The building Ghost use as the face of their fictional church is real, it is more than a century old, and it was damaged in the fires that swept through Altadena last year. Now a group of the band’s fans are raising money to help look after it.
Mountain View Mausoleum in Altadena, California, has served since 2022 as the visual model for the Ministry, the religious institution at the centre of Ghost‘s stage mythology. The band filmed their March 2022 performance of “Call Me Little Sunshine” for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” inside the building, and have used it for promotional photographs and videos since.
Mystic Ministry, an American fan-run events group, says it has raised $3,902.47 for the mausoleum’s recovery and preservation, and that the sum stands as the largest single donation on Mountain View’s fundraising leaderboard.
On Saturday, Oct 3, the group will run three tours of the mausoleum, each limited to 20 people, developed together with Mountain View. They will cover the building’s link to Ghost alongside its history and architecture, the damage caused by the Eaton Fire, and the work needed to maintain it.
The group’s founder, Amati Avaul, explained how the fan connection turned into fundraising.
“Ghost has always been about more than the music. There’s this incredible world the band has created, and the fans don’t just watch it — we participate in it, build community around it and find ways to make it meaningful in our own lives. Mountain View became part of that world for us. Once you view the Mausoleum, read about its history, you realize it’s so much more than a filming location. It’s a rare and beautiful place, filled with history, artistry and memory, and places like that simply can’t be replaced. Mystic Ministry wanted to take the passion and creativity that exist in this fandom and turn them into something positive and tangible. If loving this band brought us to Mountain View, then helping preserve Mountain View — and showing some love to the community around it — feels like a pretty wonderful way to give something back,” he explained.
The mausoleum was completed in 1923 to a design by Cecil E. Bryan, who had spent a year working for Frank Lloyd Wright before turning to mausoleum design. He built more than 80 in his career and regarded this one as his finest and when he died in 1951, he was interred there. Its 180-foot Great Gallery is covered in frescoes by Norwegian painter Martin Syvertsen, and its stained glass was made by Los Angeles firm Judson Studios. Those buried there include actor George Reeves, physicist Richard Feynman and Eldridge Cleaver.
The Eaton Fire of January 2025 destroyed more than 9,000 structures across Altadena. The mausoleum was not reached by flames, but smoke, soot and extreme conditions caused significant damage, and access has been restricted while cleanup continues. A recent assessment by Judson Studios found many of the original windows at critical risk, and the Pasadena Cemetery Association, which runs the site, has launched a $125,000 campaign to restore them.
The October tours open what Mystic Ministry describes as a three-month campaign of regular posts about the mausoleum, its fundraising and Altadena’s recovery, including features on local businesses. The group is seeking sponsorship and in-kind support from businesses in the area.
Ghost, led by Tobias Forge, performed “Call Me Little Sunshine” at the mausoleum as the second single from their 2022 album Impera.
