The History:
King Gillette Ranch which rests in the Santa Monica Mountains is named after King Camp Gillette. He is the man who developed the disposable razor blade and made quite a fortune for himself. You may recognize the name Gillette from the company of the same name which manufactures the razors and the shaving cream. The property itself was once Chumash Indian land, going back thousands of years. Between the time the Chumash owned the land and Gillette purchased it, Spaniards owned it and it was part of a land grant known as Rancho Santa Gertrudis de las Virgenes and in 1896 two brothers named Stokes filed a homestead application and established themselves on the property. Through marriage and associations the Stokes family controlled a good deal of property in what is now known as Calabasas.
King Gillette bought the property known as King Gillette Ranch in 1926 and famous architect Wallace Neff designed the house The style of the house is called Spanish Colonial Revival Style. The Cook's house and the White House guest house another very active location in regards to the paranormal on this estate were not designed by Mr. Neff but their design may have been influenced by the main house.
King Gillette succumbed to illness and died in 1932. His wife Alanta, sold the property to movie director Clarence Brown in 1935. Brown would own the property until 1952 when he sold it to an order of the Catholic church known as the Claretians. The Claretians held the property until 1977 when Elizabeth Clair Prophet and her church established themselves there.
In 1986 Soka University took over the property and held it until 2007. Today the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area owns and takes care of the estate.
Much of the above summarized history is taken from data put together by Robert Wlodarski, Archeologist and Paranormal Researcher and author. For more information on King Gillette Ranch and hauntings in addition to the wonderful books authored by Mr. Wlodarski and his wife Anne, you can contact him via email at [email protected].
What I hope to Share With You:
As you can see from the above history, King Gillette Ranch was a very active place with a good many strong and affluent men and women who owned, or lived on the estate or worked there in some capacity. Certainly interesting that such driven, ambitious and vibrant individuals would find themselves drawn to a place the Chumash Indians considered sacred land.
My first introduction to the estate and the land was through Mr. Wlodarski who through his connections in the community of preservation and archeology had come to know the administrators of the estate very well. Mr. Wlodarski has lived and worked in the Malibu / Calabasas area for many years. Both Mr. Wlodarski and I investigated the estate in December 2012. I knew of this investigation well in advance and actually visited and walked the grounds in November of that year.
Serene and beautiful with a calming effect on one's soul. You cannot help but feel at ease and take in everything about this place. Something magical is going on here. I am not a great outdoorsman by any stretch of the imagination but I have experienced the thrill of being able to walk up to three or four deer as they grazed together on the foliage and grasses of the estate. They were surprisingly trusting to an extent but calmly walked away if I came too close for their comfort.
King Gillette Ranch which rests in the Santa Monica Mountains is named after King Camp Gillette. He is the man who developed the disposable razor blade and made quite a fortune for himself. You may recognize the name Gillette from the company of the same name which manufactures the razors and the shaving cream. The property itself was once Chumash Indian land, going back thousands of years. Between the time the Chumash owned the land and Gillette purchased it, Spaniards owned it and it was part of a land grant known as Rancho Santa Gertrudis de las Virgenes and in 1896 two brothers named Stokes filed a homestead application and established themselves on the property. Through marriage and associations the Stokes family controlled a good deal of property in what is now known as Calabasas.
King Gillette bought the property known as King Gillette Ranch in 1926 and famous architect Wallace Neff designed the house The style of the house is called Spanish Colonial Revival Style. The Cook's house and the White House guest house another very active location in regards to the paranormal on this estate were not designed by Mr. Neff but their design may have been influenced by the main house.
King Gillette succumbed to illness and died in 1932. His wife Alanta, sold the property to movie director Clarence Brown in 1935. Brown would own the property until 1952 when he sold it to an order of the Catholic church known as the Claretians. The Claretians held the property until 1977 when Elizabeth Clair Prophet and her church established themselves there.
In 1986 Soka University took over the property and held it until 2007. Today the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area owns and takes care of the estate.
Much of the above summarized history is taken from data put together by Robert Wlodarski, Archeologist and Paranormal Researcher and author. For more information on King Gillette Ranch and hauntings in addition to the wonderful books authored by Mr. Wlodarski and his wife Anne, you can contact him via email at [email protected].
What I hope to Share With You:
As you can see from the above history, King Gillette Ranch was a very active place with a good many strong and affluent men and women who owned, or lived on the estate or worked there in some capacity. Certainly interesting that such driven, ambitious and vibrant individuals would find themselves drawn to a place the Chumash Indians considered sacred land.
My first introduction to the estate and the land was through Mr. Wlodarski who through his connections in the community of preservation and archeology had come to know the administrators of the estate very well. Mr. Wlodarski has lived and worked in the Malibu / Calabasas area for many years. Both Mr. Wlodarski and I investigated the estate in December 2012. I knew of this investigation well in advance and actually visited and walked the grounds in November of that year.
Serene and beautiful with a calming effect on one's soul. You cannot help but feel at ease and take in everything about this place. Something magical is going on here. I am not a great outdoorsman by any stretch of the imagination but I have experienced the thrill of being able to walk up to three or four deer as they grazed together on the foliage and grasses of the estate. They were surprisingly trusting to an extent but calmly walked away if I came too close for their comfort.
My relationship with the King Gillette Estate begins in December 2012. Our first investigation and it was a large group. Rob Wlodarski and I met at the guest house around 10:30 AM to do some EVP work by the front door. This little house also known as the White House served as a place to stay for VIP guests. Especially the movie star type during the days when Clarence Brown the famous movie director owned the place. I cannot say for certain all the big name stars who stayed there but one lady in particular who seems to have a strong connection with the place is actress Myrna Loy. She starred for Clarence Brown in movies produced by his studio RKO Pictures based out of Encino.
This is the White House / Guest House on the king Gillette Ranch Estate.
Here is Rob Wlodarski and we have set up in front of the door of the guest house to do some EVP work in the hopes of capturing something from one of the famous guests who stayed here in days gone bye.
Over the various investigations we have captured some amazing audio here.
Here is a clear Class A response of a female spirit who was with us by the door of the house and then followed us to the picnic table on the east side of the house near the garage. Rob asks her if indeed she is a spirit who was with us earlier and she confirms with "Yes I am". Wear your ear buds or head phones and turn up the volume as her voice is low and soft and I kind of talk over her a little bit.
With "Yes you knew me" one of our investigators who has empathic and mediumistic abilities sees someone in the window. Rob asks if we are bothering whomever is there and gets this interesting response. Again wear your head phones and turn the volume up.
Here, one of our investigators, the empathic one, asks if the resident spirit of the guest house is inviting us for dinner but it seems they are not quite ready for that yet as they tell here to "Go back and come back later."
In this above video, you get to see just a little bit of the amazing REM Pod session we experienced in the guest house at the end of our first investigation in 2012. As we filed into the little house and, wondered about its rooms, we finally made our way into the living room. All of us fanned out the circumference of the room and Rob Wlodarski placed the REM Pod in the middle. Almost immediately the little box began to react. The sounds emanating were musical in nature. We all became aware very shortly that something out of the usual was taking place here in front of all of us. And at the same time it was interactive in nature. Taking us all in and involving everyone of us.
What we all believed during this session was the spirit of a woman named Maria was communicating with us. Reaching out to us from a time that is several decades past.
From my report in 2012:
4:50 PM White House
Start of the Session in the White house and Rob is trying to determine who we have as spirits present.
The Rem pod is being utilized and it seems to be playing music. Rob asks for Alanta and flash a red light on the Rem pod if it is her. At this time at 1:27 a voice is heard to say "That's me!" and then it sounds somebody hits the floor with something like a stick. You could hear it snap as it struck the floor. Nobody in the room reacted to this.
At 2:14 as Rob continues to ask questions there is a response of "Bullshit!".
During this session we continued to receive yes and no answers with the red light for no
and the green light for yes. It was clear we were communicating with on spirit, who's name
apparently was Maria and she was Latino but preferred to be referred to as "Spanish" and not Mexican even though there was indication she may have originally been from Mexico. It seems that she was an employee of the Clarence Brown family at the estate.
The session in the white house lasted 41 minutes. We learned that a woman named Maria who worked for the Browns, spirit seems to occupy this house. She was most dominant in the session and seemed to be the one answering our questions. Maria considered herself Spanish but she may have been from Mexico.
There was indication from Maria that Clarence Brown's wife is one of the other spirits in this house and that she may not like Maria. The reason for Mrs. Brown not liking Maria was not made clear.
Maria indicated to us that for the most part she was happy being in the White House and was happy being at King Camp Gillette.
Maria asked us to leave and the session ended.
What we all believed during this session was the spirit of a woman named Maria was communicating with us. Reaching out to us from a time that is several decades past.
From my report in 2012:
4:50 PM White House
Start of the Session in the White house and Rob is trying to determine who we have as spirits present.
The Rem pod is being utilized and it seems to be playing music. Rob asks for Alanta and flash a red light on the Rem pod if it is her. At this time at 1:27 a voice is heard to say "That's me!" and then it sounds somebody hits the floor with something like a stick. You could hear it snap as it struck the floor. Nobody in the room reacted to this.
At 2:14 as Rob continues to ask questions there is a response of "Bullshit!".
During this session we continued to receive yes and no answers with the red light for no
and the green light for yes. It was clear we were communicating with on spirit, who's name
apparently was Maria and she was Latino but preferred to be referred to as "Spanish" and not Mexican even though there was indication she may have originally been from Mexico. It seems that she was an employee of the Clarence Brown family at the estate.
The session in the white house lasted 41 minutes. We learned that a woman named Maria who worked for the Browns, spirit seems to occupy this house. She was most dominant in the session and seemed to be the one answering our questions. Maria considered herself Spanish but she may have been from Mexico.
There was indication from Maria that Clarence Brown's wife is one of the other spirits in this house and that she may not like Maria. The reason for Mrs. Brown not liking Maria was not made clear.
Maria indicated to us that for the most part she was happy being in the White House and was happy being at King Camp Gillette.
Maria asked us to leave and the session ended.
Investigators standing inside the living room of the guest house, December 2012.
Almost a year and a half later a group of us are back in the living room of the guest house and Rob has a new toy. A Teddy Bear which is a KII meter. In this audio we ask that whomever is there to hug the Teddy Bear and make it light up. An unknown male voice says "Hug the Teddy".
Two other audio captures in front of the guest house door. Echovox / ITC responses. A female calls Rob, Robert and tells him to be careful. Another correctly states "two" when asked how many of us (me and Rob) are here right now.
Two other audio captures in front of the guest house door. Echovox / ITC responses. A female calls Rob, Robert and tells him to be careful. Another correctly states "two" when asked how many of us (me and Rob) are here right now.
The Main House:
The King Gillette house is beautiful. Both the upstairs and down stairs are expansive and the basement is like an underground compound and a world unto itself. From the first time in December 2012 until the most recent investigation this past June 2015, many things have been experienced.
In December 2012 I set up a camera in the hallway upstairs which leads to the master bedroom. One of our investigators was doing EVP work by herself and the rest of us were down stairs. She compliments the house and a clear disembodied voice was captured saying thank you. At first she thought somebody had coughed but she was the only person upstairs at the time.
Disembodied voices are not unusual for this place and especially upstairs near the master bedroom of which it is my opinion is the heart of any hauntings which take place in the house.
Above the master bedroom is the tower room which has a beautiful view of the entire estate. It is believed that Elizabeth Clare Prophet used the tower room as her bedroom when she owned the estate. It figures this tower room which gives one access to the sunrise and sunset and a gorgeous view of the stars and moon at night and which sits above the master bedroom would have a great deal of activity and it does.
The King Gillette house is beautiful. Both the upstairs and down stairs are expansive and the basement is like an underground compound and a world unto itself. From the first time in December 2012 until the most recent investigation this past June 2015, many things have been experienced.
In December 2012 I set up a camera in the hallway upstairs which leads to the master bedroom. One of our investigators was doing EVP work by herself and the rest of us were down stairs. She compliments the house and a clear disembodied voice was captured saying thank you. At first she thought somebody had coughed but she was the only person upstairs at the time.
Disembodied voices are not unusual for this place and especially upstairs near the master bedroom of which it is my opinion is the heart of any hauntings which take place in the house.
Above the master bedroom is the tower room which has a beautiful view of the entire estate. It is believed that Elizabeth Clare Prophet used the tower room as her bedroom when she owned the estate. It figures this tower room which gives one access to the sunrise and sunset and a gorgeous view of the stars and moon at night and which sits above the master bedroom would have a great deal of activity and it does.
This is a video of the first disembodied voice I captured in the mansion. This is the hallway upstairs and as you can see that room in the distance is the master bedroom where King Gillette may have spent his last hours.
The master bedroom of the King Gillette House has a distinct male feel to it. That doorway where you see the lady investigator has a couple of small steps that allows you to step up into the bedroom from the main hallway. This was a modification from the original layout of the room. Some alteration has been done to this room. We were sitting on the steps next to that doorway where she stands. We were attempting contact and there was a distinct fragrance of male cologne. The smell of pipe smoke has also been detected in this room. Two very strong male presences lived here. King Gillette and then later Clarence Brown and both their spirits have been contacted within this room.
Despite the strong male presence we have captured children's voices and female voices as well within this room. It was in this room that the spirit of whom I believe to be Clarence Brown, identified a lady investigator by name when he was asked if he could name her.
Despite the strong male presence we have captured children's voices and female voices as well within this room. It was in this room that the spirit of whom I believe to be Clarence Brown, identified a lady investigator by name when he was asked if he could name her.
The voice of who I believe to be Clarence Brown says "They thank you" when I say that he has a beautiful house. Who is they? Perhaps the Gillette and Brown family together? This is an ITC response from utilizing the Echovox.
To me, this is perhaps the most awesome ITC capture as it confirms the awareness of the spirit of what is going on. Here a spirit, assumed to be movie director Clarence Brown who lived one and owned the Gillette estate for a number of years, identifies by first and last name a fellow investigator who is present. In this case Vici Ruffulo as you will hear in this audio.
This I believe is in the master bedroom. An angry male voice asks "Who is that, that stands in our place?!"
Some of the team was heading out to the balcony just outside the south facing door from the master bedroom. They were going to make their way up to the tower room just above. A child's voice is heard to say "Please don't comeback."
A conversation with Clarence Brown. Well, I believe it is him. Clarence was one of those movie directors who was nominated over and again as the best director. He never won. He is tied with Alfred Hitchcock and I believe King Vidor for that honor
From Filmsite.org Directors With Two Best Director Nominations in the Same Year:
Only three directors have received two Best Director nominations in the same year:
Directors With a Significant Number of Best Director Nominations (4 or More), But No Wins:
From Filmsite.org Directors With Two Best Director Nominations in the Same Year:
Only three directors have received two Best Director nominations in the same year:
- Clarence Brown for Romance (1929/30) and Anna Christie (1929/30)
- Michael Curtiz, for Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and Four Daughters (1938)
- Steven Soderbergh for Erin Brockovich (2000) and Traffic (2000) (win)
Directors With a Significant Number of Best Director Nominations (4 or More), But No Wins:
- Clarence Brown (6 nominations, 0 wins):
Nominated: The Yearling (1946), National Velvet (1944), The Human Comedy (1943), A Free Soul (1941), Anna Christie (1929/30) and Romance (1929/30) - King Vidor (5 nominations, 0 wins):
Nominated: War and Peace (1956), The Citadel (1938), The Champ (1931), Hallelujah (1929), The Crowd (1928) - Alfred Hitchcock (5 nominations, 0 wins):
Nominated: Psycho (1960), Rear Window (1954), Spellbound (1945), Lifeboat (1944), Rebecca (1940)
Another Echovox ITC session with whom I believe is Clarence Brown the famous movie director. If you compare this voice to the one above you will hear it is the same. Also, he calls me by my first name and he tells me the exact year the movie "The Yearling" came out at the theaters.
One of my favorite captures within the master bedroom of the King Gillette mansion is this most relevant for the times response of a young female who asks us, "Google that won't you?" Who knows, perhaps she's not as young I she sounds. Pehaps she's a former paranormal investigator who has passed on. She certainly is familiar with google as anyone from our time would be. Who do you think she is?
To some who have investigated this mansion, the tower room which sits above the master bedroom is even more active. One can only imagine that those dearly departed who now wonder about the grounds of the estate love to come to the tower room because it affords such a magnificent view of the entire estate.
It was in this room in 2012 that I heard a male voice make comment on one of our lady investigators. He said "She looks like Katherine". Who Katherine was, I do not know.
"She looks like Katherine"
The above video is the audio of a captured disembodied male voice in the King Gillette Ranch Mansion in the upstairs by the Master Bedroom. He says Hello to You in response to my hello.
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