that seems to swarm around the premises has nothing to do with Pickwick's ghost story. The employees claim (and the management denies) that the ghost of a former manager haunts the upstairs office. Papers and other objects have been seen sliding forcefully across the desk for no apparent reason, as well as the door to that office seems to close by itself.
That said, this recreation center has another claim to fame in the local ghost culture. Pickwick Bowl was the inspiration for one of the audio-animatronic "happy haunts" from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. There used to be a sign in front of this leisure complex that featured a caricature of "Pickwick," the Dickens character (and this establishment's mascot). It seems that Imagineers that would commute to work at WED enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) just a few blocks away decided to pay tribute to the cheerful fellow on the sign they past everyday. Thus, in the ballroom scene of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, a ghost hanging from a chandelier (also known by the name "Pickwick") was created to match the one at Pickwick Bowl.

(to see last month's location...)