The Semi-Tropic Spiritualist Association, with historian Eric Brightwell

Happy Spooky Season! Join me tomorrow, on 4 October from 13:00-14:00 in a presentation about the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists, their tract, and the Semi-Tropic Park. If you need a brief introduction. The Semi-Tropic Spiritualists Association was an early 20th-century utopian and Spiritualist collective (essentially Victorian era hippies or ravers) that established a campground and community in … Continue reading The Semi-Tropic Spiritualist Association, with historian Eric Brightwell

The Mystery of Princess Leda Amun-Ra, Hollywood’s Legendary Acid Witch

Screenshot of Princess Leda Amun-Ra in The American Dreamer In August of this year, Thomas Lee, son of photographer Bud Lee, contacted me with an intriguing mystery about a colorful Angeleno. Heโ€™d come across my post, Los Angeles Gothic, and wondered whether Iโ€™d ever heard of anything about Princess Leda Amun-Ra and her colorful cohorts. … Continue reading The Mystery of Princess Leda Amun-Ra, Hollywood’s Legendary Acid Witch

Ghosts of the Silver Lake Reservoir

A few years ago, whilst researching the history of the Silver Lake Reservoir, I was rather surprised to learn that several people had drowned in it early in its history. Where there's water, I suppose, there are drownings -- I'd just never thought about it before -- and when the reservoir began filling in 1907, … Continue reading Ghosts of the Silver Lake Reservoir

๐•ท๐–”๐–˜ ๐•ฌ๐–“๐–Œ๐–Š๐–‘๐–Š๐–˜ ๐•ฒ๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–ˆ, ๐–† ๐•ณ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–”๐–œ๐–Š๐–Š๐–“ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐•ฏรญ๐–† ๐–‰๐–Š ๐–‘๐–”๐–˜ ๐•ธ๐–š๐–Š๐–—๐–™๐–”๐–˜ ๐•ฑ๐–†๐–“๐–™๐–†๐–˜๐–Ž๐–†

LOS ANGELES GOTHIC It's almost Halloween. Surely one of the greatest holidays, Halloween is up there, in my estimation, with Burns Supper, Nowruz, Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving II. I keep reading and hearing, though, that Halloween is cancelled this year, thanks to the mismanagement at nearly every level of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surely you can't cancel … Continue reading ๐•ท๐–”๐–˜ ๐•ฌ๐–“๐–Œ๐–Š๐–‘๐–Š๐–˜ ๐•ฒ๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–ˆ, ๐–† ๐•ณ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–”๐–œ๐–Š๐–Š๐–“ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐•ฏรญ๐–† ๐–‰๐–Š ๐–‘๐–”๐–˜ ๐•ธ๐–š๐–Š๐–—๐–™๐–”๐–˜ ๐•ฑ๐–†๐–“๐–™๐–†๐–˜๐–Ž๐–†

Happy All Hallows’ Even

You know those grinches that, on Valentines Day say, "I don't need a holiday to tell me when to express my feelings for my loved one" or, on Mothers Day say "I don't need a stupid holiday to tell me when to call my mom?" Well, that's one reason I like Halloween --because those bias … Continue reading Happy All Hallows’ Even

Halloween on Halloween

Monday Night, this Hallows Eve: I'm having a Halloween Party at my place. Come by early if you want to see the kids in the building. Marvin Mutumbo is going as a Power Ranger, Arissa is going as Cinderella and there will probably be a few surprises although Power Rangers are the number one choice … Continue reading Halloween on Halloween

Halloween Party

MOOD: comme รงi comme รงa MUSIC: Moose - The Only Man in Town The Halloween party went surprisingly well. I was Robert Smith and, as such, got into character by drinking rather too much wine... among other things. I remember most of it, although there are conversations I had with people who I don't remember … Continue reading Halloween Party