Above all, the Rocky Horror Picture Show is an experience.  I can not stress that enough.  Also, don’t go thinking that you’re going to sit back and casually slink in your chair, while the film plays out before you in a darkened and silenced theater.

At the very least you’ll actually get to hear one or two lines from the movie uttered, everything else will be a garbled snowball of aural chaos.  If you’re really that interested in the story you should probably rent it, otherwise the main point of the experience is to see the performers and their ‘interpretations’ of the cult flick.

I had the chance to attend one of these screenings at the NuArt Theater in Los Angeles recently.  It was definitely an experience to be remembered, and for some attendants to attempt to forget.  While I’ll try not to get into the minutia of the show (and ruin things for everyone), I will say that initially I was apprehensive, not knowing what sort of extreme on-the-edge antics I would witness.

From the start of the film to the end, there was a designated crew of walk-by aisle screamers that would randomly blurt out lines from the film.  These same crew members would also provide their own on-the-spot q&a sessions between themselves and the film.  Imagine the worst back-row film viewer that you can think of, and multiply that by 100.  I had flashbacks to my mother screaming, “Run you stupid!  Run!” at the television while watching a horror movie as a kid.  Although, she was like Little League compared to this rough and ready crew of Majors.

Throughout the screening each film character had his or her own performer shadowing their actions on the stage.  Of course, the big attention-getter was the performer playing the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.  In keeping true to form, he was fully decked out in the same, or similar, garb as Tim Curry in the film.  He didn’t disappoint, but then again neither did any of the other cast members, they all came through with flying bizarro acid-stained colors.

After all was said and done, and danced, and sung, it’s definitely something everybody should check out at least once in their lives.

I looked around for screening places both LA and OC, here’s the list:

• Sins of the Flesh (Nuart Theater in Los Angeles)
• Midnight Insanity (Warner Grand in San Pedro)
• Maverick Theater in Fullerton
• Rocky OC (Yost Theater in Santa Ana)

OC Register: New book on OC graves lists famous, semi-famous- While, not specifically about hauntings or ghosts, it does provide some interesting information on some famously deceased locals.

Take a ghostly Coast tour of Orange County’s most haunted places… if you dare.- This was a cool article, published in 2008, on various haunts in Los Angeles.

Buena Park Krikorian is featuring the films of After Dark Horrorfest 4!

According to the Horrorfest website, “Horrorfest is an annual celebration of the horror genre and showcase eight films that run the spectrum of horror to thriller to gore to supernatural. This unique film festival is the first of its kind on a national level. After Dark Films annually releases these films in a festival called “8 Films To Die For” in every major city in the United States.”  You can read more on their FAQ here.

Films featured will be:

• Dread
• Hidden
• Kill Theory
• Lake Mungo
• The Final
• The Graves
• The Reeds
• Zombies of Mass Destruction

Worked on a slight graphical update to the pages.

I don’t remember how I found this site, but it offers a very thorough list of haunt spots throughout Los Angeles. It seems like they’re not that interested in spreading it beyond Los Angeles though, who knows maybe they will in the future.

CreepyLA’s Map of Haunted Los Angeles

Here’s a brief rundown of what’s new:

• New images in nearly all sections, mainly Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego.
• Each story has its proper book reference, and it’s linked to Amazon in case you’re curious enough.
• Clicking on the link for ‘Location’ should take you to a google map view of it.

I’ve still got plenty of stories to upload, keep an eye out.

-David

The spirit of actor/director/writer Orson Welles can be seen at this swank Los Angeles restaurant. Known to frequent this spot in life, he comes back in death as if nothing happened.

Mr Welles’ figure can be seen wearing a black cape, smoking cigars and drinking his favorite brandy. Customers as well as waiters can atest to seeing puffs of smoke and smelling the scent of brandy coming from Mr. Welles’ favorite table in the restaurant.

The spirit of a man in a gray suit is known to haunt this building. He has been seen in the pet shop (Cat’s Meow) as well as the neighboring bookstore (Eddie’s Treasures Bookstore).

The ghost of this theater was the unfortunate result of an accident involving a young woman and a really heavy light fixture. She has been seen dancing on stage and can also be heard re-enacting her death by letting out a frightening scream.

This adobe was the scene of a home-invasion robbery in which the thieves got away with some $35,000 in gold, as well as a pair of earrings literally ripped from the ears of Teodora Olivas, the matriarch. The spirit is believed to be that of one of the Olivas daughters, Dominga, who died during childbirth, but could possibly beTeodora herself. The apparition can be seen wearing a black-dress roaming the grounds. Note: Special thanks go to Richard Senate and Ventura Historian, Glenda Jackson, in regards to this story.