Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts

Los Angeles, California

A Grand Illusion: Who Haunts the "Houdini Mansion"?

The Hollywood hills are legendary for both glamour and deception. Behind every glistening iconic image is an underworld of sordid torment. Even stately homes take on a mystique and legend, weaving fact and fantasy into illustrious celebrity. With the passage of time, we forget reality and paint incredible landscapes based on illusion.

A staircase leads to nowhere on a hill along Laurel Canyon Boulevard in sunny southern California. These traces of history have become synonymous with a famed magician. Nicknamed the "Houdini Mansion," legends persist about the property, what some believe to be the specter of the master illusionist himself watches nightly from his former lair.

Some say the spirit of Houdini remains in wait at the site of his former home. Yet people who see apparitions at the site may not be seeing the famed spirit. A second ghostly tale lingers in the shadowy confines of the canyon. And this version could offer a glimpse at a crime covered up for almost a century.

It was a night of pomp and circumstance. A wealthy family hosted a gala evening, filled with lively entertainment at their gracious mansion. Yet their son was among the missing. He was not enjoying the festivities. His thoughts were not of revelry and guests. His plans were meant for darkened seclusion.

At a second story balcony, a young man watched the distant glistening city lights and waited; waited discreetly for his young lover to meet with him, far from the doting eyes of California's distinguished guests. Before long, the son of the mansion's owner appeared. The two shared a long embrace in the shades of nightfall.

What began as gentle discussion turned into angry words. The lovers quipped and quarreled by the moonlight as their voices rose in passion. Words turned physical; the young heir lost his temper. The young suitor let out a scream as his body flew over the railing, falling lifelessly onto the paved terraces below.

Being such a prominent family, the family did not permit rumors of the event to circulate throughout Los Angeles. Any mention of the perilous death was kept from the press. The family carried on about their lives as usual. A small fortune was spent in hush money yet the family's name remained intact.

While this legendary account cannot be confirmed, some basic historical facts ring true. There was a grand palace built not far from Lookout Mountain Road. It was the creation of a respected businessman and philanthropist by the name of Walker.

Ralf Marc Walker was born in 1872 in Eaton County, Michigan. He was raised on high moral fiber and a strong work ethic, spending his teenage years working as a clerk in a small grocery. Before long, he met a dazzling strong-willed woman named Eliza Fitzgerald. She won his heart and the two were married. As Ralph slowly made his ascent to the top of the business world, the couple set off for the warmer air and untapped riches found in the California landscape.

Walker's Department Store occupied a grand building near Fifth Street and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Advertising itself as the best place to find great bargains, Walker's thrived and Ralph found himself a very wealthy man. A second store was opened in Long Beach and several bank investments proved fruitful. Ralph and Eliza amassed a large fortune and turned their eyes to real estate.

At the turn of the century, Laurel Canyon was a scenic oasis yet undiscovered by builders. Walker created the Laurel Canyon Land Company in 1907, eyeing a magnificent acreage along the boulevard as the site for his biggest achievement: a magnificent mansion. In 1911, he began to make his dream a reality.

The finest stonemasons and craftsmen arrived from Europe to sculpt and carve Walker's villa on the hill. Other homes were soon being constructed on adjacent properties in a Spanish style popular for the era, yet Ralph intended his home to reflect a more Mediterranean feel. No expense was spared on the glorious three-story structure. Sprawled across ten acres of terraced gardens, the mansion featured eleven bedrooms, a magnificent ballroom, a grandiose stage for theatrical productions, a ballet roomeven a basement pool. Muralists depicted scenes of the Italian countryside on immense arched walls. In the grand entranceway, a marble newel postcomplete with interior lightingjutted through the center of a circular staircase.
The hillside property was strewn with brick and stone staircases and paths, winding through vast gardens of greenery and flowers. Though the drive was a narrow cut along the sloping hill, Ralf improvised a turnstile at the top, allowing visitors to turn around their vehicles at the top and avoid unnecessary peril. The final touches were placed in 1924 as the last of the artisans left the estate. Ultimately, the edifice contained forty rooms of varying sizes.

The Walkers frequently entertained their many friends and associates at their luxurious estate. Among the guests is believed to be Harry Houdini and his wife Bess who spent some time on the west coast when delving into the film industry. Historians are not certain how amiable the couples were, though after the death of Houdini in 1926, Bess rented the guest cottage for several years. Some of her sances to contact her late husband may have been conducted in Walkers own parlor.

Ralf was on a business trip to New York in 1935 when his heart failed on August 28. Eliza became President of the new Walker Scott Department Store opened in San Diego the following month. She carried on the business as her husband had wished until her own death in December of 1951.

A writer took over possession of the property soon after. Lee Alden, author of Womans Call to Arms, lived a reclusive existence on the hill. She was notoriously dubbed the "Green Madonna," earning the moniker for her peculiar habit of standing on the balcony during the full moon clad only in a vivid green negligee and scarf. For unknown reasons, she abandoned the house without a word. A brush fire swept through the region in 1959, decimating the empty villa. The guest cottage survived along with a few original walls. The house was never rebuilt and by the 1970s, only the grand staircase on the hill remained.

Today, the Walker Estate leaves many unanswered questions. Was a crime ever committed in Laurel Canyon? Were there efforts to cover up a love which dare not speak its name? We will never know. It is not known if the Walkers had any children. The private lives of Ralf and Eliza were never disclosed. Had there been a homosexual love affair at the mansion in Laurel Canyon, the story would likely have been kept quiet. Be it a member of the family or one of Walkers many acquaintances, history has not divulged any definitive information. We are left to speculate the possibilities.

Yet an ominous dark figure still watches from the stone bluff above the boulevard. On the steps of the once-magnificent mansion, a shadow from the past is seen during twilight hours. A mysterious man stands silhouetted against the night sky watching over the grounds. Brave visitors still flock to the steps, hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghost.

Although the manor has vanished into memory, a small recording studio now occupies the same hill. Famous musicians and bands have performed at the grounds over the past few decades. Some members have even felt uncomfortable in the nocturnal hours in Laurel Canyon. From Red Hot Chili Peppers to Slipknot, stories of shadowy figures and misplaced objects emerged as recording artists divulged their personal experiences. Guests spending the night in the studios sleeping quarters have noticed doors opening on their own accord and being pushed by unseen forces. Even in recent years, bands such as Maroon 5 claimed to experience the uncomfortable glare of an invisible entity and witness bizarre apparitions.

While the hauntings are often attributed to Houdini, the ethereal eyes and wispy figures often belong to the anonymous visage of a youth. Could the ghost of Laurel Canyon Boulevard be that of the mysterious young man immortalized in legend, his life cut short in a decade when alternative sexualities were shunned by the vast majority of society?