Where Monsters Roam
Sometimes the saying is
true: Fact is stranger than fiction. A writer will stumble over many examples of
this in their research. We’ll look at it and say, “No one will believe that,” so we fictionalize it,
oddly making it more “believable”. While writing The Dark Cycle Series I definitely found an
example that would shock most readers, and where many local residents believe
monsters roam for real.
The Devil’s Gate dam in Pasadena,
California. Just the name of the place is confusing. Pasadena? What’s devilish about Pasadena?
The Beach Boys said that’s where the little old ladies live. But then
the Devil’s
Gate part sends a bit of a shiver through the bones. And being in the location
doesn’t
help. If the stories of disappearances and deaths surrounding the land, and the
strange rock formation shaped like a devil’s head don’t make you wary, then the
story behind the myths most certainly will.
The land has always had
the humans steering clear. Before the dam was built in the 1920s the Arroyo Seco
River ebbed and flowed over the area on a seasonal whim. At times it would
rage, causing serious flooding, then other parts of the year it would be as dry
as a bone. The Native Americans believed that the land was cursed and barred
their own from going anywhere near it, many saying there was a dark doorway in
the area.
In the late 1940s, a very
real reason became evident, and many more people began viewing the dam as a
porthole to Hell, as one event after another spread the mythos. These events
were said to be triggered by the real-life magic workings
of the famous rocket scientist and occultist, Jack Parsons, along with the
science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. They believed the dam carried magical
properties and powers, as the Native Americans had always said. But they also
believed they could harness that power to call up something called, a
moonchild; an anti-god that could abolish civilization as we know it.
These rituals and magical
spells (dubbed the "Babylon Working") performed at the dam, as well
as at Parsons' home, were said to have opened a
porthole to another world, allowing monstrous demons to come and go as they
pleased.
Sounds crazy, right? And
when you hear the whole thing (including Jack's belief that his wife, Marjorie,
was the whore of Babylon) it seems like a story written by a seriously strange
mind.
Soon after the last
ritual, Parsons died in an experiment he was performing at his magic-infused
home, seemingly killing the myth of devils and gates along with himself.
The man, L. Ron Hubbard, became a famous novelist and the leader of
Scientology, and nothing more was said of the gate to Hell. It seemed to fade
into obscurity.
Until 1956 when two young
children where brutally murdered on the land, their bodies later found when
their killer committed suicide. A year later, another boy disappeared when he walked ahead on
the path a few yards away from his family. Later that year, another boy
vanished without a trace on the trails. Those two boys’ disappearance remain a mystery.
Since the ‘50s the legend has only
grown,
with people who visit the area experiencing ghost sightings of a woman in
white, feeling burning sensations, and coming home with mysterious scratches.
People feel watched, chased, and touched by something in
the shadows. Porthole or not, the fear of the land is very real. And the origin
of this real life mystery is definitely stranger than fiction; plus, there's so much more
to the tale that I don't have room for here. I encourage you to look it up, especially if you like old Hollywood Heyday drama.
As an author who writes
about portholes to the World of the Dead, and demons walking among us, I can’t imagine it all really
happening. But what if it did in Pasadena? Apparently that little old lady The
Beach Boys sang about was no slouch, living in such a dark and dangerous place,
where monsters might roam.
_______
TODAY’S GIVEAWAY
THREE PRINT or ECOPIES (READER’S CHOICE) of Rachel A. Mark’s Darkness Brutal (The Dark Cycle Book 1)!!! print copies, are limited to U.S. and Canada!
To win: go to the Official FB Event Page; find the post announcing
today’s giveaway; and comment, “I WANT TO WIN PRINT” (if in U.S.
or Canada) or “I WANT TO WIN AN ECOPY” in that post and you just
might!!!
AUTHOR BIO
Rachel A. Marks is the author of The Dark Cycle series,
beginning with DARKNESS BRUTAL. You can read more about her weird hobbies and see some of
her artwork on her webpage: www.RachelAnneMarks.com. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Darkness Brutal
(The Dark Cycle Book 1)
(The Dark Cycle Book 1)
Aidan O’Linn’s
childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother and mark his sister,
Ava, with Darkness. Since then, every three years the demons have returned to
try to claim her. Living in the gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan
has managed to protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight
demons and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.
In desperation,
Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of a group of teens who
run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that fights demons and ghosts. In
their company, Aidan believes he’s finally found a haven for Ava. But when he
meets Kara, a broken girl who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, he
awakens powers he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the
forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.
With the fate
of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness at bay and accept his
brilliant, terrifying destiny?
No comments:
Post a Comment