Walking Among the Dead at Linda Vista Hospital

Los Angeles, notorious for the vicious build/raze/build cycle that has cost the city so many of its precious historical landmarks, is not the most obvious place to look for a sprawling, abandoned and allegedly haunted hospital. But if you visit the Boyle Heights neighborhood near downtown L.A., you'll find just that in the guise of eerie, hulking Linda Vista Hospital. The building is, at this point, semi-famous; it's been featured on shows and movies (including the first season of Dexter), as well as a memorable episode of Ghost Adventures; you may remember Zak & Co. freaking out over the possibility of imminent gang wars. (LOLZ.)

Recently, the Boyle Heights Paranormal Project, a local paranormal research and investigation group that helps oversee the hospital and regularly organizes community events to allow the curious (and, perhaps, foolhardy) to sneak a peek inside, hosted an event called the "Walk Among the Dead." BHPP members lead groups on a flashlight tour of the hospital, with nefarious nurses and devilish doctors from the performance collective The Art of Bleeding lurking in the old hospital's morgue to add to the sinister, spooky vibe.

The end result was basically Halloween in March, a shivery treat for amateur ghost hunters, horror fans and Los Angeles preservationists alike. Here are some shots Mr. Spooky and I captured during our time at Linda Vista:









For more information on future events at Linda Vista, including BHPP's upcoming overnight investigation in mid-April, follow the Boyle Heights Paranormal Project page on Facebook.

Spooky Self-Promotion: Catch Me in URBAN DEATH

Hello, spooky friends! I apologize for the relative dearth of posts lately, but I've been keeping busy (a strategy that works well for getting through those boring non-Halloween months). What have I been up to? Well, I am currently rehearsing for the next production of Urban Death at Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre in North Hollywood!

If you've never seen Urban Death (and I have, so trust me on this), you're in for a scary treat. The show is essentially a series of horrific vignettes, and the entire show is done with minimal dialogue. Instead, the mood is set via creepy original music and the physicality of the performers. If that sounds at all pretentious, it's not - instead, it's enthralling, disorienting and terrifying.

Since Urban Death is ZJU's signature show, there have been many different incarnations, but this latest version promises to be the scariest to date. Join me on Saturday, April 9th at 11 PM, or any Saturday night through the end of May, to get a taste of the best on-stage horror in Los Angeles. Hope to see you there!

The Hearse (1980)

Such a strange and pointless movie! The plot is as follows: A woman who strongly resembles Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich but with slightly less extreme hair inherits a house in the country and decides to live in it; upon arrival, she discovers that the town is populated exclusively by male sex offenders and potential rapists who eye her lasciviously with varying degrees of both lust and disdain, barely concealed and in equal measure. Each scene is fraught with tension, as you repeatedly wonder whether you're about to learn that naive, trusting Jane just invited the wrong man into her house. There are vague mumblings about pacts with Satan and lovelorn ancestors, and a little girl with pigtails curtly informs Jane, "Your house is haunted and you're a ghost." I kept expecting something to happen that would begin to propel the plot forward, but instead the main character just trips around making questionable choices, and occasionally a creepy hearse driven by an even creepier driver appears and then disappears - making his rounds before he drops by Oliver Reed's place in Burnt Offerings, no doubt.

There's something to be said for the nostalgic, Vaseline-on-the-lens magic of any horror movie shot circa 1980, but there are other, better films from the era that you should check out before you take a spin in The Hearse.

Spit to See the Shine

Babes in Toyland always had fantastic artwork for their albums and singles - photographs and paintings that were raw, disturbing, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek. They were never a blatantly horror-inspired band, but singer/guitarist Kat Bjelland's piercing yowls, coupled with her tattered babydoll appearance, gave their music an aura of menace that was repeatedly reinforced by their cover art.

(It is also worth noting that Kat - not Geddy Lee - is the reason I play a Rickenbacker myself.)

Artwork by Cindy Sherman

Artwork by Cindy Sherman

Robert Williams' "The Thing in the Hope Chest" was used by Babes for the cover of their 1994 compilation album Dystopia. If you're down with toddler jerky, you can buy a signed poster from the artist here!

Doctor Druid's Haunted Seance

Check out this amazing record I found today at Record Surplus in West L.A.

NOTICE: This record is intended for entertainment purposes only; responsibility for any psychic phenomenon which may occur (either directly or indirectly) as a result of playing this record will not be assumed by the manufacturer.

Produced by Milt Larsen (founder of the Magic Castle) and featuring supernaturally salacious liner notes written by the late Forrest J Ackerman. Dr. Druid will "speak to you from the stereophonic tracks of this esoteric album and reveal the very information uppermost in your mind!" Also includes a guide to stunts that can help enhance the seance experience for your guests, including the Cemetery Serenade, the Wail of the Werewolf and the Danse Macabre. Almost too good to be true.

UPDATE: For a look at the back of the record and sleeve/liner notes, including the instructions to help "enhance" the experience, click here!

Better Late Than Never: Halloween Nailpolish

So yeah, I missed the train when it comes to timely Halloween posts, but since I effectively lost 2+ weeks of my life, I'm giving myself a little leeway when it comes to late-October goodies. One topic I was meaning to post about before my appendix tried to kill me is Halloween nailpolish.

Little-known fact: I have a weird obsession with nailpolish. My nails aren't particularly long (I play bass, after all) and I don't really care about my cuticles or whatever, but dude...I love crazy nailpolish. I will drive all over town looking for a specific color - like, that kind of crazy. So of course I was super stoked on all of the cool Halloweenie polish that came out this year.

First, we have Del Sol's amazing Color-Changing Nail Polish in Trick-or-Treat. This polish is a super glittery pale orange indoors, but when you go outside and expose it to the sun's UV rays, it morphs into a super glittery dark purple (almost black). The change is dramatic and mesmerizing.

Trick-or-Treat indoors (light orange)

Trick-or-Treat outdoors (blackened purple)

These pictures don't really do it justice, but you can get a good idea of how magically amazing it is to watch your nail polish change colors before your very eyes. I got my bottle at Walgreen's for like $6, but they may have already taken them off the shelves. (If so, I'm sure you can order online.)
China Glaze offered 3 new colors for Halloween this year, as part of their Awakening (as in, from the dead) collection. From left to right: Mummy May I is a chunky purple glitter in a blackened purple base; Zombie Zest is a fine greenish gold glitter in a murky green base and Ick-A-Body is a stunning orange glitter in a blackened green base. I absolutely love Zombie Zest and Ick-A-Body - they're outrageously Halloweenie and easily have the best names of any nail polishes ever.
Finally, OPI offered four mini bottles of Halloween-appropriate shades with their Go Goth! gift set. The set includes Unripened (black with green glitter), Nevermore (black with blue/purple glitter), Sanguine (shimmering blood red) and Obscurity (matte black).

Anyone else grab any limited edition Halloween beauty items this year?

(Real Life) Hospital Horror

In case you're wondering where I've been, I'm sorry to report that I spent my favorite time of the year - the last two weeks of October - in the hospital. (Well, technically it was one week in the hospital, and one week recuperating in bed as a nasty tube continued to drain pus from my body. Fun!) What was the source of my ailment? None other than a ruptured appendix - the same medical emergency that killed Houdini more than 80 years ago. Fortunately, I didn't die (which means I'm tougher than Houdini, right?), and I have the disgusting pictures to prove it! If you would like to see what a ruptured appendix looks like up close and personal, click here. (Warning: Gross.)

Unfortunately, my unplanned absence means the following: I have no idea who won the last Queen Mary Dark Harbor ticket giveaway. I wasn't able to give away tickets to the Reign of Terror in Thousand Oaks. I never wrote my review for the Heritage Haunt in Newhall, which I attended (and enjoyed) mere days before I was stricken with appendicitis. And I never made it out to the Forbidden Haunt in Sherman Oaks, the Theatre 68 Haunted House or the Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever, all of which I had planned to cover. And I didn't even get to dress up on the big day! OH WELL. On the flipside, I didn't die shivering from pain and clutching my abdomen on a hospital bed, so hurray for that!

After leaving the hospital, I consoled myself (read: tortured my already addled mind) while recuperating at home with viewings of Halloween II and The Exorcist III, both of which are set largely in hospitals.

I had seen Halloween II before, but never all in one sitting. (I'm kind of a purist/snob when it comes to Halloween sequels, my affinity for the Rob Zombie reimaginings notwithstanding.) While it doesn't approach the perfection of the original, and a lot of stupid people make a lot of stupid choices, it's decent...especially compared to later atrocities like, you know, Halloween 6 or Resurrection.


Jamie Lee's wig is pretty distracting, but I could relate to the panic of being stalked by a killer while still dazed, drugged and disoriented in the hospital. The Halloween decorations at the hospital where I was staying called this movie vividly to mind, especially in my Dilaudid haze.

Let's not forget about the particularly brutal hospital scenes in the 2009 version of H2. Seriously, Michael Myers, why do you have to be such a dick?


As for the third Exorcist film, I had actually never seen it before, although I knew it was supposed to be good. Two very kind friends lent it to me in the spirit of torturing myself psychologically with even more hospital-set horror.

I have to say I dug this movie, and it definitely has its share of disturbing scares. It felt a little long, and the ending was semi-preposterous, but it is, after all, a movie about demonic possession, so I can't get too uppity. They're allowed to go over the top.

There were 3 scenes in this movie that will stay with me for a very long time, and I was able to find images of all three online - enjoy!

OMG WTF MY HEART RATE IS UP NOW!

OH SHIT WHAT SHE'S ON THE CEILING!?!

CATATONICS ARE SO EASY TO POSSESS!!!

In conclusion, try to avoid rupturing your appendix. And if you must, wait until the Halloween season has passed! Learn from my mistakes, friends.

Oh, and Happy (belated) Halloween!

P.S. This was my 100th post.

You Make Me Feel Like a Ghost

Here's a free Halloween treat from my band HEXHAM HEADS to you.

Last Minute GIVEAWAY: Win Tickets to Queen Mary's Dark Harbor for 10/17!

Time for a last-minute giveaway from the generous ghouls over at the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor: You can win tickets to the Dark Harbor for THIS SUNDAY, October 17th! All you have to do is come up with a scary story (in 140 characters or less) that relates to the above photo and post it here. Oh, and don't forget to mention that SPOOKY LITTLE GIRL sent ya.

Winners will be chosen by the end of the day today and tickets will be good for this Sunday's event. Good luck!

GUEST REVIEW: Zombie Love: The Musical

NOTE:
I'm proud to present my very first Spooky Little Guest Post! This review of Zombie Love, the latest October offering from a theater group known locally for its annual live staging of Night of the Living Dead (read my review of last year's production here), comes courtesy of Madame Magnet, the mastermind behind Magnets de los Muertos Halloween magnetic poetry. Enjoy!
xo
SLG

Zombie Love: The Musical

The Maverick Theater in Fullerton is always doing fun, strange, and entertaining new things. They’ve had a successful five-year run of Night of the Living Dead (my favorite show at the Maverick), and they aren’t afraid of bold moves like their recent adaptation of the Hobbit to a small stage.

This year they premiered a new musical, Zombie Love, adapted from a short student film of the same name. When I text messaged my friend to see if she wanted to go to a zombie musical, she responded Zombie musical? Like ‘Brains. Brains! Braaaiiiiiiiins!’? I’ll admit that I didn’t know what to expect from a musical zombie romance play, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story focuses on Claudia (the girl who is in distress) and Dante (the boy who is a zombie) and their perilous journey toward love. The story invokes a little Cyrano de Bergerac since Dante pretends to be a human as he woos Claudia. Dante’s friends get in the way, and they mock him when they find out that not only does he feel bad about eating humans, he was, in his human life, a vegetarian.

The story is pretty straightforward, but the charm of Zombie Love is in the tongue-in-cheek humor, references to other musicals, and pop culture. It is funny and sweet, and the songs are good enough that I heard my musical-disliking date laughing at them. The idea of parodying a love story with zombies and then adding music is enough to win some points from me, so I was pleased that the execution exceeded my expectations. Don’t read this if you don’t like spoilers: some of the funnier gags were when they lampoon the Lion King’s Circle of Life, invoke a little West Side Story, and perform a bit of the Thriller dance.

The cast and show were both funny despite a few crackling sound problems. One character in particular, a blind, transsexual prostitute, helps Dante change his image. He was a particular stand out with his performance and appearance; he definitely stole the show.

If you like musicals, zombies, and taking a risk on a local performance of a movie you’ve never heard of, I think you’ll enjoy the hour-long show. Tickets are $10; the bar has beer, wine, soft drinks and candy for dirt-cheap prices. The staff is really accommodating, and the shows are always a bit twisted or strange.

Now that I’ve seen the stage adaptation, I want to see the movie. The DVD is also available at the Maverick if you’re curious like me. Zombie Love: The Musical runs Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30PM until October 30th; Tickets are $10.00/$5.00 with a Student ID.

-Madame Magnet

Madame Magnet writes over at blog.magnetsdelosmuertos.com, loves legitimate theater like Planet of the Apes: The Musical, and sells zombie poetry magnets.