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Ghostly Obsession Blog – 1st Paranormal Investigation (Westwood & Downey Cemeteries, Linda Vista Hospital)

Ghostly Obsession Blog

First Paranormal Investigation – Three Locations

  • Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery; Los Angeles, CA
  • Linda Vista Hospital; Los Angeles, CA
  • Old Downey Cemetery; Downey, CA

Saturday, October 22, 2011 – After talking about it and putting out feelers for volunteers to go with me on a paranormal investigation, I finally went on my first excursion. To protect their identity, I am excluding the names of my paranormal investigative cohorts from this report. There were five of us – all female.

Simple table salt and black tourmaline stones is what I carried along for protection

There is a lot more to going on an investigation than I originally thought. You need to make sure the location is public; otherwise, you need to obtain permission from city council or the proprietor of the building/location you are trying to investigate. For our first time out, I thought it best to go with public locations as there isn’t much red tape to cut through. You should also take time to make sure your camera and any other electronic devices have new batteries or have been fully charged before heading out. If you are religious, you may want to bring along your own religious charms – crosses or rosary; if you are superstitious and feel inclined, I would recommend bringing salt and protection stones such as black tourmaline to ward of negative energies. It’s not to say that any of these will actually prevent any negative or possibly demonic forces from harming you but the stronger your belief in whatever protection you’ve brought, the stronger the protection will be.

Westwood Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA is one of the most serene cemeteries I’ve ever been to. Nestled within the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles near the UCLA campus, the grounds were lush, green, and well-kept. It’s a small cemetery and it is home to quite a few celebrities, including Merv Griffin, Farrah Fawcett, Walter Matthau, Dean Martin, and Marilyn Monroe. During our walk through, as desperately as I wanted there to be some sort of vibe or activity, the entire atmosphere was quite tranquil and benign. It was calm and peaceful which is actually very pleasant for a cemetery. Sometimes you go to a cemetery and get an uneasy feeling – not because of the spirits that may be roaming around, but because the caretakers may be a bit ambivalent or unwelcoming—even in public cemeteries. The caretaker we encountered was a very gentle soul. His demeanor was pleasant and very welcoming. We asked him about doing a paranormal investigation and he told us he’s been there many a night after midnight and nothing has happened. Of course, even though it is a public cemetery, many of the families may not wish you to contact their deceased loved ones so with respect to them, we just walked around and visited several of the celebrity graves.

Marilyn Monroe's grave - turned pink with kisses...and next to her will be...Hugh Hefner?

Dean Martin has many coins set atop his placard. Not all have in-ground graves; most are cremation placards. Some had in-wall tombs, like Marilyn Monroe. Her stone, which has turned pink, is said to have changed colors because of all the lipstick marks on her tomb. If you notice, all the stones around it are gray – only Marilyn’s is pink in hue. The caretaker told us the stones they use for the grave markers come in only one color – granite gray. So for Marilyn’s stone to be a very pink hue is quite extraordinary.  There is also an unmarked tomb next to Marilyn’s – it was purchased by the Playboy himself, Hugh Hefner. I guess he wants to be with Marilyn in the afterlife. After I finished taking pictures of her grave, a woman who was patiently waiting came up and very lovingly hugged Marilyn’s graves stone. I find it very interesting that fans continue to praise the object of their affection even after death. I think if I’m ever able to visit Agatha Christie’s final resting place, I may sit down and have a conversation with her. Sure, some may call that crazy but each to their own, I say. One person’s crazy is another person’s sanity.

In addition to the celebrities at Westwood, there are other interesting graves, including one of a man who lived to be almost 100. It only gives the years of his birth and death, no month —1882-1982. Others have whimsical sayings, “I’m a writer but then nobody’s perfect,” and “We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.”  

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Linda Vista Hospital...it was really dark outside.

Linda Vista Hospital in downtown Los Angeles, CA, near East LA, is one of the creepiest places to visit, even in the daylight. The look of the building and the general feeling you get as you step out of the car is slightly heavy. However, I didn’t feel anything malevolent but we were, of course, on the outside of the building. We could not go in because there were film crews filming inside the building. We asked the security guy (the one not carrying a machete) if we could walk the perimeter and he said it was fine as long as we didn’t go in the building. Yes, you read that correctly; there was a guy there carrying a machete. Not a pretend one either. In this part of East LA, it’s probably not a bad idea to carry some sort of weapon for self-defense. The less than savory people we encountered just walking around the building gave us pause. But I think I would have just gone with pepper spray sans machete.

Again, as much as I wanted something to happen, the outer parts of the building did not have any negative vibes at all. It was a nice foggy night and I hoped for some strange activity to occur but alas, the only oddity was the strange way the lights bounced off the low clouds.

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This was a grave stone at Downey Cemetery - very cool looking with the watermarks

Old Downey Cemetery, in Downey CA is not a large cemetery but it does take a bit to walk the entire grounds. I’d estimate it at about half a block or more. At first, I didn’t get a vibe but as I wandered throughout the grounds, I did feel something. However, it was neither benign nor malevolent; it was just a feeling that maybe something was there. But as we continued to walk the grounds, no real presence was detected. One strange thing did occur though. When one of the women who accompanied me said we should leave since no one wanted to communicate with us, a portion of the large tree to my left began to rustle in the wind…but, there was no wind anywhere else. The rest of the trees were unmoving. A strange occurrence for sure but again there were no good or bad vibes resonating – it was just something unexplainable.

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For our first investigation, although we didn’t encounter any good or bad entities, it was a very interesting night to say the least. Not all investigations are going to result in evidence of the paranormal but this small investigation has only ignited the bright spark within me; now the slow burning flame of curiosity is anxious to discover more to feed my Ghostly Obsession.

I plan to do at least one investigation per month. It may be multiple locations similar to this one, or it may be one large location where we actually stay and do an in-depth investigation. I’m always looking for more people to join me. I don’t have much equipment, just a digital camera and a hand-held voice recorder and my steel nerves of course, so whatever you have please bring it with you. I’d like to extend a hearty thanks to the four women who accompanied me on the first investigation. I hope to you see on the next one!

Photos taken by Judy Manning © 2011 Judy Manning c/o YourEntertainmentCorner.com

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.