The Story Of Peg Entwistle, The Most Infamous Hollywood Haunting Of All Time
She Disappeared Before Their Eyes
Photo: Paranormal Junkie / via YouTubeBeachwood Canyon Trail passes by the Hollywood sign, and people often report seeing Entwistle there. A couple was hiking the trail one morning in 1990 when their dog began to whine and cower by their feet. They were unsure why the animal was acting so strangely – until they encountered a woman who they assumed was also out for a walk. They chalked her 1930s style clothing up to the fact they were in Hollywood, but noticed she seemed to be in a daze, like she was on drugs or drunk. They couple decided to avoid her just in case, but she suddenly vanished into thin air.
Her Footsteps Didn't Make A Sound
Photo: williamdefalco / via YouTubeAfter attending a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in the 2000s, four friends decided to extend their evening activities by paying a visit to the Hollywood sign. Although the area around to the sign is off limits to the public, the group hopped over a fence and went to check out the famous landmark up close. On their way back, one friend was separated by a fall and was surprised to find a figure walking towards him.
"It was a woman, wearing a dress similar to the style of the 1930s," he said. "She wore heels and a veil over her face. She walked effortlessly up the hill. Her footsteps made no sound."
There's Nobody There
Photo: williamdefalco / via YouTubeGriffith Park ranger John Arbogast has several stories about encountering Entwistle's ghost. He notes she usually comes to visit the Hollywood sign when it's foggy, and always late at night. Arbogast also discovered that the alarm systems installed around the sign to distance vandals or other suicidal people sometimes go off, seemingly at random.
"There have been times when I have been at the sign and the motion detectors say that someone is standing five feet away from me... only there's nobody there," he said.
The Scent Of Gardenias
Photo: williamdefalco / via YouTubeMany people use the trails in Griffith Park for their daily exercise routine, and Megan Santos is among them. She was jogging one evening in 2013 when she was suddenly hit by a sneezing fit. The scent of gardenias filled the air and she was overcome by a very odd feeling.
"And then, there was this woman with blond hair and she seemed to be, like... walking on air," Santos recalls. "I immediately ran the other way."
There Was Something Strange About Her
Photo: williamdefalco / via YouTubeBeachwood Canyon resident Devin Morgan was out getting a little exercise one morning when she noticed another woman on the trail. But something seemed odd about her. When Morgan got to the spot where she had seen the figure, the woman had vanished, leaving the scent of gardenias in the air.
"She looked very strange to me," Morgan commented. "She had a very etheric quality. Instead of walking, she seemed to almost glide. She wasn't floating... she didn't look like she was a ghost, but there was something very, very strange about her, and very soft looking."
The Temperature Changed
Photo: James Zeruk, Jr. / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0A team of ghost hunters took some equipment with them on a 2013 trip to the sign on the anniversary of Entwistle's death. Although the same trails she used are no longer accessible to the public, they were hoping to possibly run into her. They conducted audio and dousing rod tests, but were unsure of their results. However, everyone in the group claimed to experience a sudden spike in temperature at one point while walking on the trail.
You Can't Stop Her
Photo: williamdefalco / via YouTubeSeveral people report seeing a woman standing on top of the letter H on the Hollywood sign. In fact, she seemed so real, they called police in fear that she would jump. Others claim they actually did see the figure jump, but she disappeared before she hit the ground.
Paranormal experts believe Entwistle is stuck in her final moments, and has been repeating her walk from her uncle's home to the Hollywood sign for decades.
She Might Not Be A Ghost At All
Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainLarry Montz, parapsychologist and head of the International Society for Paranormal Research, believes people's experiences with Entwistle are interactions with a residual rather than a haunting from a ghost.
"At the Hollywood sign, people report seeing a residual of the actress jumping, if they see anything at all. The energy of that event is so intense that an image remains, and it plays sort of like a videotape," he said. "People who visit Gettysburg often report seeing soldiers fighting in battle on the field, but ghosts do not reenact their own murders or deaths."
She's Not Alone
The Hollywood sign sits in Griffith Park, an area plagued by frightening tales that go all the way back to 1863. That's when Dona Petronilla cursed the land after learning her uncle did not intend to let her inherit it. Fires, droughts, a major storm (during which people claimed to see the ghost of Dona Petronilla), and lots of people shooting one another ensued. Dona's uncle, Don Antonio Feliz, is also a widely seen ghost, as is Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, who once owned the park as well.
Other ghosts claimed to inhabit the park are two young lovers who were crushed by a tree falling on their picnic table, a disappearing man who descends the stairs by the merry-go-round, and a terrible beast with red hair and green skin.
The Hollywood Sign Remains
Photo: Thomas Wolf / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0The famous sign was built in 1923 to create publicity for the new homes for sale in the Hollywoodland subdivision. It was cheaply made and was not intended to last very long. It was originally fitted with light bulbs to shine down over the town, but they were either broken or vandalized. The sign eventually fell into disrepair after all maintenance was stopped in 1939.
Ten years later, the "land" was taken off and the letters were half-heartedly repaired. Finally, in 1978, the sad-looking sign was replaced with all-steel letters that still stand to this day, stretching 450 feet long and 50 feet tall along Mount Lee.
