Y’all know I’ve long been obsessed about the Tate-LaBianca murders. But let’s be clear: All those stories about the spirits of Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring haunting a house a few doors down from where the murders took place? I don’t buy any of it.
Mood music:
http://youtu.be/5fvJEpdq8a8
The claim has been made by David Oman, whose home has been the subject of a Ghost Hunters episode and several other news reports.
Oman has been all too eager to invite people to his “haunted house” and those who’ve been there claim to have seen and heard strange things. But when you put someone in the spotlight, they’re bound to tell the world anything. They may even want to believe it so badly that they end up thinking they saw things that weren’t really there.
Now the house is in an episode of Ghost Adventures. People talk about having been being overcome with depression as they drove up the private way to Oman’s house. And Oman and others say the strange happenings are about more than the Tate hauntings. The site is also a Native American burial ground and a hotbed of paranormal activity, they say.
I remain skeptical. First of all, I drove up and down that street three times and never experienced any weird feelings. Secondly, Oman produced a movie loosely based on the murders called House at the End of the Drive, and I can’t help but suspect all the ghost stories are publicity to pump up the film.
There is also the fact that a lot of other residents in that neighborhood have never experienced anything abnormal.
It annoys me how people continue to exploit five murder victims who didn’t deserve the cards they were dealt. It seems we refuse to let them rest in peace.
If Oman ever invited me into his house — and I doubt he ever would — I’d go in. I’d even spend the night. One, because I’m curious. Two, because I’m always open to the possibility that I’m wrong. If I were proven wrong, I’d write about it.
But I’m not holding my breath.
Photo by Bill Brenner. The big mansion on the left is where Sharon Tate’s house once stood. Oman’s house is on the far right.
They feel a sense of depression. What are they supposed to feel where a pregnant woman was murdered? Elation?
The depression they describe is more about the raw feeling they said they had upon driving up the street and entering Oman’s house. I don’t think they were thinking of Sharon or any of the other victims.
I have no doubt David Oman is exploiting the unusual goings on at his home to milk as much money out of the situation as possible, the story reminded me so much of the Amityville Horror, then I discovered that the film was made by the same people!
Having said all that, the place is creepy. I’ve seen lots of footage by several different photographers showing what appears to be supernatural activity that either it’s really happening, or there’s a major conspiracy involving everyone who’s ever set foot in that house.
Bill, if you are invited to sleep over at David’s house, and you survive, come back and let us know how it went, and best of luck mate, I think you’ll need it! Cheers, Terry.
I will be at David Oman’s house this Friday night with my group of writers and artists/Adventure seekers, Ghost Stories Inc. I’ll let you know what I find.
We’re not scientists and don’t claim to be. We are creative types that use locations and stories to fuel our art. Personally, I’m very skeptical. But I’m open to the possibility of something beyond my knowledge.
Okay. My group has not gone through all of our audio/video recordings made at the David Oman house yet, but I can tell you what I experienced. I heard and felt a knocking coming from under floor boards of a basement room that seems to answer our request for more knocking. I felt a cold spot that seemed to appear out of nowhere. And I witnessed a action figure repeatedly fall over after being stationary for most of the evening. These are all things that can be attributed to every day happenings. When put into a different context, they can also be entertaining. We will see what stories come of these experiences later.
As for the exploitation of the murders, I don’t believe anything is being done, in this case, for monetary gain or out of morbid fasciation. David Oman is actually doing something interesting by not focusing on the murders or the killers and in a way is keeping the memories of those tragic souls alive. Not saying it’s being done in the most noble fashion, but he does seem honest in his respect for the people that lost their lives so close to his home. Mr. Oman is a curious character, but I don’t believe him to have any malicious intent.
Shame on him for spiritual exploitation. He’s a spoiled brat lucky that daddy had money as otherwise he’d be another person trying to make it in Hollywood. Notice for a 55+ year old, who claims to be in the business, he had NO film credits prior to this scam. Support the arts. Delve into the spiritual. But have integrity.
7 years after this article and it’s comments were written, I’m saddened to say that Mr. Oman now has a reputation among paranormal investigation groups as ‘financing his retirement’ by using the tragedy that happened down the street. Several have felt the atmosphere is staged. I wonder why the people two doors down or even ONE door down don’t have any activity. This would be right up there with collecting money to go hang out at Auschwitz. What good does asking a potentially lost soul if they can make a machine beep?
This guy is an obvious absolute fraud and anybody who falls for is a fool
I agree. Why in the world if these poor souls were going to haunt anything, would they choose David Oman’s house? Why not the actual property they actually lost their lives in, or the home closest to the property? It doesn’t make sense. As interested as I am in this tragic event, it’s horrible that 50 years on, these people are still being exploited, and by someone who has no connection to them whatsoever.
My theory is that all the seances there may be attracting ghosts and other spirits to that particular house. Perhaps these ghosts like getting attention. Perhaps they won’t cross over until every one of the murderers are dead. I have been to that house. I heard a disembodied voice. It came from a wall where no one was standing. It was very random. I wasn’t smoking weed or taking any other kind of hallucinogen. I have never been diagnosed as a schizophrenic.
David Oman may be weird; you may think he talks to imaginary friends a lot, when he visits, but I think all the seances done there left a portal permanently opened, and that’s causing the hauntings there. I did NOT get friendly, peaceful vibes there. I got very hostile and intimidating vibes.
I’m not sure why his movie has never been released to theaters; it hasn’t even been released on dvd. He’s been talking about it for years and promoting it, but all the public has seen is a few trailers. I think some of his guests got a private viewing of his movie in his bottom-floor movie room.
I wouldn’t ever try to make a profit from a haunting from ghosts of people who once were alive. I don’t understand why a ghost would contact a total stranger. If I were a ghost, and my murder case went cold, I’d tell the person who killed me and other details that could solve the case. If my family hated me, and I was very lonely, I’d hang around anyone who gave me attention, even though there isn’t anything they can do for me except let me vent. I’d only do that if I was bitter, could not get over my demise, and move on to a happier, better place.