Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem

by Tom Ogden

Are phantoms “alive” and walking the streets of Tinseltown and beyond?
Hollywood. Film capital of the world. Haunted Hollywood brings together twenty-five stories that capture both the spirit—and the spirits—of Tinseltown. These tales concern historic landmarks, theaters, watering holes, hotels, and houses that are haunted by movie stars, television personalities, and other celebrities. You will be shivering in your seat as you read about all these and

• Film siren Jean Harlow died at only twenty-six, but many believe she's still “living” in her old home outside Beverly Hills.

• Elke Sommer, the German-born actress and artist, is convinced a ghost saved her life by waking her after her house caught fire. Who's to say?

• John Wayne has ridden off into the Final Sunset, but he apparently misses his private yacht. He's been known to come aboard from time to time. . .

Genres: History, Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Nonfiction, Ghosts

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but unfocused. Didn't like the fictionalized frame stories. Felt like walking around with a very likeable person who is telling you all about the history of town and people's lives, and occasionally saying "oh, and that place? Totally haunted." or "and he's haunting place x". A haunting book that can safely be read alone at night, in a storm, with wolves howling in the distance. And possibly even with zombies pounding on the door and objects flying about the room on their own. Not scary at all if that's what your after. It wasn't what I was after, so that's okay. Basically, a great book if you want some history of Hollywood (both the place and the movie industry) from a ghost-friendly pov. Gave me some ideas, so... awesome.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly haunting and amusing stories with a lot of Hollywood history I didn't know. I liked it enough to finish it.

Side note: either I am extremely forgetful in my ripe old age of 36 as to where I set this book down in my house/car/other, or something from beyond the veil was moving my book around. I misplaced this book more than any other I've read.

[Christian Engler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hollywood is such a unique place with a truly palpable vibe. In the quiet, you can truly sense the stars and executive bigwigs of the golden age of the silver screen carrying on like nothing has changed, only, that they are dead. And their spirits continue to frequent the locations that had the deepest affect on their earthly existence. From haunted studio lots, to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to the Knickerbocker Hotel and the Comedy Store to a plethora of bars, restaurants and private homes, Tom Ogden’s book is a veritable potpourri of all things that go bump in the night. However, there is so much more than just spooks and aspects of the unexplained that is addressed in the book. Haunted Hollywood also gives a rich detailed history of how Hollywood came into existence. Ogden gives profiles of the movers and shakers of yesteryear who formed and molded Hollywood to what it eventually became - a place of glitz, glamour, money, power combined with the seedier aspects of human nature that had the cause and effect of debauchery, murder, suicide, tragedy and broken dreams. It is a place that is a seesaw of emotions, where there is no gray area. Reading this book, you can almost feel the anguish of failed performers working it in the afterlife, trying ever so hard, to become a star. And then there are those who were celebrities of the highest order, who are just lingering around, trying to recapture the good ol‘ days of their fame and highlife.

Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdon Phantoms, And Movieland Mayhem is divided into three sections. Part One is about famous phantoms while part two is focused on spirits of the silver screen and the third part specifically addresses haunted locations. In each section, Ogden culls a little tidbit of information on the people and locations that he’s writing about, little gems of trivia I’d almost call it. With that, it gives the book an overall nice element of factual coherence and substantial “meatiness” rather than the work being supremely about the unexplained. If a location is said to be haunted, he dose a superb job delving into the possibilities as to why that might be so, and at the end, he lets you, as the reader, decide for yourself whether it is true or not. And there is a tongue-and-cheek approach that Ogden takes that makes the book light-hearted and fun. Being open-minded, I always like to think that anything is possible. Regarding the specters, there is a whole laundry list from which to choose: Marilyn Monroe and the haunted mirror and poolside, Peg Entwistle, the struggling Welsh starlet who leapt to her death from the letter “H” of the Hollywood sign to Montgomery Clift and his bugle playing in Room 928 of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; he formerly stayed in that room of the Roosevelt while studying his lines and playing the bugle for the film version of the James Jones National Book Award winning novel From Here to Eternity. There too is the spirit of the priggish character actor Clifton Webb who roams about in many locations and apparently does not appreciate cigarette smoking.

This was a fun book to read, a nice distraction from some of the heavier books that I normally read. It was entertaining while at the same time thought-provoking. Hollywood is a land rife with trauma, mythology, success, a smorgasbord of intense emotions and feelings. Isn’t it possible that just a little bit of it can be left behind?

[Carol Cassada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a fan of ghost stories and when I saw this book about ghosts of Hollywood, I was excited to read it. There are some interesting stories about the ghosts of Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, and Rudolph Valentino. Plus, it was fascinating to learn about haunted sites such as the famous Hollywood sign, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and The Roosevelt Hotel.

I loved reading about the history of these sites along with the biographies of the celebrities. However, my main critique about the book is the author tended to lean more on the fiction side. While the hauntings in the book are true, the author tries to engage readers by creating a fiction story about a character experiencing the ghost. It was supposed to add a spooky element to the book, yet I found it to be a bit of a nuisance. I would’ve preferred if he just stuck with the facts and maybe included more eyewitness accounts of the ghosts.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

That rating is actually a -1. I was initially very interested in this book, Hollywood ghosts and hauntings and such. Lots of neat stories and history. What really turned me off was the fictional people/situations embedded into each telling. Really cheapened the book and thus I feel it was poorly written. You would have expected a photo section in the book but of course no luck there. Thank the book gods that I only paid $2.95 for the book and actually it was barely worth that. I could not force myself to finish. The only part of the book I could enjoy were the appendixes which I am glad a skimmed through. I will remember never to buy a Tom Ogden book again.

[Cheri Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely entertaining and very informative!

The only complaint I have is -- pictures would have been nice. Otherwise this was a extremely interesting ghostly and historical book about Hollywood. It was so fun to read and I could relate to many of the earlier actors tales because my grandmother was in vaudeville with her husband who owned several of the traveling shows. She used to tell me about many of the actors and actresses and their antics. She knew many of them and preformed in some of the places mentioned as well as having stayed at the Roosevelt. I absolutely loved this book!

[Jenn Foley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first word that comes to mind about this book is underwhelming.

Usually, I like short chapters, but in an anthology book like this one, 8-10 pages just isn't enough time to detail the full story. And even with that limited time, the author spends more time on the deceased's backgrounds (and other meandering, irrelevant tangents) than on the actual accounts of alleged paranormal interaction. Personally, I do believe in ghosts, but some of the chapters in this book just ended with one paragraph of one person that maybe might have seen something that might have been someone famous. It just wasn't compelling, and the whole book overall fell flat for me.

[Boris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read of Hollywood history. Having grown up near there and spent a lot of time in Hollywood in my youth I was familiar with or had visited many of the supposed haunted places in the book.

It was interesting to see the story of the Silent Cinema on Fairfax Avenue where I had attended silent film screenings in the 1990s after it was reopened. I also met the proprietor, Laurence Austin, whose murder was arranged by his homosexual lover. There's an entire story regarding Austin that's probably best for another book.

Overall a fun and interesting read.

[Senator · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an okay book. I'll admit that. There are lots of facts that I, a native of LA all my life, did not know about. Some, however, are well worn. The off-putting part was the moment when the recount of history of whomever the subject is suddenly shifted to a narration of a third party going "oh my gosh, a ghost!"

Like this book could have kept to the minor spook factor without the highly unnecessary inclusion of a made-up person going "oooooo, I'm scared!"

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book....especially with the historical references. I loved reading about the progression of things from when they originated to what they are like present day and then the ghost stories surrounding them.

I actually went and read up more about the Hollywood sign and it's orgins, I never knew that it was originally a real estate sign for Hollywoodland.

Quick and easy read.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Haunted Hollywood" was engagingly written and an entertaining light read. If you're interested in Old Hollywood and ghost stories, this book is worth your time.

[Louisa Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know why I’ve read this book so many times. Maybe it’s because of my interest in anything to do with the “Golden Era” of Hollywood. But so far, I think I’ve read it three or four times.

[Zoe Orchel · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok, some neat facts

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining book, with loads of history and ghosts stories to keep you turning the page.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I’d put it down for a while. It is a light read and is like taking an Old Hollywood ghost tour. I did learn a lot, but not all of the stories seemed really paranormal.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting scary stories about Hollywood history, none of them truly grabbed me though.

[Will Hoover · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're someone who likes to read really scary ghost stories, it would be relatively easy to be hard on Tom Ogden's "Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms and Movieland Mayhem." More than likely, most seasoned readers of phantom filled fare won't find this book especially frightening, but it is entertaining and does seem to be well researched overall.

The narrative is actually quite absorbing once you get used to Ogden's somewhat methodical approach to documenting the numerous haunted locales covered in the book, but the way the author frames most of the supernatural details of each story, by first introducing some minor (and often not particularly interesting) character who inevitably leads us to the haunting in question, may actually scare some readers off straight away.

Mr. Ogden actually tackles the even tougher task of trying to get the average reader to stick with him once he's launched into several paragraphs of background information and biographical details about the alleged ghostly manifestations of the famous people profiled in Haunted Hollywood. Naturally, since the vast majority of these dearly departed celebs passed away quite a number of years ago, it is more than understandable that the author would feel duty bound to expound on who they were and just how important they may have once been in Hollywood. However, all the extraneous information may leave the average reader feeling more than a little sidetracked. Or maybe led on a wild ghost chase, perhaps, given that something on the order of a good half of this book is almost purely biographical in nature. And most of that biographical stuff really isn't scary at all. Not in the slightest.

So, even though, once I'd gotten used to the author's approach, I thoroughly enjoyed his book, I can see where some readers might not find it the best choice when looking for a better than average collection of ghostly tales. So why then, am I giving it 5 stars? Well, again, it's a well written, thoroughly engrossing, fact filled jaunt through Hollywood history, for crying out loud! Who could ask for more? Well... a lot of people, really. Is it the best collection of ghost stories you'll ever read? No. Nope. Uh-uh. Not by a long short. But it's still a pretty good book, with a lot of interesting content. So there really are thrills to be had here. Just not a lot of chills.

Oddly enough, one of the most effective parts of the book is the very last section, entitled "Appendix C: Peek-A-Boo: Celebrity Encounters," in which the ghostly experiences of a number of celebrities (such as Nicholas Cage, Hugh Grant and Keanu Reeves, among others) are listed quite briefly. I suppose that suggests that all the extraneous biographical information that permeates the rest of the book weighs it down considerably (which is true to a certain extent), but again, I really enjoyed all that too. Once I'd gotten thoroughly accustomed to the author's somewhat tangential approach to the subject matter, that is.

Any hey! It wasn't all bad, because believe it or not, I bought this book TWICE! Once, when my wife and I were visiting LA, and later on, to finish reading via the Kindle App. The paperback I initially picked up in LA was actually for a fellow ghost story enthusiast friend, but I naturally couldn't resist reading a few chapters (very carefully, of course) before having to let the volume, uh... pass on... to someone else.

As might be expected, because of all of the reasons listed above, I was at first a bit disappointed with Tom Ogden's version of Haunted Hollywood (because noted paranormal researcher, Hans Holzer also wrote another version by the same name, that was published back in 1974 - http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Hollywo...), but there really must have been SOMETHING that left me haunted by those first few chapters, because I finally gave up the ghost (of my hard earned cash) and up and bought the book all over again!

So, there ya go, Mr. Ogden! Well done. At least that's my two, well spent cents, anyway. Plus a whole lot more. So bottom line; I do recommend this book, but it's definitely not for everyone. Unfortunately, it's not nearly scary enough for seasoned paranormal thrill seekers, but it may be just the right bed time read for folks who are easily creeped out by much more chilling fare. It's a great reference book for ghost hunters and Hollywood enthusiasts too, I might add. And that, folks, is no tall tale.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't just the ghost stories and haunted history, he made me feel like I was back in California. I was born and raised there and often visited family in Southern California. I've been to Hollywood and seen the stars on the sidewalk and handprints in the concrete. The authors descriptions of the settings were so dramatic, I could almost smell the eucalyptus.

The other thing that was fun about some of these stories is that I could look up the actors and actresses on IMDB and see a picture of the person in the story. It made me want to read some more biographies and non fiction about the era and all the people tied together.

The book would make for a unique guide of places to visit in the Los Angeles area if you were traveling there, or a fun escape for armchair travelers.

[Tracy]

I have to say, at first I was excited to read this but now I've discovered that it's a "fictionalized" account of "historical facts", I'm unsure of what to expect reading it. I don't understand the point of fictionalizing accounts about ghostly sightings and such. But I'm still going to give it a try.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't mind the fictionalized account of the stories as they helped me frame the factual events. I liked the way the book was organized by people and then places. I found the book entertaining and fun to read. I thought a few of the stories were redundant or cheesy so I gave it 4 stars.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read my fair share of books on hauntings, since I have been fascinated by them since I was a kid. I have read some that were good, and more that weren't (leading to a long recent period where I stopped reading them altogether), and I grabbed this one at my library not knowing what to expect. I had never read anything by Ogden previously, so I had no previous ideas of his talent. But I love Hollywood even more than I love ghosts so it was worth a shot.
I was not disappointed.
Ogden has a remarkable ability to blend history, folklore, and creepiness in a well-balanced way that few other writers on this topic do. Instead of being given a hokey passage reading "Wooooo! This person haunts this place, next story!", I found myself not only being told Tinseltown legends that even I hadn't heard, but also being given historical background to those legends that rivaled many straight biographies on the market. Add into this Ogden's wonderful talent for writing in a way that reads like well-done fiction, and it was just a wonderful reading experience all-around. I learned something, but I was also able to get the shivers I go to these books for. The chapter entitled "The Harlow Hauntings", in particular, gave me that awesome creeped-out feeling that always leaves me satisfied. You can bet I will be reading more of Ogden's books; I am especially looking forward to his volume on the ghosts of Las Vegas.

[Pat Cesar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, very well written

This book investigates the stories behind the ghost stories. Very interesting. The author finds logical explanations for some but not for all of these ghost stories.