For anyone visiting San Francisco this summer, or even local residents looking for something unique and historical, Trax Bar is celebrating their 70th year of business. The name might sound familiar, since I mentioned a ghostly legend involving the bar and a former patron or employee spotted on a few occasions. I was contacted last month and gave permission to a graphic artist for using part of my blog entry for the flyer. And here it is!
Her mother, Bonnie Jones, was appalled. “To say my daughter’s presentation is ’sex education’ because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong.” And now, the ACLU is getting involved. Sounds like there might be plenty of spilled milk to cry over after all…
It’s an odd word out there. We’re in the middle of some scary times… and I’m not even talking about the economy! If those dire tales of woe from your local broadcasters are turning you numb, here are just a few of the more amusing news stories you missed.
Needling those Politicians…
Sorry, President Sarkozy. A French court has decided against banning voodoo dolls made in his image. The novelty toys may have won, but they didn’t walk away unscathed. K&B was ordered to pay one Euro in damages plus court costs and now needs to attach a disclaimer to the doll stating that the President of France disapproves. I’m sure Sarkozy is feeling a but more blue than his fabric likeness.
Girl Power(s)…
Former Spice GirlGeri Halliwell has decided to ’spice up her life’. The actress and singer recently discovered her own psychic abilities! As proof of her supernatural skills, she accurately predicted that one of her PAs would give birth to a girl. Good going, Ginger. It’s the little victories that matter most, right?
¡Salsa Dios MÃo!
The Virgin Mary decided to get a little favor when she miraculouly appeared in salsa splatter on a wall in Bakersfield. While mincing the Spanish treat in a blender, the California woman noticed the pattern on her kitchen cabinet after some dip splashed out of its container. The anonymous homeowner says there is also the scent of roses in her flowerless home. She told local media sources that she beieves it to be a sign that “people need to start treating each other better”. She could start by passing the nachos…
Drive-In Ghost Tours…
Don’t believe what you hear; ghost hunting can be deadly! Participants in a Charleston ghost tour discovered this for themselves Tuesday night when an out-of-control Mazda RX7 crashed through the crowd at Meeting and Broad streets, known as the Four Corners of Law. The driver accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the clutch, injuring two tourists. Tour owner John LaVerne refunded everyone, though most continued the tour. Talk about your die-hard ghost hunters!
I Fell into a Burning Ring of Fire…
What do you do when your apartment is infiltrated by evil? Well, a woman in Marietta, Georgia thought she chose the best solution: burn it down. Claiming that items inside her dwelling were possessed by voodoo curses, Felicia Johnson stacked the belongings in two piles and lit them ablaze to “cleanse the apartment of the spirits”. Marietta Fire Department quickly conquered the flames and avoided serious damage to the complex. She was charged with first degree arson and taken to a hospital to undergo mental evaluation.
Fire swept through a shop in San Diego’s Center City last weekend. One business was completely destroyed and a nearby taco shop was damaged. Centro Botanico La Santisima on Imperial Avenue was gutted in the blaze. The cause of the blaze has been inked to lit candles inside the store.
Who would leave candles burning in a closed shop? Well, it might sound a bit less shocking when you learn that this was no ordinary business. It was an occult shop, catering to practitioners of SanterÃa and other African diasporic religions.
Or Hoodoo, if you wish to overly simplify matters.
Approximately $250,000 in damage was caused to the structure and an additional $90,000 worth of products, such as herbs and amulets, burned up in the flames. Local practitioners have been devastated at the loss of the only shop of its kind in the neighborhood.
Candles don’t come with that “don’t leave candles burning unattended” warning without reason, people. I know it looks pretty to have the soft glow setting the mood in a metaphysical shop, but at 4:00 in the morning, no one is there to see it!
Unfortunately, all those amulets and protective concoctions didn’t do a lick of good. Perhaps it would be wise for other shop owners to take down that bunch of mandrake root and put up a smoke detector instead.
I seem to be neglecting good literature lately, but I thought it was time for another mention of an author worth reading. A man with a rather famous last name: Christopher Rice.
Now the subjects covered in Christopher’s books are not paranormal in nature, yet I felt compelled to mention him. Yes, paranormal topics and ghosts do encompass a lot of my interest, but I do not limit myself strictly to things of this nature. I read a wide range of works and enjoy thoroughly engaging topics, films, and literature.
As is often the case with me, I discovered his books by accident in a bookstore. I began with The Snow Garden before tracking back to his debut novel, A Density if Souls. Light Before Day made its way onto my bookshelf soon after it was published. I had been aware of the work of his mother, Anne Rice, for many years but it was not this connection which lured me. I have been a fan of thrillers and mysteries most of my life, so the synopses caught my attention.
I have yet to be disappointed with any of his work. Perhaps it comes from the two of us being extremely close in age (though he has accomplished far more, but I commend him for that). Even his column articles in The Advocate are worth a read. And I’ll confess something else: unlike his mother’s work, I have actually finished readinghis books. Odds are if I begin reading something, mark my page, and lay it down, I will probably never finish it. At least in this lifetime. Then again if I read an entire novel in a day or two and schedule everything else around it, I’m going to keep that one forever.
Check out this little snippet about his newest book, Blind Fall:
For more information, be sure to visit his website. And those of you who are fans should note that another book, The Moonlit Earth, is currently being written…
Floridian Lloyd Deneau, 41, was recently on a vacation to Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border. Like most tourists, he took plenty of photographs.
Dubbed by his children as the “leprechaun-alien”, the wee three-foot creature turned up in a photograph of the wooded wilderness. Lloyd swears there was no one or thing there at the time he took the photo. It was only after downloading the photos to his computer that the anomaly showed up.
“I have a military background and don’t really believe in aliens,” he said, “but I can’t explain this.”
Leprechaun, alien, elf, or baby bigfoot? Everyone is speculating yet no one seems to be certain. But I highly doubt the real answer involves a pot of gold…
Known for being the “gay mecca” of the world, San Francisco is rich with history. The infamous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood saw the rise of the “hippie culture” in the 1960s… and has its share of spooks.
Right on Haight Street, you can find Trax Bar, a local gay watering hole in the middle of it all dating back to 1974. With it’s “easy to get to, hard to leave” slogan, you can tell it’s worth a visit. The drinks come cheap and the fun never ends. Yet there seems to be other spirits in this establishment, beyond those shelved behind the bar.
The bar itself dates back to the 1940s, when it was known as The Question Mark Cocktail Lounge. An old photograph discovered by workers hangs in the foyer, showing the original pub during the one-year anniversary. When the owner saw the picture, he noticed something familiar about it. He had seen the man who was pointing at the camera before… inside the bar.
There have been haunting rumors surrounding Trax for quite some time. Customers and employees have reported strange sightings. An ethereal man has been seen sitting at the end of the bar, watching the patrons. The same apparition has been spotted walking through the bar, into the office, and out the door. He doesn’t seem to be an unfriendly presence, just a casual observer.
Perhaps a former patron who loved the atmosphere? Or even an old manager who refuses to leave?
Nevertheless, Trax has earned a spot on the Haunted Haight ghost tour and has more than it’s share of visitors. If you can get beyond the drink specials, drag queens, and loud music, you just might find yourself face to face with the mysterious figure yourself.
Either way, you’re guaranteed to have a good time!
Is there such a thing as a gay clairvoyant? The answer is yes more often than you may think. And one of the better-known gay psychics is Dougall Fraser.
Fraser lead a very different life from most people. He realized at an early age that what he could see was different than others around him. At the age of 8, he gave his first psychic reading. Over the years, he studied massage, psychology, meditation and healing to build on his abilities. He left New Jersey for Dallas, Texas in hopes of becoming a massage therapist. Those plans fell through, but his psychic work gained momentum. By the time he was 20, he was voted Best Psychic in Dallas.
Being 6′6″ tall, overweight, gay, and a psychic made for turbulent teenage years. Yet Fraser learned to cope as many of us do through humor and a positive outlook. In 2005, he wrote down the memoirs of his earlier years in the book But You Knew That Already: What a Psychic Can Teach You About Life. He may not be any older than I am, but from the sound of it, he has lived enough to fill a book!
Fraser now calls Los Angeles home, where he moved with his husband David last year. He is still a popular psychic consultant. He was featured on X Zone Radio in April and will be traveling back to Texas and New York City in the coming months.
Whether or not you believe in psychic ability, he is certainly a fascinating individual. And of course, if you’re in the market for a clairvoyant, he’s certainly someone worth checking out…
It seems there is a new trend in criminal defense tactics: blame it on dead people!
In England, Dawood Khan is accused of murdering a Yorkshire College student last year with a cricket bat. He claims no knowledge of the actual crime. Doctors at the Stockton Hall Hospital where he is being held have stated that he believes he was under the influence of “black magic and two ghosts”.
Similarly, in Salinas, California, attempted to explain the 1996 drug-related murder of 20-year-old Victor Manuel Gutierrez on a ghost, only to recant his tale later. As his trial approaches, he is now blaming it on another (living) man.
Has this ever been a valid argument, or are people just more desperate to use the insanity defense?
The famed “Houdini Mansion” of Hollywood, California might not be haunted by the master illusionist after all.
Perched atop a hill on Laurel Canyon Boulevard sits the ruins of a once great estate. Though it is claimed to have been the home of Harry Houdini himself, he never lived there. His wife, Bess, did rent the property after his untimely death, but the real history of the home is far more interesting.
The villa was built by Eliza Walker in 1918, and in this fateful year, legend says the haunting began. According to a popular story, Walker’s son was gay. Soon after completion, the wealthy family held a party. The son met with his lover on a high balcony, and soon began to quarrel. The argument became heated and the young man pushed his lover from a balcony to his death.
The Walker family continued to own the property and was believed to have befriended Houdini and his wife. After Harry’s death in 1926, Bess began renting the guest house on the property where she is alleged to have conducted seances in the parlor to contact her dead husband. She never quite succeeded, and even today psychics and magicians have failed to get in touch with Houdini on the other side.
The Walker Mansion was destroyed by a wildfire in 1958, yet some small remnants can still be found. The best known is the stone staircase, where Houdini’s ghost has been reported on several occasions.
But is it really Houdini, or the gay lover who was murdered all those years ago?
Currently, music producer Rick Rubin owns a recording studio on the site. Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and even the Beatles have stayed at the location. Bands, including Slipknot, experienced unusual phenomena there. While the Red Hot Chili Peppers were recording their album Blood Sugar Sex Magikat the studio, they reported strange, unexplainable occurrences. The drummer, Chad Smith, was so shaken that he refused to live at the location.
Perhaps it was merely a case of paranormal homophobia…
Here’s what Maroon 5 had to say about recording at the location:
(click the image to enlarge)
