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 Glen Haven Memorial Park - Sylmar, California This location was investigated and documented by Patte and Heidi; article is written by Patte. The Location
Nestled in the foothills of Sylmar, California, far from the maddening crowds of bustling Los Angeles, is a small cemetery known as Glen Haven Memorial Park. Although historical information on this out of the way graveyard in Kagel Canyon is nigh impossible to find, it's believed that it came into being sometime in the late 40's or early 50's.
Perhaps the most unusual thing about Glen Haven is how out of the way it is compared to other cemeteries in the Los Angeles area. Typically, burial grounds are relatively close to a town, yet Glen Haven sits alone, surrounded by desert canyons and a only a tiny handful of homes. Even more intriguing is the fact that not a single fence surrounds this peaceful place. In a city like Los Angeles, everything is fenced, most especially cemeteries, in an effort to keep out vandals and the homeless. Yet even fenceless and remote, this serene cemetery appears to have never had a problem with grave desecration or vandalism; it's almost as if some unseen force drives away such ill intent. Also of note is Glen Haven's unusual design; an aerial photograph shows it to be a near perfect circle with a cross/plus sign making up the roads. It gives one the sense that whoever designed it did so in a symbolic way; perhaps this has something to do with the graveyard's lack of vandalism and sometimes eerie feeling of being watched. Sadly though, any symbolic meaning has been lost to time and is known only to those who created these burial grounds. What has not been lost to time, however, are the rumors that Glen Haven is haunted. Perhaps the most common tale is that there is a statue near one of the mausoleums or the mortuary building which walks about at night, turning up in a different spot the next morning from where it had been the day before. There is also an alleged gravity hill, where vehicles move uphill on their own, defying the laws of nature. The Investigation
My first visit to Glen Haven was in the summer. I headed out armed only with my camera in the hopes of capturing something "otherworldly"; as I stepped out of my car, my first impression was of just how quiet it was here. With the exception of an occasional passing car, I felt that I was far from the world. The birds were chirping happily and the crows were flying overhead with their distinctive caw-caw sounds; could they be warning me of the things I might see, telling me to leave? Or were they just welcoming a lone living visitor?
I meandered through the cemetery, taking picture after picture, not knowing if I had captured anything. Wandering into the children's section of Glen Haven, I was so very sad to see the tiny headstones with wordings that clearly showed how much these lost little ones were loved. Offerings of toys and candy were left behind, a reminder of the simple pleasures of childhood. The scattering garden too was an emotionally powerful place, where families could bury the ashes of their loved ones amongst beautiful roses. And there was also the Mason section, where members all seemed to gather in death. Of course, I kept thinking back to the design of the cemetery and wondered what secrets were kept here; what did the symbolic layout of it mean, if anything? I was just as puzzled by this as I was about the empty stone sarcophagi lying out in the open near the cemetery, gruesome reminders of the fate that will one day befall us all. Even more questionable was why the rusted and charred remains of a crematory oven were sitting out behind one of the mausoleums; why were these disturbing things just abandoned on the grounds of Glen Haven? Conclusions After I had spent several hours here, I had a sense that not everyone has left. Although this area is quiet and peaceful, the cemetery shows few remnants of its past beauty; the lawns are in desperate need of water, and the once beautiful mausoleums show neglect. I did however learn a few weeks after my visit that Glen Haven has been taken over by the state and that they are beginning to make necessary repairs to try and bring back a sense of dignity to this place where sorrow seems to be the norm. But still, there is a presence here, I believe, who stands guard and waits for someone to come to this somewhat neglected place of loss to show it the love so many families felt for their buried beloved. Addendum by Heidi - I have made several visits to Glen Haven with Patte since her first investigation here, and we have had great success at documenting several instances of paranormal activity. We have found that the most active areas are the children's section of the graveyard, the scattering garden, and the large mausoleum on the farthest right. We have gotten extreme amounts of activity on our K2 meters in these areas, as well as several other experiences. In the children's section, we experienced a very strong smell of bubblegum that disappeared almost as quickly as we noticed it; although we checked the ground thoroughly, there was not a single piece of gum or gum-smelling candy to be found. We also captured an EVP of what sounds like a child's voice. Outside the mausoleum on the far right, we both experienced a very strong hot spot we could physically pass our hands through. This manifested next to me outdoors on a cold autumn night after I finished an EVP session. We still have no logical explanation for it. And inside the mausoleum, we recorded a voice in response to one of my questions.
We have also captured several very bright orbs in the scattering garden, as well as inside and around the same mausoleum where we recorded an EVP. And various interesting anomolies have popped up in several photos taken throughout the cemetery.
While I am generally skeptical of cemeteries being haunted, I can say with all honesty that I truly believe Glen Haven Memorial Park has paranormal activity which occurs there.     
    
Glen Haven Cemetery is located at 3017 North Lopez Canyon Road in Sylmar, California. It is open daily from dawn until dusk. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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