Casa de Charles Manson

I won't mince words - I have a fascination with the macabre. I read Helter Skelter before I entered high school. My idea of a perfect weekend is a Forensic Files marathon and some take-out. I read true crime books by Ann Rule and thoroughly enjoyed the Dearly Departed Tour here in Los Angeles.

George Spahn, O.G.

One of the first things I did upon moving to Hollywood was speed over to the Santa Susana Pass. Charles Manson and his "family" lived there at Spahn Ranch, a crumbling Wild West movie set that had downgraded to a place that offered the public horseback riding. The owner of the property, George Spawn, allowed Manson's commune to live there for free, since Manson ordered the women in the "family" to have sex with the nearly blind eighty year-old man.

But when I arrived at Spahn Ranch, there was no ranch. George Spahn had long since died and the Manson "family" incarcerated, but I expected the dusty movie set to still be standing. Gone also were any remnants of commune life there. Call it denial, but I was convinced I was at the wrong place, misled by shoddy internet references. But then I found this video.

all the way to the Simi Valley for nothing!

Scott Michaels, founder of Dearly Departed Tours is as obsessed as I am with all things Helter Skelter, and when all he found was a hubcap and can of Coors on the property (with the aid of a metal detector), I knew I was at the right place, and that there was no point in going back.

The Hottest Recording Studio in Town?

Why cut a record at a recording studio, when you can do it in a home that brutal murders have taken place in? Rock musicians are fascinated with the thought of making albums in places with sordid histories and rumored hauntings.

Music producer Rick Ruben moved into Houdini's Castle, the Laurel Canyon abode that belonged to the infamous late magician. The castle is supposedly cursed. Before Houdini and his wife Bess became residents, it was built by millionaire furniture magnate RJ Walker, complete with hidden undergound tunnels and passageways. One night the Walkers threw an elegant party, and their son stole away from the crowd to meet his lover on a hidden balcony. When a fight ensued, he pushed his lover off the balcony and watched him fall 30 feet to his death. Then Houdini moved in, and the home was a host to seances and ouja board sessions. To this day, residents and visitors have reported floating orbs of light, a general unease about the place and no one will go near the bell tower. Perfect location for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to record Blood Sugar Sex Magik? Other bands that have recorded in the space include Slipknot, Jay-Z and Maroon 5.

On 10500 Cielo Drive, the Charles Manson "family" descended upon Roman Polanski's wife Sharon Tate and killed her and a friend. Sharon was stabbed to death and her unborn fetus was pulled from her body and left to die. The word "Pig" was scrawled across the wall in her blood. Perfect place to set up "Pig" recording studio? Trent Reznor thought so, moved in and recorded the Nine Inch Nails album Downward Spiral in that space. He also took Marilyn Manson under his wing to record Portrait of an American Family there.

If death is so crucial to making a good album, whether to satisfy their own romanticism or ensure it looks good in print for a Rolling Stone interview, might I suggest Cedars-Sinai? This hospital-to-the-stars should invest in some sound equipment, because it has seen more celebrity deaths than anywhere else in LaLa Land. Within its walls have been the deaths of Easy-E, Charles Bronson, Andy Kaufman, Barry White, and following his infamous collapse in front of The Viper Room, River Phoenix.