The Ghosts of Edendale screening with filmmaker Stefan Avalos

Get in the Halloween spirit AND learn about neighborhood history – join the Echo Park Historical Society on Saturday October 24th at 1:00 p.m. in the Edendale Library meeting room for a screening of the supernatural thriller The Ghosts of Edendale, with writer and director Stefan Avalos! 

Long before “Hollywood” became synonymous with the commercial film industry, the area of Echo Park known as Edendale was the center of filmmaking on the West Coast. There were several thriving film studios along Allesandro Avenue (now Glendale Boulevard) including the Selig Polyscope Company, the Mack Sennett Studios and the Pathé West Coast Film Studio. The Keystone Kops drove their paddy wagon up and down the nearby hills and crashed it into Echo Park Lake. Stars like Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle and Harold Lloyd filmed pictures here, and Charlie Chaplin’s first film was made at the Mack Sennett Studios. William Selig leased part of a nearby ranch to shoot westerns, which was soon bought by Tom Mix and renamed Mixville. But by the 1920s most of the studios and production had moved west to Hollywood, and Edendale became a quiet downtown-adjacent residential neighborhood.

Filmmaker Stefan Avalos moved to the area in 2001, and fell in love with its scenic charm and forgotten history as a moviemaking hub, which he researched extensively to make The Ghosts of Edendale. His 2003 independent horror film tells the story of Kevin and Rachel, who move to Los Angeles to follow their dream of making it in pictures. They can't believe their luck when they find the perfect house on a hill called Edendale, just east of Hollywood. Here, all their neighbors are in "the business" and they have high hopes for Kevin and Rachel. But Rachel's dreams soon turn to nightmares. There's something hiding in the closet, spooky sounds in the walls, and Kevin starts acting strange. Is Rachel going crazy or is something unnatural afoot? As the neighbors eagerly await the completion of Kevin's work, Rachel tries to convince him to leave this place… before the ghosts of Edendale reach across time to possess his very soul!

Stefan will introduce the film by telling us about the history of the neighborhood that inspired him, and about the production, all shot on nearby streets that will be very recognizable to locals. 

Besides working as a filmmaker and a journalist, Stefan Avalos is also a concert violinist who has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. His 1997 film The Last Broadcast anticipated the found-footage horror trend popularized shortly thereafter by The Blair Witch Project. He won awards at Slamdance for his 2017 documentary Strad Style, about an Ohio man attempting to make a Stradivarius-quality violin for a Romanian violinist. Stefan has also worked in animation, digital film technologies and as an advocate for independent filmmaking.

The Edendale library address is 2011 Sunset Blvd., but enter from the Alvarado St. side through the library parking lot. Email [email protected] for more information.