I have to admit, October is one of the best months of the year. I get a rush of adrenaline when I can smell the change of the seasons, however slight it may be, and the long hours of darkness make me believe that perhaps there is something real about Halloween.

It was on one of the darker nights so far that I made a trip to drkrm.gallery in Glassell Park, a neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles a few streets past Chinatown. I not only believe in ghosts, but I embrace them, look for them, yearn to be susceptible to their type of communication though, sadly, I don’t think I am.

But the moment I exited the 110 North on Figueroa Street, I got a creeping suspicion that I was in for a real treat. The streets of the sleepy town were deserted. Very few cars littered the streets, and the sidewalks were empty of life form altogether.

I pulled up to 2121 N. San Fernando Road and reveled in awe of the building. A 1920’s Art Deco-style construction, it is a magnanimous sight even if the exterior is a faded white and the walls reflect the neon lights of the Arco next door.

There is a mystery to the place nonetheless. The interior is a long concrete hallway with inconspicuous doors; I feel like there should be creepy 1920’s elevator music playing on repeat throughout the dormant building.

I’m given a tour by Jay Lopez, the gallery director who informs me that the doors lead to live-work spaces for artists. The barrenness that pervades the entire place is, in its own way, very modern and very conducive to inspiring the talented.

Suite 3 is the home of drkrm.gallery. It’s a good size room with white walls and a ceiling that allows the space to breathe. Lights are strategically placed, like any professional gallery, and the photos that will be displayed in the exhibit have just been mounted.

The photos in question are actually Polaroids dating back to 1992, before the time of Photoshop and digital editing. The snapshots reveal what I drove 10 minutes down the freeway to experience. A mystical, white, hazy substance permeates the confines of the pictures that would otherwise be normal in construction.

Seeing Things: Ghost Polaroids is drkrm.gallery’s special Halloween exhibition of the paranormal images that will leave you questioning your beliefs about the afterlife. The quaint gallery will not only feature the original photos, but will also provide explanations for the images.

The owners of a home in Glassell Park first started noticing the wispy, ghost-like apparitions that appeared in their Polaroids dating back to the early ’90s. They began taking hundreds of pictures, hoping to find the mysterious substance once again.

As it turns out, their wish came true as dozens of photos show signs of the paranormal. Then something even stranger happened: messages began to appear in the film. Definitive words were discernible in response to questions that were asked of the spirit. This entity that called himself “Wright” showed signs of intelligence by giving his answers in English as well as Latin. Spooky, right?

Just to make it clear, “Wright” is a real-life Casper: he’s a friendly ghost. When the homeowners asked why he was there, he replied, “to help,” going as far as to say that he was there for them.

The original Polaroids are simply unreal. I was given the precious opportunity to hold one in my hands, and – as far as I could tell – they are untampered pieces of ghost lore come to life.

This is a fascinating exhibit that will change you, shake you, haunt you and maybe scare you a little. No doubt I went home and took tons of pictures of nothing with the intent of capturing the spirit in my room. Naturally I was left empty-handed.

However I came to the realization that this exhibition got me back in the spirit of believing in something, however fantastical it may be, for the hour I was there. I was forced to question my beliefs and develop a new theory about the twisted world in which I live.

In the spirit of Halloween, embrace the strange and accept the possibility of ghosts.



drkrm.gallery is located at 2121 N. San Fernando Rd., Ste. 3, Los Angeles. For more information, call (323) 223-6867 or visit drkrm.com.