Paranormal detectives visit La Habra theater to make contact with Molly.
By JAIMEE LYNN FLETCHER STAR-PROGRESS
Do you believe in ghosts? Employees at the La Habra Depot Theater do, and they were determined to make contact. On Dec. 6, paranormal detectives and a spiritualist were invited to the Depot to reach out to a spirit that workers and cast members believe inhabits the theater, an old train station the city relocated from across the street to avoid demolition. People who have spent a lot of time in the Depot claim to have had contact with the spirit of little Molly. Stories differ on how Molly died; some say the little girl fell from the platform onto the tracks, while others believe Molly was hit by a car on the road in front of the Depot. Neither story has ever been confirmed. One of the old Amtrak train cars is used for costume storage and a make up room, and is where most say Molly spends her time. According to Jennifer Garms, board member at the Depot, the front closet in the Amtrak constantly opens and closes. She said they believe it is Molly playing. The actors at the Depot refer to the little girl as their “good luck charm” who watches over the actors. “Every night before a show the actors knock on Molly’s door and say ‘show time Molly,’ ” Garms said. The Orange County Paranormal Detectives, a group founded by 21-year-old Jean Pierre Giagnoli, toured the old Amtrak car using various equipment and methods to gather readings from the “other side.” They used night vision cameras to capture images, an electromagnetic field meter that measures the field of energy and a gauge to log changes in temperature. Giagnoli said spirits generally give off a high-frequency energy and generate cold spots, which he feels, may be indicators of their existence. While standing in the front room of the train car, Joe Perez held the probe of a thermometer and directed yes or no questions to the air. After each question, the temperature in the room dropped drastically and immediately returned to normal. “There is no device to detect a human spirit, so there is no instrument that can prove spirits exist,” Giagnoli said. “I think that it’s possible to find something that proves it someday.” Some might say it’s possible for the mind to fabricate ideas of paranormal activity, but Perez said he believes the mind can be a great instrument in detecting ghosts. “If people allow themselves to be open to (the idea of ghosts) they will see more,” he said. As of Tuesday, the paranormal detectives said they had picked up noises on the videos they took that night, but still had to clean up and analyze the data. To further the tests, the theater group also asked Bonnie Vent, a spirit advocate from San Diego, to do a reading after the tour that night. Vent said she purposely did not gather information on the history of the Depot because she wanted to have an uninfluenced experience. “Your mind can play tricks on you, which is why I don’t want any information,” she said. “If I come in with a lot of history (of the place) I’m probably going to bend myself in that direction.” In the demonstration, Vent described Molly as “Shirley Temple- like” with chubby cheeks and blonde curly hair. “It was exactly what people who have seen her said she looks like and I didn’t give her any of that information before hand. That was amazing to me,” Garms said, who omitted a description of Molly as a test. Garms said she considers herself a skeptic when it comes to the paranormal, however, she said the demonstration changed her feelings about ghosts. “I think that night I became a true believer in Molly,” she said.
PARANORMAL DETECTIVE Adam Cadabona, 21, scans the La Habra Depot Theatre’s dressing room, which is an old Amtrak car, with a video camera to see if he picks up any images of Molly, the spirit of a young girl believed to live in the car.
LA HABRA DEPOT THEATRE board member Jennifer Garms, 26, center, talks about her experiences with Molly during a tour with paranormal detectives.
SPIRITUALIST BONNIE VENT describes a heavy energy presence in the train car where Molly is believed to live.
