The classic image of Los Angeles is the famous Hollywood sign resting atop the summit of Mount Lee in Hollywood Hills. It was erected in 1923, and the classic image inspires actors and actresses to set out for LA to become a star. It was created as an advertisement for a wealthy real-estate development called Hollywoodland, which was what the sign originally said.
Photo via Arabella and Co
The sign which brings so many aspiring movie stars to LA, the city of dreams, can also become a person’s nightmare. In the mid-1920s, Peg Entwhistle was a rising actress who wanted to make the transition to Hollywood and movies. Unfortunately, the pressure was overwhelming and poor reviews of the film “Thirteen Women” triggered her depression. The 24 year-old actress took her life on the night of September 18, 1932 by climbing the maintenance ladder and jumping to the 50 foot drop below. She left a suicide note along with her belongings, and she was found 2 days later by a hiker.
Photo via Discover Los Angeles
Since then, her ghost lives on roaming slowly in the area during foggy nights. Park ranger John Arbogast claimed that he has seen her multiple times. He also said that he has smelt gardenias in the area even in the wintertime, and they were Entwhistle’s favorite scent. A couple in the 1990s also claimed to have seen a blonde woman wearing 1930s style clothing wandering sadly through the area.
So, along with her ghost, along lives the globally known symbol of entertainment and movie stars. When you travel to LA, make sure to look out for Entwhistle’s ghost wandering through the area in melancholy overlooking the city in which she chased her dreams. If you want to visit her and the Hollywood sign, you can see it from the Griffith Park Observatory and explore some of the nearby trails that run through the hills.
Photo via Houseseller LA
Have you been to the Hollywood sign?
