hollywod haunting - The Spooky Stuff by Alex Matsuo

I’ve covered Haunted Hollywood a few times. I’ve talked about the Roosevelt Hotel and I’ve discussed celebrities who live in haunted houses. And more recently, more LA-related, I’ve talked about the Cecil Hotel.

I know Britney Spears has been very much at the forefront of the news lately because she is in an awful situation. She’s trying to break free from her dad as her conservator. Thus, the #FreeBritney movement.

As I was diving into the Britney rabbit hole, I found a really interesting and yet, disturbing story. Britney lived in a haunted house. Then later, Brittany Murphy lived there, and that was where she collapsed and later died.

Seriously, this story is TRULY crazy that it even has THIS skeptical believer scratching her head.

Before I dive into this, disclaimer: I’m not saying that any paranormal phenomenon is an explanation for mental illness and such.

Don’t feel like reading? Watch the video!

Britney’s Trauma

The podcast, “We Need to Talk About Britney”, did an interview with Britney’s makeup artist, Julianne Kaye. She worked with Britney from 1999-2004, which, without a doubt, we can agree was her most iconic period. Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake shared this home together.

Julianne talked about how Britney had this house on Sunset Plaza and she described it as really weird. After some partying, Britney needed to relax. Julianne had her friend come up to the house to do a reiki healing session on Britney. She swears that this reiki healer opened some sort of spirit portal or did something.

She believed that a few bad spirits had come through the portal, specifically a male and female spirit. Julianne explains that Britney said that the spirits were fighting and that they tried to push her down the stairs. The paranormal activity ended up getting so bad that Britney left.

Here’s a direct quote from Julianne:

“It was so bad that she left, she went to the Casa Del Mar hotel to stay there and never went back to the house again. She goes, ‘I know you’re gonna think I’m crazy, I’m not crazy, I know what I saw, I know what I felt,’ blah blah blah. And I was like, no, I believe in that s**t, too, so it didn’t really weird me out that much. But she was very persistent about it and she put her house on the market.”

What happened after is where this gets truly bizarre. Britney puts the house on the market, and guess who buys it? None other than Brittany Murphy.

A Mysterious Death

As we know Brittany Murphy ended up dying in this house after she collapsed in the bathroom just one year later. Her death is seriously mysterious and could have been caused by a number of things like anemia, pneumonia, prescription drugs, and other pills. I need to make it clear that Brittany Murphy did not die in the house. She collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where she later died.

Then her husband, Simon Monjack, died in the house just five months later. It’s confirmed that he did die in the house, as that was how he was found. I haven’t been able to find exactly where he was found.

Brittany Murphy’s mother filed a lawsuit saying that the couple died of toxic black mold. But lab reports also said that Murphy had an abnormally high amount of heavy metals in her system, which is also weird.

Fleeing the House

What I also found really chilling was the fact that Murphy also wanted to flee the house. Before his death, Simon Monjack said that Brittany would sometimes beg to not sleep in the house that night and go to the Beverly Hills Hotel instead. Also, the only room in that house that Murphy liked was the bathroom. And that was the room she was found. Maybe Brittany Murphy also had similar experiences as Britney Spears?

It’s also weird that Spears thought there was a young male and female spirit in the house. And later, Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack, a young couple, died in that house.

Maybe the house was cursed? I’ll admit, I don’t have any sort of psychic abilities. But even I get weird vibes looking at this house. What is also interesting is that the New York Post reported that since Brittney Murphy and Simon Monjack died, the house has been listed for sale 10 different times.

Theories & Questions

From what I am understanding, the original house where Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack died had been torn down and rebuilt. If this is the case, it means that the paranormal activity taking place there isn’t tied to the house, it’s tied to the land.

Finally, I don’t know if Britney Spears had some sort of psychic abilities. But, what if the male and female spirits that she said were haunting the house were actually the spirits of Brittany and Simon? Meaning, Britney was experiencing and seeing the events of the future.

An awesome paranormal researcher named John E.L. Tenney was also on the “We Need to Talk About Britney” podcast and he thinks that the spirits Spears encountered were Murphy and Monjack as well. Being haunted by ghosts from the future is a popular theory. This goes into the whole theory that time isn’t linear as well.

I told you this case is truly crazy.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California opened on May 15, 1927. It is one of the oldest hotels in the Los Angeles area that is still in operation today. It sits right on Hollywood Blvd, across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (also known as TLC Chinese Theatre). If you want to feel like you’re at the center of the universe where everything is happening, the Roosevelt Hotel is your place. If you ever stay there, chances are that you’ll see a celebrity at some point since it’s a popular hotel for the stars.

With so much history and such an incredible guest list, it’s no surprise that the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a hotspot for paranormal activity. Living in Hollywood can be energizing and draining at the same time, as well as dynamic and volatile.

Glitz and Glam

If you’re a fan of “Old Hollywood” and the glitz and glam of the 1920s and 1930s, the Roosevelt is a landmark. Shirley Temple learned how to do her famous stairstep dance on the stairs. Marilyn Monroe lived at the hotel for two years and did her first photo shoot by the pool. While filming the 1952 film, “From Here to Eternity”, Montgomery Clift lived at the Roosevelt for three months. And finally, Errol Flynn may or may not have created the famous recipe for his bootleg gin in the barbershop tub. My personal favorite, Charlie Chaplin, also stayed at the hotel numerous times along with Clark Gable…swoon.

Alright, let’s dive into the ghost stories!

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe will forever be an icon. Even decades after her tragic passing, people still obsess over her. Her spirit has been seen by multitudes of guests of the Hollywood Roosevelt.

Marilyn lived at the hotel for two years, and she did one of her first photoshoots at the pool. From my understanding, she lived in Room 1200. It’s one of the largest suites at the Roosevelt. There used to be a tall mirror that hung in the room, but now it hangs in one of the hallways in the mezzanine by the lobby. That mirror is reported to be haunted by Marilyn, as well as Room 1200. According to legend, the reason why the mirror was moved out of the room was that people would see her reflection instead of their own!

Mystery Phone Calls

This is probably one of the most unsettling stories from the Hollywood Roosevelt. At one point, the Roosevelt became apartments for a period of time before being converted back into a hotel. Perhaps some of the residents there decided to not leave? At night, receptionists have reported getting phone calls from hotel rooms that don’t have any guests. All they hear on the other end is giggling.

Montgomery Clift

Montgomery Clift called the hotel home for three months while filming the 1953 movie, “From Here to Eternity.” He stayed in Room 928, according to legend. Sadly, in 1956m he got into a car accident and he had to get plastic surgery to repair his face. But he never recovered physically nor emotionally. He passed away in 1966 from a heart attack.

Legend says that he is a playful ghost at the Roosevelt. He apparently likes to tap people on the shoulder and play his bugle, just as he did in “From Here to Eternity.” Batteries have also been known to drain when Mr. Clift is around.

Caroline

Caroline has been spotted around the Roosevelt and the pool area. Legend says that Caroline and her brother drowned in the pool while their father was out running errands. Since then, Caroline likes to make phone calls from the hotel lobby phone, play in the jacuzzi with her brother, and ask guests where her mother and father are.

Other Ghostly Experiences

There are other ghost stories associated with the Roosevelt Hotel like the sound of a typewriter coming from unoccupied rooms. A man dressed in white and 1930s attire has been seen by the piano near the Blossom Room. As you approach him, he seems to disappear. The ghosts of Errol Flynn and Carole Lombard have been sighted at the hotel along with Carmen Miranda, Humphrey Bogart, and Betty Grable.

My Personal Experiences

The fifth and final ghost story is my own personal experiences at the Roosevelt.

I have an extensive history with the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel that started in 2011. I went to an event there back in August 2011. As soon as I walked through those doors, I felt something compelling and just plain strange. Sure, Hollywood itself is pretty strange. But, this was spooky.

Then, a year later, I ended up staying at the Roosevelt on an impromptu trip to Hollywood. I was with a friend at the time, and the stay was fairly uneventful. Maybe some odd footsteps here and there, but that’s it. I saw a few shadows out of the corner of my eye, but I try to brush it off as explainable.

A few years later, I found myself a regular guest at the Roosevelt. Mainly, it was because my former boss was living there for a few months during a transitional phase of his life. Because sometimes my drive took more than two hours, he frequently booked a room for me. I think in the span of three months, I stayed for several weeks in the hotel.

I often went to the mirror that is famously known for being a hotspot for Marilyn Monroe’s ghost. While I didn’t see her full-on, sometimes I caught sight of a shadow as I was turning around. I also had an alarming amount of nightmares during my stay at the Roosevelt. I often heard knocking at my door, but no one announced themselves, and no one was there when I looked through the peephole. It made me feel pretty uncomfortable at times, but I’ve never felt unwelcomed during my stay.

Tag: hollywod haunting

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