Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Netflix Companion: Six Degrees of Helter Skelter

Your host for this edition of the Netflix companion is Mr. Scott Michaels. He is the fascinating founder of FindADeath.com and DearlyDepartedTours.com and has been a serious Mansonologist since 1994. Some of  the places Scott will show you along the way (in addition to the crime scenes at Cielo, Waverly and Old Topanga Canyon Road) include:

Jay Sebring's home which was built by Jean Harlow's husband Paul Bern in 1930. It is also where Mr. Bern died under "mysterious circumstances" in 1932. The current owners, Dr. Ron Hall and his wife Maggie, bought the home in 1970 and have been there, ever since. They do not report any paranormal oo-EE-oo, despite Sharon's supposed "premonition" there in 1967.

Dennis Wilson's home which is also where Will Rodgers once lived. It is still standing, though it was being renovated at the time of filming. Michaels mentions that Clem wrecked Dennis' uninsured Mercedes, but Patty remembers it being a red sportscar, no?

Voytek and Gibby's home which is not directly across the street from Mama Cass', as is stated in Helter Skelter. Rather, the properties back up to one another. The Falcon's Lair, where Rudolph Valentino lived, and which has a birdseye view of Cielo Drive from across the canyon. Michaels explains which houses were there in 1969, including the one Winnie Chapman ran to for help. Places where Lotsapoppa, Saladin Nader, Rudy Weber, Steven Weiss, and Susan LaBerge lived.

Jack Jones' home which was creepy crawled. Jack was a singer most widely known for the theme from "The Love Boat." Things were moved around in the house, and Jack's cowboy hat went missing. Michael asserts that Jack later found out that the crawlers stuck around in the bushes to watch him come home and only left after police arrived to take a report.

The LA County Coroner where Chief Craig Harvey deciphers publicly available coroner's reports on all the known victims, and finally, Barker Ranch before and after the fire. Patty really enjoyed Michaels' take on everything and thanks to Ken, she recognized a lot of the places she's never been.