Los Angeles is a hotspot for hauntings. The city’s rapidly changing structure over the course of a hundred years has truly made it an iconic location. With all of that history, ghost stories and hauntings are only to be expected. Here are a few of my favorite haunting stories from all across Los Angeles:
- ROSENHEIM MANSION
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Look familiar? That’s right, Murder House from the first season of American Horror Story is allegedly haunted! The Rosenheim Mansion is a six bedroom home that was built in the 1900s by Albert Rosenheim. Today, the house is owned by a couple that purchased the property back in 2015. Dr. Ernst von Schwarz and Angela Oakenfold actually didn’t have any idea that their house was used for the show a few years prior until fans began to hang around outside and even occasionally sneak onto the property! Although initially hesitant to welcome the cult following that AHS has garnered over the years, the couple has learned to appease the crowd by holding streaming events for charity and talking to various media outlets about their mini mansion. Oakenfeld even stands by the fact that the mansion is haunted, confirming sightings of deceased nuns and butlers roaming the halls. Unlike the show’s demonic entities, the owners aren’t fearful of their peculiar housemates and have learned to cohabitate with the spirits.
- THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN
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The emblem of Los Angeles itself has its own ghost! Peg Entwistle, an aspiring actress from the 1930s, is said to have haunted the “H” of the Hollywood Sign ever since her death in 1932. Entwistle reportedly flung herself from the top of the 45 foot landmark after a tumultuous career trying to make it as an actress. Her last straw came unfortunately after being cut from a David Selznick movie in post-production. According to Griffith Park hikers in the area, she can occasionally be spotted wearing a typical 1930s gown. Witnesses even claim to smell her gardenia perfume during sightings. If you’re interested in Peg’s life, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood has its own take on her story and does a great job of showcasing the struggles of early 1900s Hollywood actors while immortalizing Ms. Entwistle.
- GREYSTONE MANSION
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Not everyone knows that LA was actually built on oil. Before Hollywood became the entertainment capital of the world, the lax policies and regulations on the area made it an ideal target for people such as Edward Doheny to settle in and profit. Enter the Greystone Mansion: a property located in the heart of Beverly Hills that holds some intriguing mysteries. Ed Doheny gifted his only son, Ned, the land in 1926 as a wedding present. In 1929, Ned Doheny was found dead alongside his secretary after only having lived in the mansion for five months, coincidentally dying right before testifying in a bribery case against his father. To this day, the murder remains unsolved, and the dark mysteries surrounding the Doheny legacy live on today in a paranormal manner. Film crews and staff that have stayed at the mansion for long periods of time often find themselves encountering spirits or noticing technical difficulties around them. Some have even claimed to hear the infamous Doheny murder late at night, echoing throughout the mansion during night sets.
- THE QUEEN MARY
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The Queen Mary is a famous retired ship docked just outside of Los Angeles in Downtown Long Beach. The ship first departed from the United Kingdom in 1934 and has been permanently docked and renovated into a hotel since the 1960s. According to their website, a psychic even predicted that the ship would only know fame when it is permanently docked! Ghost stories about the Queen Mary include a woman in white gown roaming the halls, an insanely haunted pool with regular visits from five ghosts and a whistling crew member in the boiler room. Unlike the other places on this list that might shy away from their paranormal histories, the Queen Mary fully leans into its spooky past and hosts a plethora of ghost tours year-round!
Ghost stories are my favorite way of learning about history. These echoes of the past tell a really enticing narrative that keeps people on the edge of their seat all while providing us with the history of a time period or person that came before us. Our fascination with the afterlife is innately human, and I encourage everyone to learn more about their city through the lens of the dead.