What goes on here?
Our first stop takes us to the Avila Adobe, the oldest private building in Los Angeles. I had the pleasure of walking through it myself. The creaky, old home was built in 1818 as a private residence for the Avila family, one of the first in the region. It is a gorgeous adobe-style home situated right in the middle of LA, surrounded by tall buildings, Olvera Street and the ever-bustling Union Station. It's open and free to visit. It's like stepping back into the past, and listening to the creaky floors and gazing on the made beds and tables of the adobe is both comforting and a little unnerving.
Avila was married twice before he died, leaving a young woman in her early 20's widowed and alone. It is reported that she, Maria, haunts the adobe, rocking in her chair on the front porch, invisible, and can be heard in the adobe, in the master bedroom, sobbing over her lost husband. Whispers are heard, and those creaky floors sometimes give way to unseen footsteps. Over all, the house does have an eerie vibe. Just walking through it once had me glancing over my shoulder a few times. And while it's not extraordinarily haunted, I think it's safe to say that, with such a long history as the adobe has, it's not unlikely that something might be flitting around the corners, or walking along familiar hallways.
Our second stop takes us to the glamorous Sunset Blvd in Wets Hollywood. The Chateau Marmont is a famous hangout of film's elite. The best of the best have stayed there since it's opening in 1927. It is a place where the rich and famous can play, be who they want to be and do what they want to do The Chateau Marmont is infamous as being the place to get away with everything you can't in front of the camera, and its tragic history is testament to that. Just a few of the incidents to happen here include John Belushi's death, Natalie Wood's supposed affair with director Nicholas Ray, Helmut Newton's car crash in the driveway (in which he died), several drug-induced stints by many actors and musicians and F. Scott Fitzgerald's heart attack. Even Hotel California is thought to be about the Chateau Marmont. With a history like that, how could it not be haunted??
John Belushi is one of the ghosts said to haunt the Chateau. There's not much evidence for it, but the belief might stem from the way he died. A drug overdose isn't exactly the most serene way of going., afterall. Perhaps Belushi simply wasn't ready to stop being one of the funniest men alive.
Several people report the feeling of being watched, and have felt the presence of someone they can't see. Voices, apparitions, there seems to be every kind of haunting here. The biggest downside to this hotel is that it is strictly private, and going on the grounds is forbidden without a reservation or an invitation. However, if you've managed to secure a spot among the elite, please email me and let me know what you've witnessed! The internet can only provide so much, after all, and I need to know more!
I apologize for the short entry this week. School and work have just begun again, and I'm going in a million different directions at once. Next week will feature three all-new hauntings from across the states! Enjoy your week, and happy haunting!
If you'd like to know more about the places examined above, or see where I got some of my pictures, here are some helpful links!:
http://www.examiner.com/la-in-los-angeles/phantoms-roam-popular-olvera-street
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_Marmont_Hotel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avila_Adobe
http://elpueblo.lacity.org/elpaa1.htm
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-photo/caligyrl/1/1289349290/avila-adobe.jpg/tpod.html
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