Peg Entwhistle - the Ghost of the Hollywood sign
For over one hundred years, actors and filmmakers have
headed to the bright lights of Hollywood with the dream of making it big in
pictures. Yet for every tale of overnight stardom, there are countless more of
disappointment and failure, for behind the glitz and glamour, there is a darker
side to Hollywood.

Hollywood was also the backdrop to Charles Manson’s hippie cult
murders which led to the deaths of seven people, including Sharon Tate, the
actress wife of director Roman Polanski.
Perhaps these influences have contributed to the
many stories of ghosts, and supernatural phenomena that have grown up around the
industry, stories of hauntings, curses, and film sets plagued by poltergeists.
Of all these hauntings, the tale of the Hollywood
sign girl is a particularly melancholy story. This is the first of several stories I will share as the nights begin to
draw in on the approach to Halloween.
The Hollywood sign girl
The most recognisable symbol of Hollywood, of course, is the
sign itself. However, the sign we know today now looks very
different from the one erected in 1923. The original letters spelt out
‘Hollywoodland’ and was designed to advertise real estate before its adoption by
the industry. The sign stood 50 foot high and was illuminated by 4,000
lightbulbs. Because the light bulbs were always blowing out, a man named Albert
Kothe was employed to constantly climb up the sign and replace them.
When I first learnt about the legends connected was the
sign, I had believed that the Land part of the sign was removed because so
many starlets climbed to the top of the 13th letter to jump to their
death. The truth is actually much more mundane. By the end of the 1940s, the
sign had fallen into disrepair, and all 4000 lightbulbs had been stolen. The 'Land' portion and the lightbulbs were dropped to save money, and the sign was
completely replaced again in the 1970s.
As for the suicides, there has only been one recorded
suicide at the Hollywood Sign. Her name was Peg Entwhistle, and it is her ghost
that is said to haunt the sign today.
Peg was a young actress who had received rave theatre
reviews in New York. But when she arrived in Los Angeles, the great depression
forced many theatres to close, so she switched to the movies. She landed a
contract with RKO studies and had a small role in the psychological thriller
Thirteen Women. But before the film's release, her role was all but edited out, and the
movie flopped. Peg was dropped by the studio, and Peg considered herself a
failure.
On 16 September 1932, 24-year-old Peg left her home at Beachwood
drive and made her way to Griffith Park. At the foot of the sign, she found a
ladder left by a maintenance man propped up against the letter H. She took off
her coat, neatly folded it and placed it over her purse, then climbed the 50-foot
sign where she jumped to her death.
The only clue to the identity of the broken corpse discovered
lying at the foot of the sign were the initials written on a suicide note." I am afraid I am a coward; I am sorry for
everything. If I had done this a long time ago, I would have saved a lot of
pain. P.E."
Yet, the story of Peg Entwistle did not end with her death. To discover who the girl was, the police turned to the press, who labelled
her ‘the Hollywood sign girl.’ In an ironic twist, the day after her death, an offer came in the post from the Beverley Hills Playhouse asking Peg to play the
lead in a play that involved a woman who commits suicide
Hikers and Park Rangers still see the spirit of a blonde
woman walking up Beachwood Road to the Hollywood sign. People have also reported
other strange phenomena within the vicinity. Motion detectors are set off when
nobody appears to be in the area; dog walkers report their animals begin to act
strangely, and the smell of Peg’s favourite gardenia perfume lingers in the air.
It seems poor Peg cannot rest in peace - the fame that
alluded her in life, tragically realised in death.
Comments
Post a Comment