A group of hikers recount their encounter in the Hollywood
Hills with a veiled lady wearing a white dress
It was the year of 1988 when Tina was a bright 16-year-old student
that worked at USC during the summer. She met a 20-year-old college student
named Alain and among his friends were fellow college students, Brian and All. They
all became a tight group of friends, with Alain always looking out for Tina
since she was the youngest.
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| The iconic sign that graces Los Angeles |
One night after watching a baseball game at Dodger Stadium,
the group wanted to cause some mischief so Brian suggested they all go up the
hill and touch the Hollywood sign. “When you’re that age, you always want to do
something that is very nutty!” Brian recalls. Tina and Al were all for it but
Alain wasn’t too thrilled about it; in the end, he decided to join anyways. The
group drove down in two separate cars down Sunset Blvd and were all excited to
walk up to the iconic sign they have seen all their lives. They all parked at a
dead end at the bottom of the hill. There was a chain link fence with a “No
Trespassing” sign at the bottom of the hill, which Alain pointed out. But Brian
and the rest knew that it was wrong, which made it much more enticing. The boys
climbed over the fence. Tina wouldn’t climbed the fence because she was afraid
of heights so the boys slightly pushed part of the fence out so Tina could go
through. They walked through the bushes, trees, and brush and pass a particular
tree with an upside-down pentagram carved into it. The hills were very steep
but they still were determine to go up the hills They finally climbed up to the
sign and the whole group was in a state of euphoria as they overlooked the
beautiful Los Angeles city skyline. “I was in disbelief, we made it all the way
up!” Alain remembers fondly. “It was really exciting because we did it!” Tina
exclaimed.
It was just before midnight when the group decided it was
late and began trekking downhill. Brian was in the first person in line to lead
the way when all the sudden, he slid and disappeared downhill in the night. The
group could hear the rustle of the rocks and brush as he slid down when all the
sudden, the noise stopped. All three of them panicked when they saw Brian
climbing back up the hill. The group noticed he looked very shook up. “I fell
into this deep abyss and I was so scared,” Brian explains. “There’s a reason we
probably shouldn’t be up there!” The whole atmosphere immediately changed from
exciting to dark and dangerous so they decided to proceed on back down the hill.
All the sudden, they see a silhouette of a person coming up the path towards
the group and wondered why someone was coming up the hill by themselves. They realized
it was a woman in a “1930-style white dress” with heels on and a veil over her
face. “The way she walked seemed like she was casually strolling,” Alain said. Brian
notes that her footsteps made no sound. The group decides to greet her with a “hello”.
There is no response from the woman. She
wasn’t looking at the group and they didn’t know what to think; they maybe
thought she was on some kind of drugs. They said “hello” again. Again, no
response. But then, the woman looked up at the group…..
The group screamed and took off like a bat out of hell. The
guys slid down to the bottom of the hill, jumped over the fence and got in
their cars. Brian and Al take off in Al’s car.
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| Watch your back..... |
But the hill was so steep to the point that Tina lost her
footing, fell and couldn’t get up. Right behind her was the woman in white.
Meanwhile, Alain continues running and gets in his car and tried to get the
keys in the ignition but couldn’t because he was shaking from nerves and
adrenaline. He got it started and wasn’t even thinking about Tina, whom he had
left behind and was still in the hills. Tina struggles to run to the fence and
sees Alain in his car. Tina is trying to push the fence open while the woman is
slowly creeping up behind her. Tina didn’t want to look to see what…or who…was
behind her. Tina managed to slide out from the fence and Alain heard Tina
scream. Tina jumped into Alain’s car and
was very upset and angry that the guys were going to take off without her. They
all didn’t talk about the incident that night but they were all thinking the
same thing: they just saw a ghost. Alain remembered about the legend of the “Lady
in White” that lingered near the sign so he decided to look her up.
The famous lady in white is known as Peg Entwhistle In 1932
she went up the Hollywood sign and committed suicide. She died from fractures
to the pelvis. She left behind a suicide note:
“I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time
ago, it would have saved a lot of pain.”
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| Peg's death certificate |
Jane’s Notes: I have vaguely heard about this tale and was
glad to look up more about it. I myself am from Los Angeles and I remembered
seeing the sign quite a few times. Ironically, when I was thinking about the
Hollywood sign on the hill and Peg’s suicide, I remember the one sign in red
lettering with the word “Jesus Saves” on it (although I think they recently
moved the sign to another area of L.A.). I found a link with a biography about Peg
Entwhistle;
Actress. She committed suicide by jumping off the "H" in the
"Hollywoodland" sign that overlooked Hollywood, California. In
1945, the "land" portion of the sign was removed, leaving only the
now famous "Hollywood." Born Lillian Millicent Entwistle in Port
Talbot, Wales, United Kingdom, her birth date is given as either July 1, 1908
or as February 6, 1908, depending upon the document. Nicknamed Peg, she
became interested in the stage as a child. Her mother died when she was very
young, and her father moved the family to New York, where he remarried and
had two sons. When her father was struck and killed by an automobile while
walking on New York's Park Avenue, the family moved to Ohio to live with an
uncle, while Peg remained in New York to pursue her career as a stage
actress. Wanting a shot at Hollywood, she moved there in 1930, hoping to
become noticed as an actress in the movies. To pay bills, she worked on the
stage, but attended parties of the Hollywood royalty, hoping they would
notice her and offer her a part. She finally achieved her goal, winning the
role of Hazel Cousins in "Thirteen Women" (1932), her only film.
When no further roles were offered her, she became depressed and began
drinking heavily. On the night of September 16, 1932, after a night of heavy
drinking, she climbed the 50-foot "H" on the Hollywoodland sign
(named for a real estate development) and jumped to her death. Her body was
discovered by a hiker two days later, 100 feet below the sign. Today she is
remembered for being an example of the lost aspirations of many who go to
Hollywood to become actors or actresses. Ironically, the day after her death,
a letter arrived at her home, offering her the lead role in a stage play
about a woman driven to suicide. Initially, her body could not be identified,
and she left behind the following suicide note: "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. P.E." The note was published in several
newspapers in the hope that someone would recognize her; her uncle recognized
the initials and traveled to Hollywood, where he identified her body in the
morgue. Her body was cremated and the ashes interred in her father's grave in
Oak Hill Cemetery in Glendale, Ohio (www.findagrave.com)
Picture Credit: SyFy, Find A Grave
Follow me on Twitter @janedoeghost
(Part 2 of the show's recap will be posted tonight) |
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