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According to the Hollywood Ghost Walk Tour, ghosts haunt the Blossom Room, a former home of the A

Driven to the ground. That is how Frank Manis, tour guide on the Haunted Hollywood Ghost Walk Tour, described the demise of the Haunted Hearse tour that preceded his current business. Manis is having a little fun with puns, of course, but it’s hard to tell. His deadpan delivery, all-white attire and beady eyes create a ghostly air, making him the best man for the job.

“I became interested in the paranormal when I was little and saw the ghost of my great grandmother,” said Manis, whose résumé includes a stint as president of the Greater Hollywood Paranormal Society, as well as graphic design work.

Two years ago, disappointed at the absence of a ghost walk tour on Hollywood Boulevard, Manis decided to fill that void. As the creator and tour guide, Manis takes believers and nonbelievers on a two-hour, nighttime stroll down Hollywood’s star-studded sidewalks, pointing out “cold spots” (areas with paranormal activity) like the Roosevelt Hotel and the Warner Pacific Theater.

The walk is brimming with low-budget charm. From Manis’ self-designed guidebook to the tour’s loosey-goosey organization, the whole affair might seem to be more spoof than spook.

“Are these ghosts like Casper or are they malevolent?” asked tourist Baird Blanton.

“They’re no worse than mischievous,” said Manis in an assuring tone.

The excursion can be especially exhilarating when the group consists of die-hard specter seekers who make the Ghostbusters look like amateurs.

“I want a shirt that says ‘I have a haunted joint,’” said Blanton. “I bought a house that was built in 1928, but nothing’s happened. I want to be scared – run and scream and all that.”

An editing assistant by day, Blanton retreats to his collection of oddities (taxidermy bats, human skeletons, and 1920s “girly pictures”) at night. He and his wife Susannah, who paints sideshow banners for fairs and the circus, once dispelled a famous glowing tombstone mystery in their native Texas.

“Apparently the glowing green was a reflection of a faraway light,” said Baird.

The couple has always been fascinated with the macabre, monsters and anything haunted. Susannah professes to a childhood Beetlejuice-like imaginary friend – a tall man in a black suit with no head, ironically named Mr. Nobody.

Fortunately, real-life friends accompanied the Blantons on the ghost walk tour. The eerie experience was actually a long-belated Christmas gift from fellow horror enthusiast Rhett Wickman. Midway through the tour, Wickman was taken aback by a supernatural message from beyond.

“Ironic how Arnold (Schwarzenegger’s) star is in front of Ripley’s Believe it or Not (Museum),” said Wickman.

Also along for the trek was horror artist Gris Grimly, who wondered why spirits would choose to play full-court basketball in the haunted Hollywood YMCA gym.

“It’s kind of like ‘Field of Dreams,’ but basketball,” said Susannah.

The tour sparked heated debates about whether elevators are haunted, whether a spirit from 1940 could communicate with a spirit from 1952, and whether a tiny, split-second image of a hanging man really exists in a scene from “The Wizard of Oz.” However, the tour is not limited to hardcore devotees of the dead.

“Last week, I had a group of Girl Scouts on the tour,” said Manis. “They absolutely loved it.”

The Haunted Hollywood Ghost Walk Tour starts at 8 p.m. at the front entrance of the Roosevelt Hotel every night except Wednesdays and Sundays. Call (323) 460-4787 or visit www.hauntedhollywood.info for reservations.

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