Top 10 Haunted Hollywood Locations
#10: The Silent Movie Theatre
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Located on Fairfax Avenue, The Silent Movie Theatre was the last place to see silent films in America. It was opened in 1942 by John Hampton, closed in the ‘70s, and reopened again in 1991 under the ownership of Laurence Austin. Sadly, however, Austin was murdered in the lobby of his own theatres one night in 1997. His business partner had hired a hitman to kill him in the hopes of getting an inheritance. It is said that Austin’s ghost haunts the theatre’s lobby to this day and that the upper floor is haunted by the theatre’s original owner.
#9: The Comedy Store / Ciro’s
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8433 West Sunset Boulevard is now home to The Comedy Store, but back in the 1940’s it housed Ciro’s, a popular Hollywood club that acted as a playground for the era’s rich and famous. It also had mob connections, and you can reportedly still see a hole in a staircase that was made to fit a gun’s barrel for shooting people using the stairs. Due to its storied history, there’s no surprise that there have been stories of hauntings over the years, from ghostly piano playing to objects moving by themselves. Today, ghost tours are even offered in the club’s basement.
#8: The Ghostbusters House
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Located at 7708 Woodrow Wilson Drive is a relatively modest house (by Hollywood standards at least) that has an interesting history in the film business. Actor Dan Aykroyd was staying in this very house when he came up with the idea for his blockbuster film “Ghostbusters,” which he went on to co-write with Harold Ramis. The reason he had the idea to write a script about ghosts? Apparently the house is extremely haunted. Former residents of the home include actress Natalie Wood and “Mama” Cass Elliot, both of whom could be haunting it.
#7: The Hollywood Sign
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In September of 1932, the body of a young woman was found in the ravine under the famed Hollywood sign. It was later identified as being that of Peg Entwistle, a young actress who had committed suicide by jumping from the oversized “H” in the sign. Though Entwistle was not a well-established star in her lifetime, her story lives on because of her tragic demise. To this day, there are reports of sightings of her ghost around the sign and some even say they’ve gotten a whiff of the gardenia-scented perfume she once wore.
#6: The Warner-Pacific Theatre
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Sam, Harry, Albert, and Jack L. Warner made up the Warner Brothers, who revolutionized the film industry with their confidence in sound pictures in the 1920’s. They opened the The Warner-Pacific Theater, and according to Encyclopedia Britannica it was the first Hollywood theatre built for sound. Unfortunately, the night before the premiere of the “first feature-length talking picture,” “The Jazz Singer,” Sam died. In the years following his death, security guards and other visitors to the theatre claimed to have seen his ghost wandering around the old building and even operating the elevator.
#5: The Knickerbocker Hotel
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Though today it exists out of the limelight as an old-age home, in its heyday The Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel was one of the hottest spots in town. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio frequented the hotel bar and Elvis famously stayed there while shooting “Love Me Tender’” There were also a couple of strange happenings which have led to the belief that it's haunted. Harry Houdini’s widow held seances on the roof to try to summon his spirit for ten years after he died, D. W. Griffith collapsed in the lobby and soon after died, and costume designer Irene Lentz committed suicide from jumping out of an upper floor window.
#4: Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
Grauman’s Chinese Theater is perhaps one of Hollywood’s most recognizable landmarks...but it’s also totally haunted. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, when Sid Grauman designed the theatre, he had private rooms built for the stars to retreat to after a show. To get into these rooms, you pressed a buzzer in the lobby before a panel door opened. While the rooms were sealed off and the buzzers disconnected many years ago, there have been reports of people in the theatre hearing that telltale buzzing sound years later. There are also rumors that the theatre is haunted by a ghost named Fritz, who is allegedly a former employee who took his own life behind the big screen.
#3: The Hollywood Forever Cemetery
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The Hollywood Forever Cemetery acts as the resting place for some of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars, including: Judy Garland, Johnny Ramone, Marion Davies, Burt Reynolds, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino. So it’s no surprise that many people have experienced spectral events on the grounds. Rudolph Valentino supposedly spooked some security guards when his spirit was seen in the cemetery, and those in the know say that there are at least three ghosts who have taken up residence there.
#2: The Pantages Theatre
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The Pantages Theatre was once owned by Howard Hughes, who was known for putting in long hours and prioritizing work above all else. His office was on the second floor of the theatre, and actually connected to one of the balconies, giving him a place to pop out and see what was going on on stage. In 2000, when the theatre was being restored, several people reported that a man appeared who seemed to be observing the construction workers but vanished as soon as someone addressed him. Even after all these years, it looks like Hughes still has to make sure everything’s done to his exacting standards! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. The Vogue Theatre The Site Used to House a School Where a Fire Killed 25 Students The Phantom Stage This Stage Was Used to Film "The Phantom of the Opera" The Hollywood Reporter / L.A. Weekly Offices William "Billy" Wilkerson Is Said to Walk the Halls The Santa Monica Pier Carousel A Ghost Has Been Seen Riding the Carousel The Avalon People Still Claim to Hear a Jazz Pianist Playing
#1: The Roosevelt Hotel
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The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is the “oldest continually operating hotel in Los Angeles,” opening in 1927. One of its most famous guests was Marilyn Monroe, who stayed there often during her career. In fact, she even bought a full-length mirror to have installed in her room. Many years after her death, the mirror was put up in the hotel lobby, where guests reported seeing the starlet when they looked at their own reflections. She’s not the only former star haunting this building: people have also spotted the ghost of actor Montgomery Clift, who stayed there while filming one of his movies.
