GHOSTWRITER HOLLYWOOD CONFIDENTIAL

Introduction:

INTRODUCTION:  

   
Dear Reader,

    I'm convinced this story is true, although at first I was skeptical.  Because, well, you will see if this letter can persuade you to read the attached manuscript.  

    By way of introduction, the events I have written about mostly take place in Hollywood, where I was once a television writer/producer.

    As it happened, an old friend contacted me to ask a favor; to talk with her niece the next time I was in Los Angeles.  Apparently she had discovered secret papers that no one, let alone her, was ever meant to see.  My curiosity piqued, I could not resist contacting her.  Over the next week she confided in me a tale that no matter how outrageous the premise, I could not doubt veracity of:

    Until a couple of years ago there was a facility in Hollywood that housed celebrities, politicians and even royalty who were all presumed dead, when in fact they were horribly, unrecognizably disfigured, living in obscurity in plain view.
    When I worked in television I did several stories about ordinary people who had survived plane crashes and fires who looked terrifying, even after countless surgeries. The memory of one of these "monsters" in particular always haunted me because he had the most beautiful speaking voice and once upon a time, had been movie-star handsome.      

    What then if "zombie" celebrities were also still among us? Certainly the regular folks-turned-monsters I had interviewed had not vanished.  And yet... I had not heard of anyone famous, even working in Hollywood all those years, who was so disfigured, who had survived.

    Intrigued, I investigated further. The result: I could not find a single instance of any celebrity whose looks had been made monstrous, alive. Was it possible that they were so rich and so hideously unrecognizable, that they were seeking refuge from paparazzi and an insatiable public, or forced into obscurity by a powerful elite, in the case of politicians and royalty?

    According to the young lady I met with, the answer was... yes.

    A group of officially, legally dead celebrities and royals, whose looks had been obliterated, were in fact living in L.A. They were seldom seen and were oddly clothed. Neighbors speculated there was a home for the insane and the elderly in their midst, what with the residents' mix of 'costumes,' canes and wheelchairs.  They believed the place catered to Muslims as well, because on the rare occasions they were glimpsed, some of the residents appeared wearing burkas, while others were attired in Victorian grandeur; great hats with heavy veils and feather boas, grasping designer purses in their gloved, jeweled hands, as if they would melt if rain or sunlight touched their skin.

    Nothing was thought of them, however, as Hollywood is often a refuge of last resort for weird characters, human wreckage and has-beens. That an old, crumbling building in a fringe neighborhood warehoused some of them was nothing out of the ordinary, one neighbor explained, and I, having lived there many years myself, concurred.

    What happened next was not unusual either, considering the circumstances. The facility burned to the ground a couple of years ago. It was quite the scandal. All the residents and most of the staff died in the fire. With no one to claim them, the charred bodies were removed, such as they were, and buried in a mass paupers' grave. The lot was sold and a hideous apartment building with underground parking —a fitting, if ghoulish monument— was erected.

     Investigators believe the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring. Whatever the reason, no
trace of the old structure or its inhabitants remains.  

    What connects everything, and why I spoke with my friend's niece several more times, is that one of the fire's victims was the author of the secret papers. She claims this woman, a film star turned ghostwriter of all things, was her Benefactor, with their relationship going on for years.

    I have changed the names and some of the details so there is no risk of exposure, should anyone attempt to identify these hapless souls.  Also, I won't give away the ending, but it appears that there is even more to the story that the young lady was only able to reveal during our final meeting.

    I look forward to your response and hope you find this tale woven from a 'ghost' writer and this young woman as mesmerizing as I have.

Yours Sincerely,

S. A. Jones