Marilyn Monroe. Rudolf Valentino. The Famous Ghosts to See During Spooky Season in Hollywood

Welcome to Spooky LA, where for the next four days we’ll shine a flashlight on some chilling history and places in Los Angeles.

To that end, we tapped some experts to help us understand LA’s creepy history. For today’s debut, Hadley Meares takes us through Hollywood, where celebrity ghost sightings are both disturbing and good for business.

Why are we obsessed with Hollywood ghosts?

It can be difficult to say goodbye to loved ones in this life, and perhaps that’s why we like to believe that their spirits will linger. This may also apply to celebrities we have interacted with.

“I think we kind of create these stories to keep some of it to ourselves and feel like we can still have that exciting, personal relationship like when you get an autograph or spot a celebrity in the wild.” ,” said Meares.

The holy grail of ghosts

Meares called a certain spirit the Holy Grail of spirits. Can you guess?

I’ll give you a hint. Diamonds are this spirit’s best friend.

Yes. Marilyn Monroe.

Her story is tragic: she died at the age of 32 of a fatal overdose in her Brentwood home on August 5, 1962.

Meares said Monroe is often seen throughout LA, from powder rooms to hotels.

“Marilyn was probably seen sitting wistfully on a bench in the Hippodrome on the Santa Monica Pier. It is said she stood in a full-length mirror checking her face at the Roosevelt Hotel, where she was also seen dancing,” Meares said.

Other sightings of Monroe have been reported at the former Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel and in a mirror at the El Capitan Theater. Meares said her favorite story about Marilyn’s sighting takes place at her final resting place.

“Marilyn is seen at her grave in the beautiful Westwood Memorial Cemetery, where they say her tomb is sometimes surrounded by a delicate pink mist that you can see,” Meares said.

Where the ghost of Rudolph Valentino likes to hang out

Rudolph Valentino is another Hollywood star whose life was cut short at the age of 31. The Italian actor nicknamed ‘the Latin Lover’ died of pleurisy on August 23, 1926.

He has been spotted at his mansion in Beverly Hills, called the Falcon Lair. The mansion is also reportedly haunted by a later resident, heiress Doris Duke.

“It is said that socialite Millicent Rogers claimed that she was even chased out of Falcon Lair one night by Valentino’s ghost,” Meares said.

Other places his ghost is said to have visited include the former Hollywood Knickerbocker hotel, his beach house on Hollywood Beach, Hotel Alexandra, Musso and Frank Grill’s bathroom, and his old apartment now called Valentino Place in Hollywood. He has also been seen at Paramount Studios and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where, according to Meares, “the lady in black comes to pay her respects to him every year.”

Meares said that not only does Valentino appear all over Hollywood, but so does his furry friend.

“It is also said that his beloved dog Kabar still cries for his lost owner,” Meares said, “both at Falcon Lair and at the fascinating Los Angeles Pet Cemetery, located in Calabasas. And that is where Kabar is actually buried.”

That’s it for today’s best celebrity ghost stories. Come back tomorrow as we explore the Cecil Hotel in downtown LA and the chilling and tragic case of Elisa Lam. You can read about other top celebrity ghost sightings from Hadley Meares here.