Los Angeles is famous for its glitz and glamour, but it’s also known for its ghost stories. This Halloween, spy on spirits while sipping cocktails at these seven reportedly haunted hotspots.
Chateau Marmont
Located on the Sunset Strip, Chateau Marmont has a star-studded history of spooks. Comedian Jim Belushi was found dead in Bungalow 3 after a hard-partying in 1982 while, doomed starlets such as Sharon Tate and Natalie Wood stayed here shortly before their deaths. Guests and hotel employees have reported windows opening on their own, furniture moving, the sounds of voices when no one’s there, even apparitions of floating heads.
Ghosts of famous celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, Boris Karloff and Jim Morrison have also been said to have made appearances at the chateau. Spy on these spirits while sipping on a martini inside the lobby bar or at a cozy table on the idyllic garden terrace.
8221 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 323-656-1010, chateaumarmont.com
Townhouse and Del Monte Speakeasy
Townhouse is Venice’s oldest bar and its basement, now the home to 1930s-themed Del Monte Speakeasy, was a true speakeasy during the Prohibition era. Back then, the secret bar hid its booze in underground tunnels, which are now used as utility hallways. Some say former proprietor Frank Bennett, who owned the bar from 1972 until his death in 2003, still haunts his favorite corner booth across from the bar.
One woman even reported her hair being pulled when she was alone in the bathroom washing her hands. While ghost hunting, we recommend getting in the mood by sipping on the speakeasy’s retro Abbot’s Habit cocktail with Blanco Tequila, white Italian sweet vermouth, chareau, lemon and absinthe.
52 Winward Ave., Venice, 310-392-4040, Townhousevenice.com, @townhousevenice
Magic Castle
Magic Castle, a nightclub for magicians and magic enthusiasts, bills itself as “the most unusual private club in the world.” It’s particularly unusual due to all the unearthly happenings around the Hollywood property. There’s the Houdini Séance Room, where guests come to make contact with the spirit world. In the Haunted Cellar, the ghost of a young girl has been seen wandering the halls.
The music room is said to be occupied by a piano-playing ghost named Irma while a phantom bartender from the days of old has been seen serving up drinks at Hat & Hare (just one of the five bars inside the castle). Several people have died here too, including the original owner of the house, Rollin B. Lane and beloved magician who committed suicide just before he was supposed to go on stage.
7001 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, 323-851-3313, Magiccastle.com, @magiccastl
The King Eddy
Ever heard the urban legend of the “Vanishing Hitchhiker?” Welcome to its roots. This historical landmark, known back in the day as The King Eddy Saloon, reportedly once had a repeat customer, an often inebriated woman, who would show up late at night and flirt with a male patron before asking for a ride to her home in East L.A.
According to the ghost story, a man agreed one night and even offers her his coat to the shivering woman, but on the way home, she demands the driver to pull over at the Evergreen Cemetery where she jumps out of the car, still wearing the man’s coat and disappears into the graveyard. When the driver goes to look for her, she is nowhere in sight, but his jacket is found mysteriously draped over a tombstone with the same name she gave him. Total hoax or totally haunted? Decide for yourself over a hard rock show at this now divey Skid Row music venue known simply as The King Eddy.
131 E. 5th St., Los Angeles, 213-629-2023, kingeddyla.com, @kingeddyla
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
Known simply as “The Black Dahlia” after her gruesome murder, Elizabeth Short was last seen alive at the Biltmore on January 9, 1947. Now, she has cocktail named after her made with vodka, Chambord black raspberry liqueur and Kahlua which is a popular order at the Gallery Bar and Cognac Room. In addition to the Dahlia connection, paranormal activity is said to be prevalent at the downtown hotel.
The elevator regularly stops on the 8th floor for no reason and guests have reported seeing the ghost of a nurse on the second floor and the ghosts of two kids running across the balcony in the gorgeous Crystal Ballroom. Well-known yogi Paramahansa Yogananda’s spirit allegedly lives here too. He died in the Music Room (now the lobby) of a heart attack in 1952.
506 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 213-624-1011, Millenniumhotels.com, @millennium
The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store’s building on Sunset Blvd. originally housed Ciro’s, a hot mob hangout in the ’40s and ’50s. The building still has peepholes in the upper walls of the main room that once allowed mobsters to see who was coming and going. Mickey “The King of the Sunset Strip” Cohen used the club as his base of operations. It is now said to be haunted by several hit men, as well as a woman who performed illegal abortions in the downstairs lounge. Voices and even snarls have been reported coming from the basement. So next time you’re taking in a comedy show, those strange sounds in your head might not be because of the two-drink minimum.
8433 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 323-650-6268, Thecomedystore.com, @thecomedystore
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Hollywood Boulevard’s most haunted joint, The Roosevelt, is famous for more than just its Hockney swimming pool. The hotel, which opened in 1927, is crowded with superstar spirits. Shortly after her death, Marilyn Monroe’s image reportedly appeared in a large mirror inside the hotel and has supposedly re-appeared many times since. She has also been seen enjoying her old suite, 1200. Handsome actor Montgomery Clift has been blamed for patting guests’ shoulders and watching maids in Room 928, where he stayed for three months while filming “From Here to Eternity” and the ghost of Carole Lombard has also been spotted floating around the upper floors.
In the Blossom Room, where the first Oscars were held, two ghosts, one in a tuxedo and one in a white suit, have been documented. Suicides have happened here, too, including former child actor Tom Conlon who checked in one afternoon in 1940 to make his second suicide attempt of the day. Toast to these tragic figures at one of the hotels many bars including the no-menu Library Bar or Spare Room, a prohibition era-style cocktail lounge with a vintage two-lane bowling alley and custom-made wooden board games.
7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, 323-856-1970, Thehollywoodroosevelt.com, @thehollywoodroosevelt
Our Best Stories Delivered Daily
