blackwood

The Phantom Coach

Thanks to friend, Kathryn Wilson, for sharing this with me.
http://web.me.com/ufojoe/psychickathryn/Kathryn_Wilson.html

Joseph Stefano, most well known for authoring the iconic Psycho screenplay and many Outer Limits episodes, will have the pilot for his series, The Haunted, deemed "too frightening" for the American public, shown at the UCLA Film And Television Archive. In it, Martin Landau stars as a Los Angeles-based architect-cum-paranormal investigator who specializes in assessing and exorcising old homes. Stefano here weaves together vengeance, hallucinogens and a “bleeding ghost” in a gothic telefilm that was deemed too terrifying to air by network executives. Stefano's only directorial effort, this extremely rare pilot never aired in the U.S.

February 25, 2011 at 7:30
Billy Wilder Theater
Courtyard Level, Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90024
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/index.html

Walk Among The Dead

This is your chance to get inside the 100 year old historical landmark - normally closed to the public. The property is considered one of the most haunted locations in the world and has been the featured subject on a plethora of paranormal related TV shows.

Join the Boyle Heights Paranormal Project for a lecture on the fascinating history of Linda Vista Community Hospital hospital- of course we'll be including the site's paranormal history. We'll even play you some of the EVPs that have been captured here. Guests will then be led on a tour of Linda Vista by some of the most well known and respected paranormal researchers in the Los Angeles area. Along the way they will demonstrate various tools and techniques paranormal investigators use and you will get a chance to participate! You will also get to hear first hand the experiences from the investigators who have spent countless hours in Linda Vista's darkend hallways.

There will be the obvious rules and regulations if you are intoxicated in any manner you will be bounced by security, plain and simple. You may bring your cameras, however, there will not be any video/filming permitted unless you use your cell phone to do so.

$20.00 per person - arrive promptly - bring a small flashlight -dress warmly - no one under the age of 18 will be admitted. NO SNAPPERS.

Linda Vista Community Hospital
610 S. St. Louis St.
Boyle Heights, CA. 90023
Saturday, December 18th 2010
7:30 PM
$20 per person

*Photo by Ransom Riggs from the Mental Floss blog.

Scary Christmas

Hmm...maybe I can get excited about Christmas this year...

Cinefamily, (who went from #1 on my love LA list and fell from grace to the untouchable list for various customer service related reasons - so it pains me to throw them business but, I'm making an exception), is offering a free screening of Rare Exports:

It’s almost impossible to shake the old-timey Norman Rockwell-esque image of a jolly, roly-poly man with white hair in a big red suit, whenever the name of “Santa Claus” is invoked -- but Rare Exports, the brand-new Finnish fantasy film based upon the popular short of the same name, shows you that the secret history of Father Christmas is far darker, far creepier and waaaaaay cooler. It's the eve of Christmas in northern Finland, and a mysterious "archeological" dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. When all the local children begin disappearing, a young boy, his father and their reindeer hunter friends capture the mythological being -- but Santa's elves, however, will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader from captivity. A wild, nightmarish cross between The Goonies, Gremlins and Let The Right One In, Rare Exports is a re-imagining of the most classic of all childhood fantasies, and is a darkly comic gem soon to be required perennial holiday viewing!

To attend one must RSVP. One RSVP per person. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Your RSVP does not guarantee you a seat. You will receive a confirmation email about your RSVP 24-48 hours before showtime. Early arrival is highly recommended. Doors will open 30 minutes before showtime. No one will be admitted after the film has begun.
http://www.cinefamily.org/calendar/events.html#rareexports

Oddities

The Discovery Channel has a new show, Oddities, centering on New York shop, Obscura - which seems almost like a sister store to Los Angeles' Necromance on Melrose. The pilot episode features a decomposed cat, an enormous gall stone, a coffin and a two headed calf, yet they almost serve as a supporting cast to the customers - none of them more fascinating then Edgar - who is not to be missed.

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/oddities-is-that-a-straightjacket.html

Many thanks to Morbid Anatomy for featuring Obscura and Oddities.

Photo from the Obscura blog - http://www.ObscuraAntiques.Blogspot.com/

And The Winner Is.....

WENDY!

Congratulations to Wendy, who will soon be the owner of the new documentary, The Haunted Boy - which examines the case The Exorcist was based on.

American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural

I enjoyed this episode of the Backstory:The American History Guys I thought I'd share.

Halloween – despite its solemn Celtic roots – has become a safe way for Americans to transgress social norms and toy with the idea of ghosts in a family-friendly fashion. But for some, spirits from another plane have always been a very real part of life on this plane.
http://backstoryradio.org/2010/10/american-spirit-a-history-of-the-supernatural/

You get to hear a partial story about the Fox sisters, but you can listen to the entire story on one of my favorite podcasts, The Memory Palace, right here:
http://thememorypalace.us/2010/03/episode-27-the-sisters-fox/