4 Places Supposedly Haunted by the Ghosts of Comedy Legends

4 The Ghost of Charlie Chaplin Has Been ‘Photographed’ in an L.A. Restaurant

While there were certainly creepy stories about Charlie Chaplin when he was alive, there have also been some spine-tingling yarns about the silent film star post-death. Chaplin may have died in his Switzerland home on Christmas Day, 1977, but according to paranormal enthusiasts, his ghost seemingly boarded an intercontinental ghost plane.

Chaplin’s spirit now supposedly haunts the legendary Los Angeles restaurant Musso & Frank Grill, which you might recognize from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s the setting of a scene featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino, and apparently the invisible specter of Charlie Chaplin lurking in the background.

Allegedly, Chaplin’s ghost routinely makes appearances at booth number one, where he regularly sat while alive. One investigator even claimed to have snapped a photo of the living-impaired Chaplin, which, upon examination, only makes for convincing evidence to those who believe that ghosts look like blurry amorphous blobs. 

3 John Belushi’s Spirit Haunts the Chateau Marmont (and Once Appeared to Al Franken)

As anyone who watched that terrible 1980s biopic can tell you, John Belushi tragically died in a bungalow at the Chateau Marmont in 1982, overdosing on a combo of heroin and cocaine. Still, his ghost reportedly lives on — like, his actual ghost, not just the vaguely Belushi-like Slimer.

According to Belushi’s buddy Dan Aykroyd — who, keep in mind, once claimed that another buddy had a four-way with a trio of sexy poltergeists — then-Saturday Night Live writer Al Franken visited the same bungalow, number three, a week after Belushi’s death and actually witnessed his spirit. 

Even if you don’t take the word of a former U.S. Senator/the star of Stuart Saves His Family, Chateau Marmont guests have also described experiencing Overlook-y events in the same bungalow. Some have reported “feeling watched, particularly if they glance into the bathroom mirror.” One couple claimed that their child was overheard talking to himself and chuckling, and when they questioned him, he said he was talking to “the funny man.” No word on whether or not the ghost was wearing a bee costume or wielding a Samurai sword. 

2 Groucho Marx’s Cigar Smoke Haunts the Laugh Factory

The great Groucho Marx died on August 19, 1977, three days after Elvis Presley. And while many people think that the King of Rock and Roll/Pillow Fights is still kicking, some also believe that Groucho may still be with us — albeit in ghost form. 

The Laugh Factory, Los Angeles’ famed comedy club, currently occupies a building once owned by Marx. According to owner Jamie Masada, the fake mustachioed icon is still living there rent-free. Masada has spoken about a time when he forgot his keys and returned to his office late at night, only to discover that all the “candles on the tables that had been re-lit and the spotlight of the club was on.” Even spookier, the smell of cigar smoke was suddenly present in the air.

“I freaked out,” Masada told the Los Angeles Times. Masada also recalled the club’s staff discovering cigar ash on “a table that once belonged to Marx.” Other claims include hearing disembodied laughter and an embossed image of Marx appearing overnight on a wall that was being plastered. Of course, these stories are now largely forgotten, probably because the club is now more famous for being haunted by the ghost of Michael Richards’ career.

1 Both Lucille Ball and Redd Foxx Went Full ‘Poltergeist’ in Their Former Houses

From Beetlejuice to Poltergeist to the booze-fueled lies known as The Amityville Horror, several famous ghost stories have involved families being terrorized by ghouls after moving into a new house. Well, it seems that the ghosts of comedians are no slouches in the domestic haunting department, either. 

Take Redd Foxx, the famously filthy stand-up comedian and TV star who, weirdly enough, died of a heart attack while filming a sitcom that was originally titled Chest Pains.

Foxx’s home was sold in a tax sale to Elvis impersonator Jesse Garron, who soon moved out because he reportedly “felt a ghostly presence in the home.” Garron claimed to experience doors opening by themselves and lights randomly turning off and on. A neighbor told him that “it could only be Foxx’s spirit because he loved the home so much.”

A séance was even held, part of a segment for the syndicated newsmagazine show A Current Affair, with the psychic claiming that Foxx’s ghost was acting out because he was “angered by changes Garron had made to the house.” Adding to the eeriness, all of Foxx’s stuff was left in the house, and Garron even left an oil painting depicting Foxx and his wife above the fireplace.

Similarly, Lucille Ball’s ghost has been driving down the property value of her old Beverly Hills home, with reports of “broken windows, loud voices coming from the attic and furniture moving around the home.” It seems that the new owners had redone much of the house to dissuade tourists from visiting, possibly angering ghost-Lucy in the process.

One person even claimed to see Ball standing in her old bedroom looking “upset and confused” — possibly because she just caught wind of that awful Nicole Kidman biopic. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this).