Image courtesy of Phantosmia
Put your shoes on and grab your keys. You only have four hours until the kickoff party for one of the most original ghost tours in LA. The Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO) and Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles (GHOULA) have teamed up to create s self-guided tour “highlighting locations notable for paranormal disturbances uniquely driven by scent.”
Inspired by the fact that hauntings are often accompanied by unique fragrances, such as cheap perfume or cigar smoke, IOA is offering a Phantosmia Perfume Kit composed by members of The Smelly Vials Perfume Club. The kit contains 13 vials which recreate the scents of local hauntings, including Peg Entwistle’s sweet gardenia perfume, Miguel Leonis’ soap, and “the phantom smell of Rudolph Valentino’s horse lingering at the former site of Falcon’s Lair.” The kit comes with a printed guide and a map to 13 haunted locations around LA. You can pick up your kit between 5pm and 7pm Saturday while enjoying the party at The Institute for Art and Olfaction in Chinatown. Guests will visit each location on their own, reading up on the history of the haunting while inhaling the location’s specific bouquet. Perhaps if the haunting is strong enough, you may catch a whiff of the original essence without even opening a vial. Each spot will have a Phantosmia marker, from which you can take a rubbing. “Guests who visit all thirteen sites will be invited to a special blending session at the IAO, where they will be able to explore their own olfactory version of ghostly LA.”
The entire kit is $60. The party, which will feature ghost stories and the map alone is $5. If $60 seems like a lot of money, remember that you can split the cost amongst a group, and you will be able to keep the vials to revisit the tour anytime you like. Not since John Water’s Odorama has anyone come up with such a fun use of odor. Get your tickets here or at the door.
Ghosts in the ol’ factory! Let’s go, Scoob!