Tag: Haunted

Hooray for Hollywood

You can’t pay a visit to California without catching a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign. For the more adventurous among you, you can hike close to it via several trails. Be aware it could be a three hour undertaking. There are a number of stories about the sign and how it came to be. The publisher of the LA Times had the sign erected to advertise his upscale subdivision.

In 1923, the Hollywoodland Sign was erected on Mount Lee overlooking Lake Hollywood. Each letter is 30 feet wide and 43 feet tall. It was originally meant to last about a year and a half to advertise the new subdivision. It has been in place for over 80 years.

In the spirit of Halloween, the sign is said to be haunted by the ghost of an aspiring young actress. Peg Entwistle. On Sept. 18th 1932, a hiker found a woman’s shoe, jacket and purse under the sign. When she opened the purse, she discovered a suicide note signed P.E. Having climbed up a workman’s ladder, she threw her self off of the letter “H”.

Numerous hikers have reported seeing the figure of a beautiful blonde woman in 1930’s clothing. She is often seen on very foggy nights. Some say, they were overwhelmed by the aroma of Gardenias in the air. They were Peg’s favorite perfume.

Check out this website for more information about the Hollywood and how you can visit it.

https://hollywoodsign.org/seeing-the-sign/

by janoseagle

Spirited Theaters

One thing London does not have a shortage of is haunted places. On my sprint through the city, I mapped out a few spooky locations. Due to the pandemic and the hour of my journey, I wasn’t able to venture into any of them, but they still have that sense of something other worldy lurking in the shadows.

In St. Martin’s Lane, it was originally called The New Theater in 1903. The Noel Coward Theater has the distinction of being the home of it’s original manager, Sir Charles Wyndham. Sir Charles managed both the New Theater and the Wyndham Theater, which sits behind it.

If you see a debonair gray haired man walking the hallways or entering the dressing rooms, say hello to Sir Charles.

Towards the end of WWI, a group of friends were enjoying a performance at The London Coliseum. They noticed a friend of theirs walking down the aisle. Strangely, he disappeared into thin air. On his last day before being deployed, this young soldier had seen a production at The Coliseum. Later, the friends were notified that he had been killed in battle. There were sightings of the young soldier for many years after.

For more stories about Haunted London check out this book by my good friend, Rob Gutro.

by janoseagle

Marilyn Monroe’s Mirror

The four-star Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd is one of the area’s most haunted hotels. It seems that some guests just refuse to leave. One such guest was the legendary, Marilyn Monroe.

The Roosevelt Hotel is named for President Teddy Roosevelt and was financed by Hollywood elite, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Louis B Mayer of MGM. Among the Hotels’ guests were Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and Montgomery Clift (who still paces the halls of the 9th floor.)

Among the treasures of the Roosevelt is a particular mirror that used to be in Suite 1200 during the time that her modelling career was flourishing. Some believe that she comes back to the spot where she spent some of her happiest days. In the 80’s after a lengthy renovation, a mirror from the suite was relocated to an alcove off of the main lobby near the elevators.

One day as an employee was dusting the mirror, she noticed the reflection of a pretty blond woman. She turned around to say hello, but there was no one there. But, when she turned back to face the mirror, the woman was still there.

Marilyn is not the only spirit that haunts the halls of the Roosevelt Hotel. A ghostly apparition manifests on security cameras in the hotel pool. When security goes to investigate, there is no one there, yet the camera shows the swimmer standing next to the security guards.

Caroline is a five year old girl that likes to skip around the lobby singing and 2 gentlemen haunt The Blossom Room. One is seen wearing a tux, the other is heard playing the piano. Guests have been locked out of their rooms, the switchboard receives calls from empty rooms and yes, Montgomery Clift is heard practicing the trumpet he played in “From Here To Eternity” outside room 928.

The Roosevelt Hotel is operational today and, if you dare, you can book a room and discover if it’s haunted for yourself.

https://www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com/

by janoseagle

My Ghost Story – Encounter in Key West

Francisco Marrero, a cigar maker from Cuba, built a beautiful home at 410 Fleming Street, Key West. He hoped that it would to lure his love, the beautiful Enriquetta to join him on the island. They lived happily married for many years having 8 children together. Unfortunately, Francisco had already been married in his home country. After his death, his first wife found out about the second marriage and the mansion in Key West. Six months later, she arrived on the island with her lawyers and Enriquetta was evicted from the mansion with her children. Standing on the street as she was thrown out she cried “Esta es mi casa para siempre y nunca me voy a ir” “I will always remain in spirit.” The first wife, Maria Ignacia Garcia de Marrero sold off the house and all its contents and returned to her home in Cuba. Within a few years of being tossed out on the street, Enriquetta and all 8 children died of Tuberculosis or diphtheria.

I stayed at the Guest House with a small group of friends, we had asked specifically for haunted rooms. I was in Room 18, Enriquetta’s old room and my friends were in the front room that had been the children’s nursery. A doorway between the two rooms had been plastered over and a large Armoire stood on my side of the wall. When I first entered the room, I noticed a strong smell of a very flowery perfume. The basket of potpourri on the dresser was old and had no scent left. I took this as a sign that I was welcome in her home.

My friends decided to hit the pool upon checking in and went to my room for a nap. It’s a long drive from Orlando to the Keys. The bed was comfortable and I fell asleep with no problem. When I awoke a short time later, the armoire at the end of the bed was standing wide open. It had been locked shut when I entered the room. Upon further inspection, I was locked in my room. The privacy lock wouldn’t open and the host was unable to unlock it from the outside. He ended up crawling across the small roof form the next room and climbing through the window. After forcing the door open I was able to join my friends downstairs on the porch.

We met the housekeeper who informed us that we had just missed a television crew. They had been filming a haunted travel documentary and Enriquetta was not happy about it. She told us that when Enriquetta is upset, she likes to walk through her. This feels like a freezing cold spasm through her body that only lasts a moment. The housekeeper had a special relationship with Enriquetta and was very careful to try and keep her happy at all costs.

On my last night in the room, after hearing the sound of empty bottles being dumped from a nearby bar, I drowsily looked up to see a figure standing in the window. I can only imagine that it was Enriquetta. The clattering bottles pouring into the dumpster had disturbed her and from the scowl on her face, she was pissed. I was still too sleepy to comprehend what I was seeing, but it didn’t strike me as odd at the time, that the woman in the room was only visible from the waist up. Even more so, when she dissolved into the early morning, I simply rolled over and went back to sleep.

Enriquetta’s spirit can be gentle and playful. Sometimes, playing pranks on her guests or softly brushing up against them. The sound of her children crying was also reported during our stay. I can safely say that, Marrero’s is HAUNTED. Check out these links for reservations and more of Enriquetta’s story.

http://marreros.com/

https://southernmostghosts.com/most-haunted-places-in-key-west-5-marreros-guest-mansion/

Marrero’s Guest Mansion

by janoseagle

Old Key West

Key West, the Southernmost city in the United States. Known for it’s nightlife, Ernest Hemingway and roaming chickens, Key West has something for everyone.

The Artist House is a Bed and Breakfast on Eaton Street right off of popular Duval St. This was the home of local artist, Robert Eugene Otto, called Gene. When Gene was a little boy one of the family’s servants gave him a rag doll. Gene and the doll, called Robert, were inseparable, and everywhere they went strange things happened.

When ever Gene got into trouble he would say “Robert did it”. His parents weren’t concerned until one day, they heard there son screaming in his locked room. There was a loud commotion coming from behind the door, the sounds of furniture being upended and thrown about. When they got the door unlocked, the room was a complete mess and Gene was cowering in a corner. This was not an isolated incident and at times, people heard Gene talking to Robert … and Robert would answer!

In later years, Gene’s wife relocated Robert to the attic, but passerby’s would often see Robert peering out of different windows in the house. Today, Robert now lives comfortably at The Martello Museum. If you visit Robert, be aware that many times when guests try to take his picture, the photos come out overexposed. Inside his glass enclosure, Robert changes positions.

You can visit and even stay at the Artist’s House today. Check out their website below.

Home

by janoseagle

The Ghostly Monk of Westminster Abbey

It’s inevitable that Westminster Abbey would be haunted. More than 3,000 bodies are buried on the grounds. Long ago in the 6th century the area where Westminster sits was an island on the banks of the Thames. Originally called The Collegiate College of St. Peter, Westminster Abbey is the most important churches in London.

Many people have reported seeing the spirit of a monk floating above the ground in the cloisters. It is believed that this is Father Benedictus, who served as a Benedictine monk of the abbey. The monk is said to appear around five or six in the evening. His figure appears to be solid, and he has been known to engage visitors in conversation. It is not uncommon for a guest to encounter Father Benedictus and hold a lengthy conversation before he backs up and melts into a wall.

The facade of Westminster Abbey is covered in extremely detailed carvings of Saints and Gargoyles. Technically, a Gargoyle is a water spout, other creatures are Grotesques or Chimeras taking the place of architectural corbels or supports. My favorite is a sculpture of a little bat.

Within the Abbey lies the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a memorial to the soldiers who died in World War 1. On 11th November 1920, an unidentified soldier’s body was given a royal funeral and buried in soil brought form the battlefield in France. Underneath a marble stone quarried in Belgium the unknown warrior lies in eternal rest. On occasion, once the crowds have left the Abbey and the halls are silent, a spectral soldier appears next to the tomb. He materializes slowly and stands quietly for a time with his head bowed. After a few minutes he simply dissolves into thin air.

If you’d like to visit The Abbey for yourself, you can find all of the important information here

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/

by janoseagle

The Bloody Tower

In the 1070s, William the Conqueror, chose to build a massive stone fortress in London. Taking about 20 years to build, the Tower of London serves to defend and proclaim William’s royal power. The mighty castle keep dominated the London skyline, but also served a reminder to the defeated Londoners.

Later Henry III and Edward I added the surrounding walls and smaller towers along it’s length. In 1533 King Henry VII modernized the castle in anticipation of his marriage to the young Anne Boleyn. Only three years later, she found herself back at the Tower charged with adultery and waiting for her death.

Anne was escorted to the Green where she lost her head. The site is memorialized with a glass pillow. Many claim to have seen the apparition of Anne walking the grounds with her head tucked underneath her arm.

Two young princes are said to haunt The Bloody Tower. Richard and Edward met their tragic fate within the walls. Sent to the Tower by their unscrupulous and power hungry uncle, the Duke of Gloucester and kept under lock and key. In 1483, the buys mysteriously disappeared. The gossip was that Richard, Duke of Gloucester had them murdered to become Richard III. Many decades later, the skeletons of two young boys were found entombed under a staircase. The two princes were given a proper royal burial but their spirits are still restless.

Tragedy haunted The Tower in the early centuries of it’s existence. Lady Jane Grey, also known as “The Nine Day Queen” was kept prisoner within it’s confines. Only sixteen years old, on February, 12 1554, she sobbed as she watched her husband, Guildford Dudley, being led to his execution. That same day, the young girl who was forced towards the throne by an ambitious father-in-law, bravely walked to her own death. From that day forward, on the anniversary of her execution, a white shimmering mist floats from the mists of the river and strolls sadly around the Tower Green.

Look closely at this enlarged area from the other photo. Do you see the ghosts of Lady Jane Grey looking down?

For more about The Tower of London, check out these links…

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/488/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London

by janoseagle

Spirits of Louisville

Louisville may be one of the most haunted cities in the South. The spirits of an overcrowded graveyard, A theater patron from long ago and winged monster all hang around the city.

The Louisville Palace Theater first opened in 1928. The spirit of a young woman, known as The Gray Lady is often seen walking down the auditorium aisle looking for a seat. The sounds of children playing can be heard near the upstairs bar and the ghost of a projectionist named Bernard often walks in front of the spotlight. The story goes that he had a heart attack and fell down the projection booth stairs.

In Old Louisville, you can find “The Pink Palace”. A spirit named Avery haunts 1473 St. James Court. Local author, David Domine, has written several books on Haunted Louisville that we highly recommend. If you happen to run into him at the Louisville Welcome Center be sure to ask him about the time that saved a woman’s life by scaring her out of the bathtub. You can also visit these haunts and others on one of his Ghost Walks.

The Church of Christ The Scientist on S. Third St. is where you might see the “Lady on the Stairs”. After deciding to elope with her boyfriend, a soldier stationed at Fort Taylor, she waited and waited for him on the steps. He never showed up, as she waited for several nights, she grew despondent. The year was 1918 and her soldier boy was one of many inflicted with the Spanish Flu. He died several days later, she also became infected and passed away. Some say she still paces the stairs every night waiting for her intended.

Venture past the parish graveyard for the Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Church and you may catch a glimpse of shadowy figures in the chapel or the apparition of a woman that tends to the graves of infants. In 1858, the company that owned the cemetery began to resell burial plots by removing headstones and labelling the plots as “old graves” on their records. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that rumors began to spread that coffins were buried so poorly buried that they stuck out of the ground. The graveyard owners were taken to prison and experts began to investigate the burials. They estimate that 7 or more bodies were interred in each burial plot.

Walnut Street Baptist Church is home to a different type of haunting. In the late 1800’s, Two men saw a man flying above them in a strange contraption. The Courier-Journal reported “He worked his feet as though he was running a treadle, and his arms seemed to be swinging to and fro above his head, though the latter movement sometimes appeared to be executed with wings or fans”. By the early 1900s, the neighbors began spotting something lurking atop the building. Witnesses described the creature as human with bat like wings. This gargoyle was dubbed the Demon Leaper.

For more information on David Domine and his Haunted Ghost Tours check out…

https://louisvillehistorictours.com/virtual-louisville-tours-on-facebook-live/

by janoseagle

The Ghosts Of St. Paul’s

Halloween is the perfect time of the year to experience a ghost tour. The city of London has a vast array of these tours, you can choose The Theater District, Jack The Ripper or any of a number of cool locations.

The Cathedral of St. Paul may be known the spot where Mary Poppins and the children meet the bird woman. But by night, the location takes on an eerie appearance.

The Whistler is St. Paul’s most well-known haunting. Many have seen the visage of an elderly clergyman accompanied by a tuneless whistle. Your best chance of meeting the clergyman is to visit the Cathedral’s west end. On the ground floor of the northwest tower. When the tower was rededicated after WWI, a previously hidden door was uncovered. This is the exact spot where the whistling cleric appears to fade into the wall.

London 20161_-44

There are 2 other ghost stories captured by Irish writer and Ghost Hunter, Elliott O’Donnell. In one story an American couple experience a “great black cloud” that rose out of the floor and climbed 20 feet into the air before disappearing. They described the cloud as “alive'”.

O’Donnell’s second story involves a woman who was resting in the cathedral one afternoon. This woman spotted another woman in a pew in front of her. She seemed to be frantically looking for something. The first woman got up to help the woman, but on her way down the aisle she felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to find no one behind and when she resumed her walk, the other woman had vanished.

Several days later, at the same time of day, the woman saw the figure of the woman once again. She rose to offer assistance but was once again stopped by a tap on her shoulder. Just as before, there was no one behind her and in front of her the woman was gone.

London 20161_-45

LINKS:

Walking Tours of London

St. Paul’s Cathedral

by janoseagle

Eastern State Penitentiary

     Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary is a former prison that stressed the reformation of it’s inmates over punishment. Prisoners were completely separated from each other and never knew who was in the cell next to them. They lived in complete isolation every day, never seeing another living soul, eating, sleeping, showering and exercising alone. In reality, the guards developed cruel and hideous tortures, to show their dominance over the prison population.

     In 1966, the prison was designated a National Historic Landmark. By then end of it’s life as a prison it had abandoned the solitary concept and prisoners lived as a community until it was abandoned in 1971. One can only imagine what kind of terrors are imbedded in it’s aging walls.

     The old prison has found new life as a movie set. The decaying building has been featured in Terry Gilliam’s TWELVE MONKEYS and in 2008, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.

     The possibility of actual ghosts still haunting the prison has led to paranormal investigators conducting numerous explorations of the site. GHOST ADVENTURES, GHOST HUNTERS, MTv’s FEAR and Great Britain’s MOST HAUNTED LIVE have all produced episodes at Eastern State.

The building is in a state of preserved decay. Areas that are less safe for the average tourist are off limits.

     Among the hauntings witnessed are a shadow figure that quickly scoots away when approached and mysterious ghostly faces in Cellblock 4.

In addition to being a historical site, the building is also home to more than a dozen art installations. My favorite one was called GHOST CATS. Amongst the grounds and cells are sculptures of 39 cats, representing the colony of cats that had inhabited the prison since it was abandoned in 1971. Artist, Linda Brenner created the cats out of a clay that will slowly dissolve over time to represent the inevitable decaying of all living things.

     Eastern State had it’s share of celebrity guests during it’s prime. “Slick Willie” Sutton, a bank robber known for over 50 robbieries. One of the unusual inmates was #C-2559, a dog named Pep. The story goes that Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot was sentenced to Eastern State for murdering his wife’s cherished cat.

Perhaps the most famous or infamous of Eastern State’s residents was Al Capone. He served his first prison term of 8 months, for possession of a concealed weapon, at Eastern State. His cell was quite comfortable compared to the others, he was allowed to decorate it himself with rugs, art and antiques.

Capone was also Eastern State’s most famous paranormal victim. He claimed that he was haunted by the ghost of James Clark, the brother-in-law of Capone’s rival, murdered in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Fellow inmates reported hearing Capone screams nightly, begging “Jimmy” to go away and leave him alone.

     Is Eastern State Penitentiary haunted ? I can honestly say that after visiting, you certainly get a feeling of the oppressive isolation and despair felt by the inmates. EVP’s have captured disembodied voices and more than one person has seen ghostly figures in the Guard Tower. At least for a few days a year, Eastern State is definitely haunted and a scary experience is guaranteed.

“Terror Behind The Walls” happens every Halloween. In 2012, the prison will be the host to 6 different haunted experiences. You can check it out at http://www.easternstate.org/halloween/preview

by janoseagle