~ THE HITCHCOCK PROJECT CONCLUSION ~

Salutations Fellow Sleuths,

The TEAM found Hitchcock's fascination with Santa Cruz very interesting, indeed. The Brookdale Lodge, a magnet for Old Hollywood Royalty, would have only been about a 20 minute drive from his home in Scotts Valley.
Which leads us right to our next topic...
GUESS WHAT???
It's time to pick out our next investigation site. I have to tell you, the 6 CENTS team is leaning toward, yep, you guessed it...The Brookdale Lodge...
I used to perform there several years ago (Tribal Bellydance) and lived about a mile away from it for years, so i look forward to sharing some first-hand stories with you, up close and personal!

~ROSE

~ CAMEO KING ~

PSYCHO...SANTA CRUZ ORIGIN

PSYCHO

by Alfred Hitchcock

The Bates Motel has sent chills down the spines of movie-goers for decades now.

Built in the 1860's, on top of sacred Ohlone Indian land, the inspirational mansion was originally a lavish Victorian situated atop Beach Hill. With an incredible view of the scenic Monterey Bay, the house changed owners several times.

In the 1960's, new owners bought it and seemed to breathe new life into the place, renovating it to become The McCray Hotel. Unfortunately, their son began seeing ghosts and they eventually sold the place. It degenerated into a haven for drug dealers and then Satanists.

In the 1980's, it was remodeled AGAIN...only this time I knew the architect. It was revealed to me, that while re-constructing the downstairs basement, 2 of his employees walked off the job and never came back. They muttered something about blue lights and a woman's voice.

It is now an upscale retirement home named The Sunshine Villa.

However, the nurses have reported cold spots, blue lights, and disembodied voices. One of the nurses is a friend of mine.

There are 2 other mansions that may have contributed significantly to Hitchcock's vision: the Bernheim House which stood at the intersection of Ocean and Broadway AND the Kittredge Family mansion.

*Source:

http://www.metroactive.com/

http://www.thecobranose.com/

LOOK Familiar???

There is something so familiar about this...

That's because this was the true inspiration for the Bates Hotel in PSYCHO!!!

~ THE BIRDS...RELEASED IN 1963 ~

Greetings Ghosties!

Most who are familiar with the film The Birds, know that it was shot in Bodega Bay - CA
(about an hour and a half north of San Francisco). But how many of you know the TRUE inspiration for the film???

In August of 1961, the Santa Cruz area was bombarded by birds from the evening sky.
From as far south as Aptos, birds were crashing into chimneys, windows, car windshields, etc...
The next morning it was reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel that some sort of weather having to do with dense fog had caused the birds to become disoriented. Several tons of dead birds were collected and removed. However, they had recently finished feeding which caused a lasting, rotten stench. According to the Sentinel, Mr.Hitchcock requested a copy of the edition featuring this article:

Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 18, 1961: page 1:
Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes; Thousands of Birds Floundering in Streets

"A massive flight of sooty shearwaters, fresh from a feast of anchovies, collided with shoreside structures from Pleasure Point to Rio Del Mar during the night. Residents were awakened about 3 am today by the rain of birds, slamming against their homes.
Dead and stunned seabirds littered the streets and roads in the foggy, early dawn. Startled by the invasion, residents rushed out on their lawns with flashlights, then rushed back inside as birds flew toward their light."

Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 21, 1961; page 4:
Alfred Hitchcock Using the Sentinel's Seabird Story

"Hollywood mystery producer Alfred Hitchcock phoned The Sentinel Saturday to let us know he is using last Friday's edition as research material for his latest thriller.
Hitchcock who owns a home in the hills near Scotts Valley, had phoned from Hollywood early Friday morning and requested a copy of the paper be mailed to him there."


The Birds was adapted from Daphne DuMaurier's 10-year-old novel, "The Birds", which ironically deals with the invasion of a small town by millions of birds.

*Source:

http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/unusual/birds

~THE HITCHCOCK PROJECT~ 2007

Happy New Year Ghosties!!!

Hope you were ALL made merry...

Well, it's January so you know what that means?!
IT'S HITCHOCK MONTH...
The team has been researching Hitchock's Santa Cruz connection during our winter break and have found out so much information. Each day or so we will post some thing new about him, his career, and his love for Santa Cruz.
He was so taken by Santa Cruz he bought a home in the Santa Cruz mountains ( Shadow Mountain...i like to call it...having once lived up there ).

*STAY TUNED...