• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Stories
  • Games
    • View All
    • FAQ
  • Encyclopaedia
  • About
  • Support TGIMM
  • Shop
  • Contact

The Ghost In My Machine

Stories of the Strange and Unusual

Haunted Road Trip: Old Hollywood and the Ghosts of the Roosevelt Hotel

December 31, 2014 by Lucia

Previously: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park.

Like most of Hollywood, the Roosevelt Hotel is rife with ghost stories from the golden age of the silver screen. First opened in 1927, it played host to all the greats, from Douglas Fairbanks to Greta Garbo. It underwent an extensive renovation in the 1980s, after which its ghostly activity seems to have ramped up quite a bit; no one really knows why, but it’s suspected that something that happened during the construction “awakened” the spirits.

The Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeled

I suspect that most stories of benevolent ghosts begin as a method of coping with the loss of people we cared about — whether we knew them in real life or not. Celebrity is a funny thing; it makes us feel closer to famous people, makes them more accessible to us, makes us feel as if we actually know them. Many of the ghosts allegedly haunting the Roosevelt Hotel were beloved by the public when they were alive — and many of them also died tragically young. It’s always sad when someone passes before what should, by all rights, be “their time”; when they show artistic promise, we feel their loss even more keenly, mourning the work they never had the chance to complete. As such, I’m never entirely sure how much stock I should put in stories of Hollywood ghosts; but the stories persist, so here we are.

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

These days, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is run by Thompson Hotels; it’s located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. I’ve only ever walked by it — but if you’ve stayed there and have a story to tell, do leave your tale in the comments.

Roosevelt 1

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe, née Norma Jeane Mortenson, has a long history with the Roosevelt Hotel. She shot her first print ad on the diving board of the hotel’s pool, and throughout the ‘50s, she made a habit of staying in room 246. Marilyn requested the room be furnished with a wood framed, full-length mirror; she made use of it during her frequent stays, but after her death in 1962, it was moved to the general manager’s office. In 1985, however, a maid, Suzanne Leonard, reported that she spotted a blonde woman in the mirror’s reflection as she dusted the piece. The woman appeared to be standing directly behind her — but when Leonard turned around, the woman wasn’t there. Whether or not the woman was Marilyn — or whether the apparition truly existed at all — remains to be seen. I believe the mirror is in storage at the moment, but it has graced the lobby at various points in time.

Montgomery Clift

A true method actor, Montgomery Clift was one of the most sought-after leading men in Hollywood during the ‘40s and early ‘50s. A car accident in 1956, however, left him with serious injuries and a dependence on drugs and alcohol. He suffered a fatal heart attack in 1966 — but while he passed away in New York, some believe that his spirit returned to the Roosevelt Hotel after it left his body. The activity attributed to him centers around room 928, the room he lived in during the filming of From Here to Eternity. He’s not malevolent spirit, but he’s not exactly a nice one, either — he likes to scare people by tapping them on the shoulder, brushing by brusquely and without warning, and draining the batteries of nearby electronics. Sometimes he practices his bugle, just as he did while rehearsing for From Here to Eternity.

The Cold Spot in the Ballroom

The first and second Academy Awards ceremonies were held in the Roosevelt Hotel’s Blossom Room, but although investigators aren’t sure whether the cold spot in ballroom’s corner has anything to do with it. Venturing into the northeast corner of the room reveals a spot 30 inches in diameter that consistently measures 10 degrees colder than the rest of the room. Psychics have reported the presence of a man in black, waiting anxiously for something; if he was at all connected to one of those early Oscars, we might be able to identify him — but it might be totally unrelated. We’ll probably never know.

Roosevelt pool

Caroline

Not all of the hotel’s ghosts are grownups. A little girl named Caroline and her brother reportedly drowned in the pool while their father was out running errands once upon a time; since then, she’s been spotted — or more often than not, heard — frequently around the hotel. She likes to call up people from the house phone in the lobby (although upon investigation, it appears no one has used the phone), and sometimes she and her brother play in the Jacuzzi (although they leave no wet footprints when they vanish from it). She wears a blue dress, and she’s usually looking for her daddy — when she’s not asking people to play with her, that is.

Other Tales

The ghosts of Errol Flynn and Carole Lombard are both said to haunted the hotel’s halls; Lombard in particular likes to hang out on the 12th floor, where she and her husband, Clark Gable, frequently stayed. Voices can occasionally be heard emanating from unoccupied rooms, and sometimes the sound of typewriters clacking away issues forth from empty offices. A man in white sometimes stands near the piano in the Blossom Room, only to disappear when approached.

As I said, I don’t know whether these stories are true, or whether they’re just wishful thinking; if you ever stay at the Roosevelt Hotel, though, it can’t hurt to be ready for anything — even the unruly dead.

Roosevelt 2

Recommended reading:

Hotel Has a Glut of Ghosts.

The Ghosts and Hauntings of Hollywood’s Most Legendary Hotels.

Haunted Hollywood.

***

Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!

[Photos: Lucia Peters, 2, 3, 4]

Filed Under: Places Tagged With: California, haunted hotels, Haunted Road Trip, Hollywood, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, LA, Los Angeles, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Old Hollywood, Roosevelt Hotel

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Top Stories

‘Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark’ Is Now Available From Chronicle Books!

15 Creepy, Scary Phone Numbers To Call That Actually Work (UPDATED For 2023)

The Backrooms, Explained: How To Make Sense Of The Internet’s Favorite Non-Reality

About

The Ghost In My Machine is an internet campfire of sorts. Gather round, because it wants to tell you strange stories, take you on haunted journeys, and make you jump at unexpected noises.

Continue Reading >

Support

Like what you read? Support The Ghost In My Machine!

 

Support

Follow

Facebook Twitter

From the Vault

  • Bloody Mary & Other Games We Shouldn’t Play

    Scare Yourself Silly

  • This Man

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The Dionaea House

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The Noise Coming From Inside Children

    Scare Yourself Silly

  • NoEnd House

    Is It Real?

  • Killswitch

    Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t

  • The “Lost” Mickey Mouse Cartoon

    Is It Real?

  • 200 Phenomena In The City Of Calgary

    Scare Yourself Silly

View All >

Letters from the Beyond

Enter your email to receive blog posts and updates by email

  • Stories
  • Games
  • Encyclopaedia
  • About
  • Support TGIMM
  • Shop
  • Contact

Privacy Policy

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT