Poll: Do You Enjoy Visiting 'haunted' or Spooky Locations?

Above, the grave of Bela "Dracula" Lugosi. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV Travel has posted a poll asking, Do You Enjoy Visiting 'haunted' or spooky locations?

Personally, the only place I've been to that may qualify as a spooky location was the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Other than that, I can't think of any other place.

When I was 15, I worked at a convalescent hospital as a dishwasher when I saw a metal dessert cup move by itself on a counter. But that was at work and not on a trip. 

Above, Cedar Hill Cemetery in Ouray, Colorado. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I did take a Dearly Departed Tour of cemeteries containing celebrity graves about ten years ago. 

The poll begins with:

During your RV travels, do you enjoy visiting “haunted” or just plain spooky locations? These could be old cemeteries, old, haunted mansions, abandoned mental institutions, old jails/prisons, or anything else along those lines.

If you do enjoy visiting those kinds of places, do you seek them out on your travels, or do you only visit them if you come across them along your route or at your destination?

There are many places around the U.S. (and world!) that claim to be “haunted.” Have you ever visited a haunted location and had a ghostly or creepy experience?

To read more and take part in the poll, go here. 

The Federalist Blog: Marilyn Monroe

Gary at The Federalist blog posted his usual Saturday Sultress a couple of hours ago.

Today's Saturday Sultress is Norma Jean Baker, better known as Marilyn Monroe. Seeing that post, it reminded me of the Hollywood Dearly Departed tour my daughter and I took in 2015.

One of the stops on the tour was the Westwood Cemetery. Many celebrities are buried there besides Monroe, including Jack Lemmon, Walter, Matthau, Rodney Dangerfield, Carl Wilson, Dean Martin, Merv Griffin, Farrah Fawcett, Carroll O'Connor, Peter Falk, Louis Jourdan, Burt Lancaster, Armand Hammer, Dorothy Stratten and others.

Below is Marilyn Monroe's crypt:

 To see The Federalist post on Marilyn Monroe, go here.

Rebecca Schaeffer's Murder Relived By Mom In Show

Above, the apartment building where Rebecca Schaeffer lived and died. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A few years ago, my daughter treated me to a tour of the seamy side of Hollywood called "The Dearly Departed Tour". 

The tour consisted of stops at places in and around Hollywood where deaths (murder and otherwise) of celebrites took place along with a stop at the Westwood Cemetery.

One of the stops was at the apartment where actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered. I remember this case well.

Above, the doorway where Robert John Bardo shot Rebecca Schaeffer. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Fox News has reported that Schaeffer's mother had put on a one-woman show on her daughter's murder.

They wrote:

Danna Schaeffer received the worst phone call of her life on July 18, 1989. 

Her daughter, 21-year-old actress Rebecca Schaeffer, was fatally shot in the heart by Robert John Bardo in the doorway of her apartment. The crazed stalker, a 19-year-old, had paid a private investigator to obtain Schaeffer's home address in West Hollywood.

Last year, Danna was compelled to bring her family’s tragic tale to the stage with a one-woman show, titled “You in Midair.” 

Danna told Fox News she wouldn’t exactly call the writing process therapeutic, but she was ready to finally share her story.

Bardo was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

There's another reason this case stands out in my mind. I was a liability/casualty insurance adjuster at the time, the resulting California law, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, which prevents the Department of Motor Vehicles from releasing private addresses, somewhat hindered our ability to run license plates on vehicles in auto claims.

To read more, go here.

What?! A Year Already?

Above, the storefront of the Dearly Departed Tour. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A "memory" notification was posted on my Facebook page of an event that took place a year ago today. It asked if I wanted to share it. I did.

I was a little stunned by this as it doesn't seem like a year had passed. It was when my daughter Amber got us on the "Dearly Departed Hollywood, A Tragical History Tour" around Hollywood and Los Angeles as a Father's Day gift.

Above, the tour at the apartment where Bela Lugosi died in 1956. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The tour took us to places where Hollywood celebrities met their deaths and where others also met their untimely ends. We also visited the graves of several celebrities.

Above,some items for sale at the Dearly Departed store. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I knew it had been a few months since we took the tour, but it seems so fresh that I find it incredible that it was a year ago. It is amazing how fast a year had flown by!

Above, the doorway where actress Rebecca Schaeffer was gunned down. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We did another death-related activity in January. We visited the Museum of Death in Hollywood (and Amoeba Music across the street). I may have the two confused or "blended together" in my memory banks. Yes, my daughter takes after me in liking weird or offbeat things to do.

Here is the first of several write-ups on the tour.

The Tilted Roof of Hollywood

Above, the "Leaning (or Tilted) Roof of Hollywood." Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During the Dearly Departed Tour we took last Saturday, we took a main street (sorry, I can't remember which one, but it could have been Highland) towards the Hancock Park area.

While we were heading down this street, we spotted an odd sight. It was a kiosk building for the sale of tobacco products (it looked like it may have been a Fotomat kiosk at one time). The roof the the building caught my attention. The roof looks like it may have been hit by a big vehicle. It appears that a good gust of wind would blow the roof right off as it is already off-kilter.

Luckily, we stopped at a red light near the building and I manage to snap this photo of it:

Crossroads of the World

Above, Crossroads of the World. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before going on the Dearly Departed Tour yesterday, Amber and I took a walk to the local 7-Eleven store so I could get myself a cup of coffee.

Across the street, I noticed the famous Crossroads of the World tower. So I decided to take some pictures.

What's the Crossroads of the World?

Here's what Wikipedia says:

Crossroads of the World has been called America's first outdoor shopping mall. Located on Sunset Boulevard and Las Palmas in Los Angeles, the mall features a central building designed to resemble an ocean liner surrounded by a small village of cottage-style bungalows. It was designed by Robert V. Derrah and built in 1936. 

Once a busy shopping center, the Crossroads now hosts private offices, primarily for the entertainment industry. It has been used for location shooting in many films, including L.A. Confidential and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, in TV shows, including Dragnet and Remington Steele, and in commercials by McDonald's, Ford, and Mattel. A reproduction of Crossroads' iconic tower and spinning globe can be seen just inside the entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida. 

Today, Crossroads is the creative home of a variety of music publishers and producers, television and film script writers, film and recording companies, novelists, costume designers, publicists, and casting agencies.

Crossroads of the World is located at 6671 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. It is also listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Their website: http://www.crossroadshollywood.com/

Dearly Departed Tour - Part Four

One of the highlights of the Dearly Departed Tour was a 25 minute stop at the Westwood Cemetery, were several celebrities are buried.

Here are some of their graves:

Above, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, singer Minnie Ripperton. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the unmarked grave of George C. Scott. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Walter Matthau. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Merv Griffin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Farrah Fawcett. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Rodney Dangerfield. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Jack Lemmon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Archie Bunker himself, Carroll O'Connor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Peter "Columbo" Falk. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Armand Hammer. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Dearly Departed Tour - Part Three

One of the highlights of the Dearly Departed Tour, was a 25 minute stop at the Westwood Cemetery (located behind the Avco Center) where many celebrities are buried.

Here are some of them:

Above. Don Knotts. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Mel Torme. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Truman Capote. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Heather O'Rourke (from the original Poltergeist). Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Marilyn Monroe. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Dean Martin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Burt Lancaster. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Louis Jourdan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Dorothy Stratten (1980 Playmate of the Year). Photo by Armand  Vaquer.

Above, Billy Wilder. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

End of part three. More celebrity graves in part four.

UPDATE (3/17/24):

I was reading about director Peter Bogdanovich earlier today. I enjoyed his interviews about director Howard Hawks in several Hawks-directed John Wayne movies. I went to Find a Grave and found that he is buried next to Dorothy Stratten, the Playboy Playmate murdered by her estranged husband in 1980. She was living with Bogdanovich at the time of the murder. He later married her sister. 

Dearly Departed Tour - Part Two

Once everyone set for the tour gathered, the Dearly Departed Tour company brought their tour bus to the front of their store for departure.

The tour began with drive-bys of places where some celebrities met their demise.

Above, the apartment where actor Bela Lugosi died in August 1956. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the El Coyote Mexican restaurant where Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring had their last meal. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the apartment where actress Rebecca Schaeffer lived. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the doorway of Rebecca Schaeffer's apartment where she was gunned down by a stalker. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Other places included: the house where Humphrey Bogart died, the house were Michael Jackson was murdered, the Beverly Hilton (where Whitney Houston died), the house where Bugsy Siegel was gunned down, Mae West's apartment building, the apartment where Jack Cassidy was cooked, the bungalow where John Belushi overdosed and more.

End of part two. Part three will feature the Westwood Cemetery.

Dearly Departed Tour - Part One

Above, one of Dearly Departed Tour's buses.

For my Father's Day gift this year, my daughter Amber got us tickets to take the Dearly Departed tour. We took the tour today.

The tour includes famous (or infamous) places where tragedy struck those denizens of Tinseltown and a walk through the Westwood Cemetery.

We met up at the tour's office/store at 6603 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. While we waited for the tour to begin, we wandered around the store to check out some of their exhibits.

The Store

Above, the storefront. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, books available for sale. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Sharon Tate's autopsy diagram of wounds. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, various t-shirts available. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, some artifacts on display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, inside the store. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

End of part one. Part two will have the tour.