GHOULA Event: Amityville 3-D and Hale House Tour – Heritage Square 2018

During the month of October, I always plan a scary event or two for the family. The wifey is not a fan of horror and typically declines the events unless there is another cultural redeeming value to said event. A 1980s horror movie and a haunted house. That would be a hard pass from her. I’ve learned to live with it.

I came across an e-mail from the Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles (GHOULA) who were having a screening of Amityville 3 -D at Heritage Square along with a walk through of the Hale House. A couple years back, I had taken the GHOULA Houdini tour. Also, we had taken the kiddos to Heritage Square on a prior year Museum of the Arroyo Day. Both previous outings were entertaining and enjoyable, so I bought tickets for me and my oldest. My oldest enjoys a good scare, and she is always up for one of her father‘s adventures. The wifey felt Amityville would be too much for the youngest. She’s right.

When the day of the event arrived, me and the oldest packed up lawn chairs, blankets, and dinner and headed off to Heritage Square. Parking can be tricky in the area as the museum has limited space and the streets are narrow.

We arrived, found parking, and lined up. Richard from GHOULA explained to all in line the timeline and rules for the evening. We could go into the grown floor of the Hale House in groups. GHOULA would pass out maps of the Hale House and we were to mark any location where we ‘felt’ something. My kiddo was into it. She grabbed the map and informed me should would handle our documentation. The gates opened right before 7pm and we walked into the museum passing the historic Palms Train Depot.

For horror movie fans, the Train Depot, which serves as the ticketing and gift shop for the museum, was in the 1958 Return of Dracula. The City of Los Angeles moved the Train Depot to Heritage Square in 1976. In the notes section, I listed a website that has some excellent information on it.

My oldest picked our spots to make sure we would have a good view of the movie. She set up camp and then we wandered around the grounds looking at the various other houses. We stopped at the Perry Mansion. I tried to scare here a little by telling her about the various horror movies that have used the Perry Mansion: Phantasm II, The Axe Murders of Villisca, Ghost Squad. She shook her head and said she wasn’t scared.

Time arrived for us to queue for entrance to the Hale House. Right off, my oldest said she felt an odd taste and smell while in front of the house. She diligently marked the location on our map. Another kid took a shine to her and joined us on our wanderings through the first floor. My oldest enjoyed the company. The museum does not allow photography inside the Hale House. But, ghost hunters were allowed to bring in EMF readers and dowsing rods. I found the site highly appropriate for an October outing. My oldest was mesmerized by the devices and followed several people around.

The Hale House is a Queen Anne style Victorian mansion built in 1887. In the early 1900s, Bessie and James Hale moved into the home. A descendent of the two owned the home until Los Angeles city purchased it for $1 and moved the home to Heritage Square. The home is both on the National Register of Historic Place and the Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith helped in the preservation effort. Do yourself a favor and go read God and Mr. Gomez or The Big Orange. In fact, read any of his books.

With the tour over, we returned to our camp and ate dinner. My wife had helped pack as I always forget outer wear and blankets. Thank god. The temperature dropped, but we had jackets, hats, and blankets.

3-D Space hosted the movie. I know little about them, but I intend to do a little research. They have opened a museum in Echo Park. 3-D glasses were handed out and the movie started. I had completely forgotten that Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan played the teenagers in the film.

After the movie, we headed home and my oldest wanted to share the movie with the rest of the family. I told her I don’t think mom would enjoy it. She shirked her shoulders and said it would be her loss.