Since the first Tinseltown star walked the first red ca rpet,celebrities (dead and alive) have been fascinating creatures. Today, visitors in search of supernatural celebrity sightings can venture into Hollywood at night and discover the places where the deceased rich and famous like to spend their time. Among the most notorious — room 928 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (supposedly haunted by actor Montgomery Clift), the Laugh Factory (said to have nightly visits by late comedian Groucho Marx) and the old Hollywood Reporter building (rumored to house reporter William Wilkerson, who died in 1962). If a walking tour isn't your thing, catch a ride on Tourland's Haunted Hearse, a guided tour that takes visitors to places around town supposedly haunted by celebrities.
The Roosevelt Hotel supposedly has not just one, but two celebrity ghosts! Montgomery Clift, stayed at the hotel for three months while rehearsing his role in the 1953 movie "From Here to Eternity." His ghost now allegedly haunts room #928 of the 9th floor of the hotel, playing a trumpet, and pacing the hallways while reciting his old lines. Marilyn Monroe has supposedly been seen several times in a full-length mirror, which was originally located in her poolside Suite 1200, where Marilyn often stayed. The mirror in which her image supposedly appears is now located next to the elevator on the lower level.
The corridors of the Queen Mary (the largest passenger ship ever built) are lined with black & white photos of famous Hollywood stars who made the Atlantic crossing in first-class style. But it is an unknown ghost who supposedly haunts the hallways and lower regions of this giant luxury liner,
The ghost of magician Harry Houdini is said by some to roam the remains of his former home in the Hollywood Hills, located at 2398 Laurel Canyon Boulevard.
The ghost of actor Clifton Webb (the original "Mr. Belvedere" in the 1947 comedy "Sitting Pretty") supposedly haunts the Abbey of the Psalms mausoleum (where he is buried) at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, next to Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
Culver Studios - where "Gone With the Wind" was shot - was built by film-make Thomas Ince. Rumor has it that Ince was accidentally shot and killed by a jealous William Randolph Hearst (the inspiration for "Citizen Kane"), who was supposedly aiming at Charlie Chaplin but missed. According to the legend, the ghost of Thomas Ince now haunts his old studio, walking through walls and criticizing the new management.
The Vogue Theatre in Hollywood is supposed to be haunted by at least seven separate entities, allegedly including one particular spirit identified as "Fritz," a projectionist at the theater, who died in the projection booth. Other ghosts here include a a maintenance engineer, as well as a school teacher and her students who were killed almost a century ago when Prospect Elementary School (which used to stand on the site) burned down.
Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:41 pm
