Helter Skelter Tragical History Tour

My coworker and I went on the tour. I heard about it on TV and was thrilled I could participate in such a tour. The tour was very informative and provided interesting angles. I was aware of a lot of the information from a program I saw on Manson; however, there was information I wasn't aware of such as the music the Manson family recorded and details on the people who were murdered. The movie clips with Sharon Tate were great. I enjoyed the tour very much and would definitely recommend it to others.

THis was avery nice experience. Scott speaks well and is very knowledgeable. I would highly reccommend and can't wait to return.

Good pace of tour. Good information and light humor. I would definitely recommend for anyone.

This is my second time to go on this tour - the first time for my daugher Cindy. It was as good or even better the second time as the first time. When we headed over to meet our guide, I told my daughter that I was hoping Scott would be the guide and luckily it was him, as there is no one better at this than him. I also took the regular Dearly Departed Tour with Scott last year with my daughter Cindy and her husband and again he did an outstanding job of keeping it interesting with multiple little details that other tours just simply don't have - never a dull moment. Scott takes his time, has restroom stops, is patience with all of the group's questions, etc. - again, I can't say enough good things about him and the tour in general - I don't know if anyone knows more about the Manson family and those events of August 1969 than Scott does. This tour also provides the best music from 1969 and truly takes you back to that year. I have been on other tours of the LA area about various subjects, movie star homes, etc. with other tour guides who appear to be completely uninformed when compared to Scott. Scott's tours are by far the very best. I can't say enough about how happy that I am with both of his tours and hope to take his new Hollywood Movie Tour in the next few months and may repeat the Dearly Departed Tour again before too long. My daughter Shelley and I will be going on one of them in November, and my daughter Lisa and I are already looking forward to stopping in LA to take one of his tours next summer when we head up to San Francisco. He's the very best and the tour was positively amazing!

Scott does a fantastic job or recounting the Manson Murders. Not only does he provide a detailed description of the Manson Family Members, but also of the victims. Scott is more than accommodating and very hospitable. I highly recommend this tour anyone who has an interest in Helter Skelter.

The tour was fun and very informative. The tour dude knows EVERYTHING about this case, and he did a great job explaining things along the way, and supplementing the drive with videos and music from the era.

Scott did an exceptional job on the tour and demonstated a deep knowledge of the Manson case. I have a good understanding about the case myself and Scott ably filled in details I didn't know about. Visiting the actual locations of many of the events was somber and enlightening. One gets the sense that you're a detective on the trail of the perpetrators. I can highly recommend the tour. And try and stop at El Coyote Restaurant afterwards. It's nearby and where the Tate party had their last meal. Food there was excellent.

I read the book "Helter Skelter" when I was a teenager (30 years ago). I was interested in the bizarreness of the case. Plus, it was compellingly well-written by Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted Manson and his followers, and Curt Gentry. Scott Michaels does a tremendous job retracing the route the killers took the nights of the murders, Friday, August 8, and Saturday, August 9, 1969. You visit the Tate residence (since torn down and replaced with a gaudy Mediterranean monstrosity) and the LaBianca home, slightly changed since 1969. Leaving the Tate residence, Scott takes you to Rudolf Weber's home, where the killers hosed themselves off after they fled the Tate residence. Then you drive past where the killers tossed out their bloody clothing before they dispatched the 9 shot revolver that landed in Bernard Weiss' backyard, where it was later found by his son (Scott drives by the Weiss home, which is apparently little changed in the 40 years since the murders). Along the way to the Weiss home, Scott drives by Jack Jones' old home (Jack sang the "Love Boat" theme song) that the Manson Family had "creepy crawled" and from which they stole a cowboy hat. Then it's on to the LaBianca residence, stopping along the way to see where Rosemary LaBianca's daughter, Susan, lived at the time of Rosemary's murder (it was later used in the exterior shots of Melrose Place in the 1990s). You also pass by John Marshall High School, which Rosemary's son Frank was attending at the time of the murders. Across the street from the LaBiance home is the apartment building where Rosemary's son, daughter and her boyfriend ran to call for help when they discovered that Leno and Rosemary LaBianca had been murdered. On the way back to Johnny Rocket's at the Farmers' Market on Fairfax, where the tour commenced, Scott passes by the El Coyote restaurant where Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski had their "last supper". Scott says the food is average and the margaritas are good. The only way the tour would be better would be for Scott to take you downtown to the Hall of Justice where the Tate-LaBianca murders were tried. But that would add at least another hour to the tour. Also, it would be terrific to take a tour of the old Spahn Ranch, but that's in Simi Valley and, again, that would add at least another hour to the tour. My advice: Buy Scott's terrific DVD, "Six Degrees of Helter Skelter", to see the Hall of Justice and Spahn Ranch, as well as Jay Sebring's house (which Scott can't get to because of the narrow street leading to it). Then go on the tour to see the locations and remember the departed: Steven Parent (murdered first); Sharon Tate; Jay Sebring; Abigail Folger; Voytek Frykowski; Leno LaBianca; and Rosemary LaBianca. Scott donates a portion of each tour to the Doris Tate Crime Victim's Foundation. You also get a chip of a brick from the fireplace at the Tate residence before it was torn down.

Very informative with small details that are interesting to know that I would have never found out unless I booked this tour. This topic is of interest to many all over the world. So of course it was worth every cent. Thank you, thank you! Mark De Prima

Scott does it again! This is the 2nd tour my friend and I have taken with Scott and this was even better! The knowledge he has of events is great! Never a dull moment on this tour. My only complaint.. I get car sick and I should of sat in the front! Needless to say I got my mind off that and things were good again! This tour is by far great if you are interested in hearing about these murders as they happened in that time! The music was great and the film clips take you back to that time! I got a few chills here and there being at the same locations as these murders took place. Scott was open to questions during and after the tour also. I would highly recommend this tour if you are thinking about taking it. My friend and I would take it again and would recommend anyone to takes his tours!