The tune of “Famous Last Words” reverberates throughout the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, a high-ceiling Gothic structure in Koreatown, on a rainy October morning.
The anthemic, life-affirming final track from My Chemical Romance’s 2006 album “The Black Parade” has taken on a new sound here. It’s being played on the church’s organ. Mallory Haney, the musician at the keys, also plays “Disenchanted “ and “Mama,” other songs from the same album celebrating its 20th anniversary, throughout the morning.
What connects this place of worship to a band known for its macabre aesthetic, however, is its music video for the song “Helena” from the album “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.”
Filmed here in 2005, the video sees frontman Gerard Way belt the sorrowful lyrics at the front of church with his bandmates and a group of dancers around him. Behind them is a black casket with the body of the eponymous Helena.
She eventually rises from the dead and dances her way through the congregation.
Now in 2026, several men wearing all black with red ties, like Way does in the music video directed by Marc Webb, trickle in as soon as the doors open. Later, a young woman in a black dress, mimicking what Helena wears on screen, makes an entrance and heads straight to the front to take photos with the casket and flower arrangements that re-create the scene.
“Helena: An Immersive Tribute,” as this experience is dubbed, also features multiple photo ops around the church’s premises that reference the band’s emblematic art (including a statue of Pepe, the marching skeleton on the cover of “The Black Parade” album).
Behind this fan-focused event are Sam Gomez and Kimmy Perez, a Mexican American married couple who make a living putting on pop culture-inspired events, and, in the case of Perez, selling her art under the brand SpooksieBoo at conventions around the country.
The festivities at the church will conclude Saturday with a larger event called Ghouls’ Day Out, featuring the same displays inside the space, plus food vendors, an artist market and a My Chemical Romance cover band, Sweet Revenge, out back for attendees to enjoy.
“We’re doing everything we can to give fans the best My Chem experience short of seeing the actual band,” Gomez says during a recent video call.
“I’ve heard some call it MCR Con, which that’s literally what it is!” Perez adds laughing:
Gomez and Perez held the first Ghouls’ Day Out in May 2021, making it an annual staple for My Chemical Romance fans. On top of the May event, this year they decided to bring it back in October to coincide with the band’s series of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.
Their relationship with Immanuel Presbyterian Church started when its operations manager, Niambi Rendon, attended one of the pop-up events they organize throughout Southern California.
Struggling financially, the church sought new partnerships to raise funds. In fact, part of the proceeds from the “Helena” tribute and Ghouls’ Day Out goes to help the church’s food pantry.
But though it wants to take advantage of the My Chemical Romance connection, the church has one key rule: Nothing on display can cross the threshold from “spooky” to “satanic.”
A little blood is fine, Gomez says, but nothing too gruesome. “The most important thing is nothing that’s going to either make fun of or cast a shadow on the clergy. We’ve had many cosplayers that want to come as an evil priest or evil nun. We can’t have that,” Gomez says.
Now in its seventh edition (since 2026 had twice the festivities), the event’s popularity has grown, bringing fans from across the country and even international visitors.
Megan Rose, 33, traveled from rural Virginia to Los Angeles with her partner to attend one of the shows. Looking for other My Chemical Romance-related activities to do while in the city, she learned about the “Helena” tribute on social media.
“The architecture is beautiful and I’ve been having as much fun looking at the church as I have the fandom set up and I think they’ve done a very good job with all the props,” she says.
Mayela González, 41, came all the way from Monterrey, Mexico. A fan of the band since her teenage years, she was in disbelief stepping into a location she’d seen countless times on screen. “I hope the band keeps going, and they don’t stop after this tour,” says González. “I hope they release a new album and keep on performing live.”
“The event has just grown over the years as we allow fans to tell us what they want it to be,” Gomez says. “And over the years, the feedback has been, ‘More MCR theming.’” Gomez and Perez take that commitment to fan satisfaction seriously.
“We found the company, which is still in L.A., that made the ‘Helena’ casket that’s in a music video and they said, ‘We can make you an exact replica,’” adds Gomez.
More importan, they also have the real Helena on site. Tracy Phillips, the actor and dancer who played the title role in the music video, takes photos with fans. She made her first Ghouls’ Day appearance in 2025.
“Outside of the church I’m no one, and then I walk into the church in this makeup and dress and people are crying,” says Phillips with a smile. “It’s kind of a bizarre juxtaposition of people knowing me and people not knowing me at all.”
Post-Helena, Phillips worked with the band once more as an assistant choreographer on the “Teenagers” music video. That was nearly 20 years ago. Earlier this month it hired her again after all this time so she could choreograph 20 dancers in three numbers for the Long Live the Black Parade shows at the Hollywood Bowl.
“I was fortunate to get to work with them again,” Phillips says. “They’re all such kind people. Gerard is so kind and brilliant and it was really fun to get to circle back around. It felt like this full-circle moment in a different capacity.”
In the past, the band had posted about Ghouls’ Day Out on its official Instagram account, which led Gomez and Perez to believe at least someone in its team was aware of their event.
This time around, the band sent them an official “The Black Parade” flag, following its first night at the Bowl, that they now have on display at the church as one of the photo-ops.
Ghouls’ Day Out has generated new opportunities for the church, which hopefully means Gomez and Perez will be welcomed back for years to come.
“Now that the church is known in the My Chemical Romance community, they’ve had people go to them saying, ‘I want to have my wedding there,’” adds Gomez with a joyful grin.
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