10 Reasons To Visit Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Before You're Dead)

On 5 September 1921, an attractive young actress named Virginia Rappe attended a party at the ritzy Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco in honor of the popular comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The portly funnyman had recently signed a lucrative contract with Paramount Pictures, making him the highest paid actor in Hollywood. Despite Prohibition, bootleg booze flowed freely throughout the night.

At some point during the revelry, Rappe became ill inside Arbuckle's suite and had been seen writhing in pain on the bed. A few days later she was dead at the age of 26. A massive scandal ensued, alleging Arbuckle had violently raped her and caused her bladder to rupture.

After three sensational trials (the first two ended up with hung juries), Arbuckle was ultimately found not guilty; his career, however, never quite recovered. In 1933, he attempted a comeback with Warner Bros to star in a series of comedies, but died from a heart attack before shooting began. He was buried at The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy in New York City.

Over the years, sounds of a sobbing woman have been heard around Rappe's gravesite at Hollywood Forever. Could it be her lamenting spirit? Or perhaps (and to paraphrase Raymond Chandler) the cold chill felt then and now, serves as a reminder that L.A. is a place where the angels left a long time ago.