10 Spookiest Hollywood Stories And Urban Legends

Hollywood may have a reputation as the Dream Factory, but those dreams can very quickly turn into nightmares.

We all know the horrifying stories of the Black Dahlia and the Manson Family, and as such we won't be raking over the gory details here. However, there are also much stranger urban legends and bizarre mysteries at the heart of the movie industry.

It's not surprising given the many dashed dreams and disappointments that make up a fledgling Hollywood star's career, but there's also a heightened reality in the city, which is fertile ground for all manner of myths and legends to grow.

Who can forget the ghost that was said to have haunted the set of Three Men and a Baby, which was actually just a cardboard cutout of Ted Danson? This list collects some of the most bizarre urban legends and ghost stories from Hollywood's long history. From the era of silent comedy right up to the present day. Hollywood, California. Every street has a story, and these are but a few...

Peg Entwistle was a Broadway actress who arrived in Los Angeles with dreams of more challenging roles than the ones she'd performed on-stage. Unfortunately, Entwistle's career didn't take off in the way that she had hoped. After appearing in one film, Thirteen Women, the RKO studio declined to renew its contract with her.

This rejection was a blow for Peg Entwistle and on the night of September 16th, 1932 she took her own life. In a cruel twist of fate, she became more famous in death than in life due to the manner in which she committed suicide - she jumped to her death from the letter H in the Hollywoodland sign.

Decades later, the cautionary tale of Peg Entwistle is still being told. Various park rangers and hikers have claimed to have seen a woman dressed in 1930s attire walking near the sign. These stories began in earnest in 1940 when the H mysteriously toppled over. Entwistle's story is an enduring one due to how it demonstrates the cruelties of the Hollywood machine. It's no wonder that it has inspired work by, amongst others, Lana Del Rey and Ryan Murphy.