Vogue Theater at the SupperClub Hollywood, California
This was a dream location for us. Some place we thought we would never have the chance to investigate. When we say it was Fate that brought us here to the Vogue Theater, we really mean that. The series of events that led us to meet up with Abdi, the property's owner, just fell into place perfectly. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Abdi for his permission to investigate this historic location. Here is a little backstory on the property - once you read it - you'll understand why we were thrilled for this opportunity.
In the late 1800s, Hollywood Boulevard was known as Prospect Avenue. The Prospect Elementary School stood at the site where the Vogue Theater, which opened in 1936, now stands. In 1901, tragedy struck the four-room schoolhouse, and it burned to the ground killing 25 children and the teacher, Miss Elizabeth.
The movie theater remained in operation until the spring of 1992, when the Vogue closed its doors and was left empty until 1997. At that time, the International Society for Paranormal Research, headed by parapsychologist Dr. Larry Montz, acquired the property and moved in to set up shop.
When ISPR moved into the Vogue Theatre, the team had no idea the property was haunted by nine resident entities, including six children and three adult ghosts, Montz said.
"When we took over the Vogue, we were intending to use it for offices and a place to do screenings," he said. "When it turned out to be active, it turned into a research center. Now, there have been literally thousands of accounts of people who had paranormal experiences there."
Montz said the Vogue was so active with paranormal occurrences that the ghosts developed relationships with members of the ISPR team.The children, Montz said, all died in the 1901 fire at Prospect Elementary. One of the adult ghosts was Miss Elizabeth, the schoolteacher who also died in the fire.Two other adult ghosts identified as Fritz and Danny also took up residence at the Vogue.
Fritz, a German immigrant, was the Vogue Theatre projectionist for 40 years, and he died of a heart attack in the projection room in the 1980s. Danny was a maintenance engineer for Mann Theatres who also worked at the Vogue from time to time. He died of a drug overdose in the 80s.
For four years, the Vogue Theatre was the home of ISPR and its ghost expeditions, which allowed visitors to participate in a paranormal field investigation combining both scientific and clairvoyant methods.
Among the reports of paranormal activity occurring in the Vogue were accounts of full-form apparitions, poltergeist activities when objects move around the property, strange odors and visits from outside entities who did not regularly haunt the theater. "It was one of the most active sites I've ever worked on," Montz said.
In 2009, the building was retrofitted and renovated to become the Supper Club, an amazing club catering to the over 21 clientele. They were known for over the top events and service. Waitresses would descend down the ceiling with champagne bottles to service the lounges. Towards the back of the building was the Golden Box, an underground New York inspired, punk rock bar that was legendary among the Hollywood in crowd. We also found interesting that part of the Golden Box was actually part of the historic Frank & Musso's which is still next door.