The Entity House and Doris Bither

Posted: 11.14.2019 | Updated: 03.18.2025

When one imagines the boulevards of Los Angeles, tales of spectral assailants and hostile ghosts are often the furthest thing from the mind. Yet, to one resident on 11547 Braddock Drive, this was all this glittering city would come to represent. A living nightmare unfolded at The Entity House that is still discussed to this day.

In the residential streets of West Hollywood, a small and seemingly ordinary home lies nestled between two others. The street, dotted with palm trees and manicured lawns, appears like any other in this sun-soaked city. Yet here, one house remains marked by sinister events from fifty years ago. 

Join us as we journey beyond this home’s mundane exterior and travel back to the 1970s to delve into the case of Doris Bither and the Entity House. 

Are you looking to hear more haunting Los Angeles tales in person? Book a ghost tour with LA Ghosts.

What Happened at the Entity House? 

At 11547 Braddock Drive sits the former home of Doris Bither, a woman once plagued by a series of spectral assaults.

While living at this home in the 1970s, Doris and her children experienced a torrent of horrific events. Objects moved, apparitions appeared, and a series of ghostly violations left her terrorized and desperate for help. 

Inspiring a book and later a movie, Doris’s case remains one of the most shocking hauntings to date. Although she has long since left home, her story lives on, continuing to send shivers down the spines of those who hear the tale of her plight, reaffirming the Entity House as one of the scariest haunted houses in Los Angeles. 

The Case of Doris Bither

Doris Bither’s haunting account remains one of the most bizarre and disturbing personal ghost stories by far. Strangely, little is known about her past other than that it was marked by doomed relationships and substance abuse, with accounts of violence extending back to childhood. 

Soon after Doris Bither relocated from Santa Monica to the infamous house in Culver City, a strange woman visited the house. This woman, whom she described as Hispanic, warned her that her home was malevolent, calling it an evil dwelling.

Doris questioned her further, but the woman said no more and instead turned to leave. 

Before long, she began experiencing terrifying events in the home. According to her accounts, she underwent repeated attacks from three entities who appeared in semi-transparent form.

Doris reported that these three beings assaulted her, both physically and sexually, leaving distinct bruises on her body. 

She described her assailants as two smaller entities and one larger. During these repeated attacks, the smaller entities often held her down while the larger one forced himself on her.

Accounts show that her sons also attested to belief in these beings, even being attacked by the forces at one point. 

Likely fearing no one would believe her otherworldly tales, Doris did not seek help right away, telling only a female friend. Not long after, a chance encounter would provide access to people who attempted to help. 

The woman in whom Doris Bither confided her tale was lucky enough to overhear later two men talking about otherworldly occurrences. She told them of her friend’s strange incidents and requested their aid. 

Kerry Gaynor and Barry Taff were student parapsychologists at the University of California, Los Angeles. They immediately found the story compelling enough to investigate. 

Investigation of the Entity House

Taff and Gaynor’s 10-week-long investigation began on August 22nd, 1974, focusing their attention on the home in Culver City. They perceived an array of activities, from moving objects to cold spots and bad smells.

The investigators noted several balls of light accompanying Doris’s presence in the home. They appeared to grow or fade in intensity with their questions while moving and varying in size. These strange light orbs could not be captured on film other than in strange arcs of light. 

The two also experienced unexplained activity, including a cabinet door opening and a frying pan forcefully being flung out. Doris’s friend, who claimed to be a psychic, also attended some of the investigations. 

She reported sensing a presence in the corner of the home and calling out several times in the night to alert everyone to the entities she sensed.

Taff later reported that he believed the events to be a poltergeist manifestation rather than a true case of spectrophilia, but no one can know for sure. On his current blog, he states that they were unable to prove her claims of ghostly attacks as they happened before the investigation began.

Taff continues to assert that had it not been for the other activity they experienced while in her home, they would have simply believed her to be suffering from psychological issues. Gaynor also believed the activity to stem from Doris Bither, who acted as an energy source for the activity, as the phenomena continued to torment her even after she left the home. 

Ultimately, we may never know the entire story of the Entity House and whether the events Doris Bither experienced were tied to the home, poltergeist activity arising from Doris herself, or events in her past. 

UCLA Investigates Bither’s Hauntings

While a renowned university having a space devoted to researching the supernatural might raise some eyebrows today, it wasn’t that out of the ordinary in the 1970s.

In fact, several universities once dedicated space to researching instances of hauntings and occurrences and post-death experiences. The much-acclaimed campus of UCLA was no exception. 

From 1966 to 1978, Thelma Moss instructed psychology at UCLA while running an unofficial laboratory. Located on the fifth floor of what was formerly known as the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, she ran an underfunded laboratory dedicated to exploring strange phenomena.

The space was by no means large. It was cramped and tight, marked only by desks and a darkroom, but it was far from secret. While working on the 1973 film The Exorcist, both the director, William Friedkin, and the author of the source material, William Blatty, visited the small lab.

During its heyday, the lab investigated a variety of extraordinary phenomena, conducting experiments on telepathy, clairvoyance, psychic abilities, and hauntings. 

Although the lab ceased operation in 1978, the events its investigators experienced continue to affect their lives. Kerry Gaynor and Barry Taff, both investigators under Moss’s leadership, have both continued to discuss the case of Doris Bither over the years. 

The events would later inspire Frank De Felitta’s 1978 novel The Entity. A few years later, De Felitta wrote the screenplay for the 1982 film of the same name, starring Barabara Hershey and Ron Silver, solidifying Doris’s tale in cinematic history.

Haunted Los Angeles

What happened to Doris after Taff and Gaynor’s investigation is murky. Some accounts support that she eventually moved to Texas, later dying from pulmonary arrest in the 90s. Whether or not something sinister continues to linger in the house on Braddock Street remains undetermined. 

Looking for more tales of Tinseltown’s strange and otherworldly side? Continue reading on our blog, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. Interested in a collective experience? Join a ghost tour with LA Ghosts to shed some light on the dark underside of the City of Angels with fellow ghost enthusiasts. 

Sources:

• https://frightfind.com/the-real-entity-house/ 
• https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/culver-city-ca/points-of-interest/house-from-the-entity 
• https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/things-to-do/the-13-scariest-places-in-los-angeles
• https://skepticalinquirer.org/2021/10/the-true-story-behind-the-entity-untangling-hollywood-horror/ 
• https://madmonster.com/2020/04/28/a-victim-as-elusive-as-the-entity/
• https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/paranormal-activity-ucla-haunting-story
• https://barrytaff.net/entries/general/Spectrophilia-Safe-sex-with-nobody–or-is-it-no-body-