Note: This event is part of the "13 Days of Christmas." There will be more events for each day leading up to X-mas. (Info on all the upcoming events @
creepyxmas.com)
Date: December 18th (Saturaday)
Location: Hollywood Forever Cemetery (meet at the flower shop)
6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles (
map)
Time: 12:00 pm (high noon)
This special tour of the final address for many of Hollywood's famous (and infamous) former residents will be conducted by one of Los Angeles' living legends,
Karie Bible, the current (and official)
"Lady in Black."
The GHOSTs:
When Rudolph Valentino, the uber-star of stage and the silent screen died, a mysterious mourning lady dressed all in black with a veil, faithfully visited Valentino's marker (annually) to place a rose on it. This simple gesture became the stuff of legend as people began to come year after year just to catch a glimpse of her. The identity of this "lady" is difficult to determine, since over the decades, many women have also donned that same mourning outfit and repeated the ritual of visiting his final resting place. The idea of Valentino's "lady in black" seems to be a local tradition past down through the generations (as well as something often imitated). This bizarre practice is said to have even inspired the song "The Long Black Veil," which has been covered by Johnny Cash, The Band, the Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and many others.
Strangely, this odd local occurrence has also led to possible super-natural occurrences. Over the years, there have been claims by tourists of an additional phantom lady in black seen entering the mausoleum of Valentino's tomb, when the witnesses follow her inside to snap a picture of this famous act, they find that she is nowhere to be seen, as if she vanished into thin air. Is this one of the former black-clad beauties doomed to making her rounds for eternity? If she is, than she is not alone, this historic cemetery in the shadow of Paramount Studios is said to be haunted by other spirits as well, including the ghost of actor, Clifton Webb.
