October 7, 2005

Ghost Hunt: The Liberace Mansion

By Richard Senate photos by Jeff Belanger

The small bus was crowded that night as it made its way through the run-down neighborhoods of Las Vegas. Here the homes were shabby, wanted paint, and were decorated with bars, offering mute testimony to the high crime in this area of the gaming capital. This section of town, not far from the glittering strip, isn’t to be found in the tourist brochures. The group on the bus with me were quiet. When they spoke it was in hushed whispers to one another, yet, there was an undercurrent of excitement for this was a ghost hunt and we were going to the opulent former home of “Mr. Showmanship” himself -- the late Liberace.

The tour was part of the ghost hunting convention presented in Las Vegas on October 2 to 4, 2005. It featured ghost hunters, writers, paranormal experts and psychics from all over the nation. Some of the top people in this field gave lectures and conducted seminars but, it was the chance to visit the formerly closed home of the flamboyant Liberace that was the high point of the event. 

Born in 1919 Wladziu “Walter” Valentino Liberace’s story is a traditional rags to riches tale. A child prodigy he turned from the concert stage to enter the world of show business. His television program in the 1950s catapulted him on to the national stage at one time pulling a larger audience than I Love Lucy and Dragnet. He became, in the 70s and 80s, one of the highest paid entertainers in Las Vegas and it was here that he built a home. Like everything he did, it was done in style. Yes, and after his death in 1987, his house was rumored to be haunted. Tonight we would find out if the tales of ghosts were true.

The narrow street widened and the mean houses were replaced by larger structures, with wide lawns and elaborate porches. These were the homes of bosses and entertainers, almost within walking distance of the famed strip. The bus stopped before a large white house with a grand porch and sculpted trees. It was, for all I could see, a mini mansion of sorts. I would soon discover that the insides were far grander than the outside. It was built in 1977 when Liberace became a headliner at Caesar’s Palace. He wanted a place to cook and to relax in privacy. At the time he owned a far larger mansion in Palm Springs. This house was his mansion away from his mansion. As he became a fixture in Las Vegas he would build a far larger home, that structure would become a museum. But, this, his first house, was closed to the public for decades. It was a rare treat to step back to the 1970s and into the strange, yet fascinating world of Liberace.

We got out of the bus and walked to the tall doorway, the new owners, renovating the house, were waiting to show us the house. Our party was almost forty people, most with cameras, electro-magnetic field detectors and video recorders. It was too large for my tastes but, for a chance to see this site, I would put up with the oversized group. The insides were almost painfully white, with gold trim. The house reminded me of Liberace’s many costumes. A large life-sized painting of silent actor, Valentino greets us at the foyer. Valentino was Liberace’s middle name. His piano, now automated, played by itself as photographs of the entertainer looked down at us from every nook and cranny. Slowly, respectfully, we made our way from room to room. Cameras flashed, videotape rolled, and all were amazed by the camp of the furnishings. It was like the house was a larger costume that “Lee,” as Liberace was called by his friends, put on to help him keep his image as the wildest and most flamboyant of all Vegas entertainers. Mirrors were everywhere. Only the kitchen, state of the art for 1977, was without them. I felt nothing out of the ordinary as I toured this section of the home. Others were photographing “orbs” and even faces, but I never felt that icy tingle that comes when I enter a haunted place. 

I left the pack and went into the back part of the house, into the opulent bedroom. Here mirrors glittered, even on the ceiling over the wide bed. It was here, in a room that would put shame into a high priced brothel, that I first felt it. It was a cold chill that seemed to grip my spine and slowly make its way to my scalp. I wasn’t alone in the room. Someone, or something I could not see was there with me. I walked backwards and into the attached bathroom. A huge double shower and sunken tub filled much of the room. The chill began to settle into the back of my neck. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I looked, into a mirror. It was a shadow on the wall. It moved quickly out of my vision but, I had the impression it was a man. I froze, my head moving left and right trying to see if what ever it was would manifest itself before me. The air seemed to grow colder in the oversized bathroom. There was a presence here and it didn’t seem happy. I closed my eyes willing whatever it was to appear. A noise, the scraping of a shoe up marble, sounded behind me. I turned and there were two people, cameras in hand, walking in. The feeling was gone now, the private moment had passed. Still, I had felt something in the rooms at the rear of the house. Was it “Lee” or someone else? I shall never know. The many tools brought by the ghost hunters picked up all sorts of things, orbs were photographed and psychics caught the essence of Liberace all over the house. They came away convinced that it was haunted. I didn’t have my tools with me but, I had to agree. The place is haunted, well haunted indeed. This journey would prove the high point of a successful conference.

Richard Senate is a California-based author and lecturer. Visit his Web site at: www.ghost-stalker.com