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HOLLYWOOD FOREVER
CEMETERY
NOTE: CLICK THE
PICTURES FOR A CLOSE UP...  Everyone will tell you that Hollywood is haunted. Some say it is the
most haunted city in America. Well this may be - simply because of the heart-ache and heartbreak that many suffer in their attempts to gain fame and fortune. Many a heart has been broken as a result of this quest. So, as a result there are many places in Hollywood that claim to be haunted. But a cemetery? Why would anyone attach their energies to a cemetery. Chances are they had little or no tie to the cemetery other than to be buried there. If one would say there haunted a restaurant or a sound stage at a studio no one would even raise an eyebrow. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the center of Hollywood, close to Paramount Studio reports continuous sightings of ghostly figures. So we, the Eeeek Investigative team, decided to check things out for ourselves.
We arrived in the early afternoon. It was chilly day but sunny and bright. None of us saw anything ghostly or odd, at least not in the form of a opaque figure standing before us. We did experience some odd things while there.
The East Mausoleum houses many tombs of such legendary stars, like Rudolph
Valentino. The one thing that stands out in my mind is upon entering the building you are in a long, wide hall that is lined with philosophers. Philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, etc. It is called, for lack of any other description,
we call it the Hall of Prophets. This hall divides the building in two. On the right and on the left are two additional halls lined with tombs.
 Rudolph Valentino is entombed in the second hallway on the left side,
third alcove from the Hall of Prophets (#1205). Our team walked down each hallway together, checking things out and seeing who was entombed where. When we passed the tomb of Valentino we all noticed that the holders for flowers was empty. We continued on until we had, as a team, walked down each hallway. We then split up and went our separate ways.
I, due to ambulatory problems, stayed with one team member. As she and walked through the other halls we continuously had the feeling that 'someone' or 'something' was watching us. This indicates nothing to us, since we know you can become hyped as a result of your surroundings and can convince yourself of many things simply because you are expecting it. So we, more or less, dismissed this feeling as mere adrenaline since we were on a hunting expedition for ghosts.
 But as we walked back up the first hallway on the right we both felt certain we saw someone walk through the main, and only entrance, then down the hall of prophets. We quickly rushed towards the main hall only to find nothing there. We could hear our other investigator in the second hallway on the right as she walked it and her heels clicked on the marble floor, so we knew it was not her. After spending several minutes walking through the entire building we returned to the main hall once again. We discussed the feelings we had experienced; then decided we would go back down the hallway, since none of us had done so, that housed Rudolph Valentino's tomb. When we turned into the alcove we were all surprised. Now, in the holders for flowers, were live red roses. They had not been there before. No one had come into the building or left it while we were there either. I know, because I was having
trouble walking due to a knee injury and when we returned to the main hall to see who had entered, I stayed in the main hall while the investigator I was with continued on without me. If someone
had been in the building and left they would have had to pass me since no other entrance or exits
to the building existed.
So Who Put the Flowers There?
 None of us are able to give you a clear-cut answer to that question. We can only speculate. The story goes, that Valentino, who died at age 31, died of peritonitis, and some 'fans' found this hard to accept. One such person was known as 'The Lady in
Black.' She dressed fully in black, always with a veil over her head and face, so no
one could identify her. From the first day of Valentino's entombment this 'Lady in
Black' would walk through the cemetery, into the main building, directly to
Valentino's tomb, place red roses in the flower holders, then rub her glove covered hand over his name and date of birth and death, making
certain it was clear of dust and finger prints. She then, according to many reports, would kneel before his tomb and pray.
The original Lady in Black reportedly was a woman named Ditra Flame.
As a child she had become very sick and was put in the hospital. Rudolph (a friend of her mother) is said to have come to her bedside, and put a rose on her bed and supposedly said
"...if I die before you do, you please come and stay by me because I don't want to be alone either. You come and talk to me."
Ditra got better and when Valentino died on August 23, 1926 at the age of 31. She brought a bouquet of red roses to Rudy's crypt every year up until 1955.
According to many, even now, after her death, she continues to pay tribute to Valentino.
 Leaving this building we walked through the cemetery, checking out headstones and making our way to the next mausoleum. Some headstones dated as far back as the Civil War. Inside this mausoleum is the tomb of Clifton Webb. We found his tomb without a problem and it was loosely in place. Pushing slightly on it caused it to wiggle back and forth. Some say that Clifton Webb walked the halls of this mausoleum, especially at night. We saw nothing. Nor did we have any strange feelings in this building.
We traveled from one building to the next, crossing the lawns of the cemetery as we went from one to the next. We did not experience anything beyond what we experienced in the first building. But it turned out to be an interesting investigation.
Though none of us believe ghost generally hang out in cemeteries, this one is famous for sightings of many of the by-gone stars who are buried there. Why they visit this place in death, rather than their home or old favorite spots, is not clear - but what is clear is the huge number of sightings reported.
 Want
to get the lowdown on who's who in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery? Check
out this great book by Tony Scott: "The
Stars of Hollywood Forever"
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