12 OF THE SPOOKIEST HOLLYWOOD HAUNTS

IN THIS CITY, YOU CAN RUN INTO A MOVIE STAR AT EVERY CORNER. AND AT THESE SPOTS, YOU MIGHT JUST MEET A FAMOUS GHOST.

- MARY McNAMARA

THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN something haunting about Hollywood. The handprints and signatures of the living and dead trapped in concrete outside the Chinese Theatre; the “Halloween” house, the Bradbury Building, John Marshall High School and all the everyday locations that instantly conjure visions of the cinematic stories that they helped tell. Faded photos of famous faces hang in local diners, dry cleaners, bars and fine restaurants. We map the homes oflong-dead celebrities, lay flowers on their stars on Hollywood Boulevard, see their names on buildings, cocktail menus and street signs — George Burns and Gracie Allen, intersecting forever within the maze of Cedars-Sinai. T But some of the hauntings are more tangible, and traditional. Not all of Hollywood's best ghost stories can be found ona screen; some live in its landmarks and lore.

Here area few of the most notorious.

CULVER STUDIOS

The iconic Culver Studios, with its Mount Vernon-inspired administration building, was built in 1918 by silent film producer Thomas Ince. In 1924, Ince died under mysterious circumstances after celebrating his 44th birthday aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht. Those “circumstances” were reported at the time to be heart disease exacerbated by indigestion, but rumors soon began flying that Ince had been shot by Hearst when he mistook him for Charlie Chaplin, who Hearst believed was having an affair with his mistress Marion Davies. (This version was later fictionalized in Peter Bog-danovich’s 2001 film, “The Cat’s Meow.”) Over the years, many studio workers reported seeing Ince’s ghost walking the halls of the “mansion” as ifhe were keeping an eye on things.

@ 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City

BRAIN DEAD STUDIOS