Venice Beach

The Haunting

Westminster Ave. Apartment Bldg. - Charlie Chaplin used to own several of the large buildings that sit near or along the famous Venice Beach Boardwalk in Los Angeles. In the day, these buildings were commonly used as bath houses or lodging for wealthy vacationers. Today, these buildings have been converted to apartment buildings for the local artists, musicians, and other creative types that now inhabit Venice Beach. Incidentally these buildings cradle around the famous Building Number 26 on Westminster Ave. It has been documented in print as well as Chaplin's films that during the early 1900's he did much of his filming in and around these properties on Westminster Avenue. In 1915, during the filming of "By the Sea" Chaplin's stunt double mysteriously disappeared from the film set. Production was put on hold for three days and a full on man-hunt was instated. After tur ning up empty-handed, it was assumed that the long time friend of Chaplin's must have quit and left on his on recognizance. The studios that were financially backing the film, were losing money. Under haste, Chaplin was forced to replace his stunt double and continue production of the film. On the seventh day after the disappearance, Chaplin returned to his dressing room after a day of shooting. His dressing room was located in the basement of the now famous Building number 26 on Westminster. It is documented that Chaplin, while accompanied by an entourage, entered the room to discover his stunt double and long time friend lying dead on the floor, wet and covered in seaweed. The man appeared to have been deceased for several days. How he had ended up on the floor of Chaplin's dressing room after missing for almost an entire week, is still to this day a complete mystery. The "now" inhabitants of the famous building claim to still hear strange noises emanating from th e walls of somebody walking through shallow water. Other noises include moaning, and sounds of someone distantly crying for help. In addition to the assortment of disturbing sounds, there have been several sightings of what appears to be an apparition of a man bound by the hands and feet standing in luminous corners of the large building. Quite possibly the most blood curdling detail of all these sightings is what the man is seen wearing. He's dressed the same way he was the day he disappeared. A Chaplin-esque tuxedo coat with tails and the proverbial black derby hat.