GHOSTBUSTERS Screening!

Date: August 1s, 2009

Place: Circuit City Lot
(Sunset Blvd. near Hollywood/Hillhurst, Silverlake) map

Admission: "Almost Free" ($5.00 suggested donation)

The Biltmore Hotel, the Central Library, and Dan Ackroyd's former residence are just a few of the local locations that have a connection with this comedy classic. (read more)

July's SWS Highlights

Thanks to all that came out. And a special thanks to The Cat & Fiddle Pub for all of their hospitality. Not only did they go above and beyond accommodating our large group, but many of the staff shared old photos, their fond memories of the former owner, Kim Gardner, and their own personal ghost stories, adding to the ones already posted, including...

---A dark figure seen in shadows of the doorway at the north/east end of the courtyard (where the patio gate meets the wall). This apparition is thought to be the energy of a man, who accidentally fell to his death from the second floor, while trying to scale the side of the building. The reason for this fool-hearty stunt is unknown.

---The spirit Kim Gardner, who has been strongly felt in a private room opposite the Casablanca Room (on the other end of the bar). This room was used during his life as a "family room" of sorts, where friends and relatives could relax. An informal wake for Mr. Gardner was held in this room after his death, and during the remembrances, a free-standing light apparently turned on by itself, shined very brightly, and then fell over, smashing the bulb. It is also in this room, that late at night, when locking up, people have seen feet pacing back and forth through the space under the door, despite no one being in that room when the door is opened.

We also heard a variation of the gangster ghost's story, in which instead of his body being pulled into a back room to be dealt with later, it was dragged into the alley and put with the bags of trash to be hauled away since there is a door in that room that leads to the back alley (which is said to be the entrance Roy Rogers used when dining with his horse).

Thanks again, to everyone that made it a great and unique night!

(to read about the SPIRITS of this location...)

July's SPIRITS with SPIRITS

GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. “SPIRITS with SPIRITS” is a casual gathering of regional ghost hunters. 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 G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have, please wear it so others can find you.

THE DATE: July 13th, 2009 (Monday)
THE PLACE: The Cat and Fiddle Pub (6350 Sunset Blvd.) map
THE TIME: 8pm to the witching hour

THE GHOST(S):

This complex of Mediterranean/Spanish facades facing an inner courtyard first opened its doors to the public in October of 1927 and was designed by the architectural team of Gogerty and Weyl, who thanks largely to this "shopping court," the Blaine Building (6601 Hollywood Blvd.), and the Hollywood Playhouse (1735 N. Vine St.) became nationally recognized as the authorities on this unique style of regional architecture that is synonymous with Southern California.

Over the decades, the space that The Cat And Fiddle Pub now occupies has been home to many restaurants, including a commissary for a nearby studio and the famous Mouling's Mandarin/Shanghai-style restaurant, where one could have the undisputed best "Peking Duck" in town while listening to "Mr. Tahiti" tickle the ivories at the piano bar. Although, the names and owners have changed with each era, one thing has remained the same since the beginning. For whatever reason (perhaps the Gogerty and Weyl design), this restaurant/bar space has always been a place where the wealthy and the working class feel comfortable lounging for hours over a couple of drinks (especially on warm summer nights). Not only does that casual condition continue to the current "Cat and Fiddle," but is at the root of their longest lingering "lamentor of life."

The apparition of a well-dressed man has been seen many times in "The Casablanca Room." The room, itself, received its name because of the restaurant's role in the Humphrey Bogart classic film, (who incidentally was a frequent guest of the restaurant when it was called "Le Gourmet"). However, unconnected to "Casablanca" or Bogart, legend has it that during one of this restaurant's previous incarnations, a group of local mobsters were having a dinner party in that room when one of the guests opened fire and murdered another guest in front of the other diners. Not wanting to spoil a good time, the victim's bloody body was dragged into a back room, and the dinner party continued leisurely into the night as if nothing had happened. It is said that although the body was removed, his spirit has never left (maybe eternally reliving those last unsuspecting moments before death).

In addition to this mob-hit manifestation, employees of the "Cat and Fiddle" claim that after hours when the patrons have left, they hear the distinctive sound of a set of keys jingling in the restaurant, and yet, upon exploration, can never find the source of this phantom sound. Those that knew the beloved former owner, Kim Gardner (an unsung rock musician/artist of the "British Invasion"), before his passing in October of 2001 believe it is his spirit still keeping an eye on the successful tavern that he helped create. Or, maybe in death, like the other ghost, and like the "Cat and Fiddle's" clientele, he just enjoys hanging out and listening to one of the "best" jukeboxes in the city in one of the great landmarks of old Hollywood.

http://www.thecatandfiddle.com/

(to read about more ghosts at this location...)

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

GHOST COMICS @ The Skirball

Happy 4th of July from your friends at GHOULA. On this day that we celebrate the creation of the United States. Let's stop a moment and give a patriotic "thank you" to another great creation, one of America's favorite fictional "phantoms" from another realm, THE GHOST RIDER. Although the idea of a "ghost rider" appeared in several early comic books published by Marvel Comics, including a super-natural cowboy using the moniker "The Ghost Rider," the most famous incarnation was created in the 1970's which depicted a motorcycle stuntman who made a bad deal with the devil, cursing him to periodically change from his human form into a creature with a flaming skull that was literally hell on wheels. Technically speaking the "ghost rider" is not actually a "ghost," but more of a zombie-werewolf hybrid.

That said, in addition to this super-natural super-hero's ties to the South-West in the comic, this character may also have its roots in our regional ghost mythology. The old west is littered with legends of "ghost riders" and phantom cowboys. The most famous of them being the "riders in the sky" where the ghosts of damned cowboys (running from the devil) appear in the clouds above a troubled cowboy as a warning of that individual's possible future if he doesn't clean up his act. This cowboy legend was made famous by the chart-topping hit song "Riders in the Sky" written by Stan Jones, which in addition to its many cover versions by country and rock musicians (and its appearance in the GHOST RIDER movie), it was also the inspiration for the song "Riders on the Storm" by the quintessential L.A. band, The Doors.

More specifically however, there is another local ghost seen throughout California since the 1950's that bears a strong resemblance to the tortured hero of the GHOST RIDER comic. There is said to be a headless motorcyclist (the west coast equivalent to the east coast's "Headless Horseman") that roams the back highways and small town main streets of this great state. Although there are many versions of the origin of this ghost, like its comic book counter part, it also appears to be battling its own demons, as evidenced by the frequent sighting of this speeding spirit ripping past the church doors at Mission San Buenaventura in Ventura County.

G.H.O.U.L.A., as protectors of local lore, on this day salutes THE GHOST RIDER.

To see original original art work from the earlier incarnation of GHOST RIDER (back when he really was a phantom cowboy), there is an excellent exhibit at the Skirball called ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938–1950 (through August 9, 2009).

Where: The Skirball (http://www.skirball.org/)
Admission Price: $10 General
$7 Seniors 65+ and Full-Time Students
$5 Children 2-12
Free to Children under 2 and Skirball Members
All exhibitions are free to the public on Thursdays