As the sun set over the boulevard of broken dreams, a group of thirty people braved the weather, and the narrow, winding roads of the Hollywood Hills, only to abandon their cars and walk up a dirt path to a secret location under the haunted "H" of the world famous Hollywood Sign. Their purpose was to enjoy the magic of cinema (courtesy of the EPFC Filmmobile) on the very spot said to be haunted by Peg Entwistle. The tales of her ghost were shared. David Markland, the creator of Creepyla.com (that night's guest speaker) told those in attendance his favorite creepy places in L.A., as well as the Halloween highlights to look forward to this October. Then, as if it were pre-ordered, the fog rolled in, and the wind whistled, to create the perfect atmosphere just as the movie began.
77 years earlier (at the same time of year), a sad, depressed, possibly drunk, unemployed actress left her home on Beachwood Drive and started walking up the road to the Hollywood sign. On that treacherous hike, that probably took her most of the night, she eventually made it to her destination, the fifty-foot letter "H" at the beginning of the internationally recognized Hollywood sign (then the Hollywoodland Sign). She climbed a ladder that was attached to the backside of the flat metal structure, and leaped to her death once she reached the top. It is thought that she did not die instantly, but instead lingered for hours in the brush below, where her corpse was eventually discovered by hikers. For a short time she was simply known as "The Hollywood Sign Girl," until her published suicide note was recognized by her uncle. Her name was Peg Entwistle. Miss Entwistle's note read
"I am afraid I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain."
When people tell her tale, they always point out the ironic twist that occurred shortly after her death. A letter arrived at her address, stating that she had landed the lead role in a new play about a woman who commits suicide. However, there's seems to be a bigger irony that very rarely is mentioned. This act of desperation over the lack of a show-biz career, ended up making her more famous (or infamous) than any of her working contemporaries. Not everyone can easily name the stars of the early 1930's, but most people know the Hollywood Sign Girl.
Her legend seems to grow with each passing year, and as it does, so do the stories of her restless ghost near the famous landmark. Most people describe her apparition as a young woman dressed in a 1930's style white gown walking along a trail (sometimes dazed). She is most commonly seen by hikers (not unlike those that originally found her body) and dog walkers in the very early or very late hours. Witnesses claim that she is accompanied by the strong scent of the gardenia flower (thought to be her favorite perfume). Some accounts even describe her reenacting her final moments stepping off of the top of the "H" only to vanish as she falls. She seems doomed to repeat the last moments of that last night over and over again, just as we also seemed doomed to repeat those last moments with each retelling of her story.
