Travis Mayweather may know a few ghost stories, but they're nothing compared to the tales people tell of hauntings on the very studio lot where Star Trek has been filmed since the 1960s.
Paramount Pictures, located in the heart of Hollywood, is one of the oldest movie-making facilities in town with perhaps the richest history, so it's no surprise that on Halloween Day stories would crop up among the employees about things that go bump in the night ... and sometimes the day. For one thing, Paramount has the unique advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it) of residing next to a cemetery where some of the most famous stars of Hollywood are buried. Even though this is not a strictly Star Trek-related topic, we thought we'd share with you some of the anecdotes of the paranormal we've heard around the lot over the last few days.
One of the most well-known legends about Paramount told around this time of year is the frequent visitations by the spirit of Rudolph Valentino, the silent film great who rose to fame at Paramount and whose large home is now a Paramount office building and landmark. He is buried next door at the Hollywood Forever Memorial Park, and it is not uncommon to hear stories from people claiming to see Valentino pass through the walls from the cemetery and walk around the lot (apparently to visit his old haunts...ha ha).
There have been stories told about a particular soundstage that was used for years by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. It's Stage 16, nicknamed "Planet Hell" because it was always the location of the "planet-of-the-week" swing sets (and wind machines, dust storms, stunt fights and long hours), located on the north edge of the lot immediately adjacent to the cemetery. It is a cavernous structure, and many security guards supposedly refuse to work the night shift on Stage 16, because they hear weird things and get really strange feelings at times.
Another soundstage which was one of two used by the original Star Trek became, years later, the site of another famous celebrity ghost story. Stage 31 (dubbed Stage 9 under Desilu before its sale to Paramount) is reportedly where former Sanford and Son star Redd Foxx died in 1991 during production of his new series The Royal Family. As legend goes, Foxx had a heart attack on the set and passed away right there. Stage 31 is now home to the sitcom Becker, and some believe the spirit of the great comedian is still with them—literally. "Apparently people have heard him in the stage laughing at the jokes, or just kind of hanging around," one Paramount employee claims.
The Hart Building, named after silent-film cowboy star William S. Hart, is where many Star Trek offices have been located throughout the years (including the Enterprise writing staff currently), and there have been a number of stories coming from there of apparitions and other strange phenomena. People have talked about being pushed and shoved by an invisible entity, and more than one secretary working alone late at night have spoken of feeling a presence watching them. Also late at night, lights have been seen going on and off in the building long after cleaning crews have left and the building cleared. One runner whose job takes him all over the lot speaks of an experience he had just earlier this month in the Hart Building (not in an Enterprise office, but right next to one):
"I had my back to the door of the office, which was open. And right across from the door there are these pictures on the wall, and in the reflection of the pictures you can see the whole office, and you can see the door. I was facing away from the office looking at one of the pictures, and in the reflection I saw an older gentleman walk into the room and sit down in the chair in the office. I thought it was the guy who worked there, so I turned around and said, 'Hey, how's it going today?' And when I looked in the office there was nobody there. But the chair was there rocking back and forth like somebody was sitting in it — I mean, with force, not like an air conditioning thing. And I just kind of stared at it for about a good ten seconds going, 'What the hell am I looking at here?'"
Several Paramount employees, including one who used to work as a tour guide, tell tales about Stage 19, where Happy Days was shot in the 1970's and 80's. The story involves Heather O'Rourke, the young actress most famous as the little girl in the movie "Poltergeist" and its sequels, who died mysteriously at the age of 12. Heather joined the cast of Happy Days in 1982 and — even though she died in a hospital — according to the ex-tour guide, "I guess she liked being on the set so much and being part of Happy Days that she still haunts that stage. A lot of security guards and a lot of people working on the various shows [shot on that stage since] have seen or heard her. Sometimes they'll see a little girl playing on the stage, and you just tell her to go home and she'll run away through the wall or into the darkness."
This same employee (who's no longer a tour guide but doesn't want to reveal his current position) decided once to test these claims. He stepped into Stage 19 while it was out of use, walked into the middle of the darkness, and said, "Okay, little girl, come on out and play now." Then he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder and run itself across his back. "I was just, wow, that's the creepiest thing I ever felt in my life. It brushed itself across me as I'm standing perfectly still — there was nothing else it could've been, I wasn't up against anything. And it happened just as soon as I said it, so it was like an answer. It was like, yeah, let's go play!" Poor little girl, the employee opted not to stay and play — he bolted out of there and will never go back in that stage when it's dark.
The sitcom Wings was shot on Stage 19 in the 1990's. One production employee maintains, "The people on Wings actually had footage of her [Heather] in the background in one of the shots. They were watching the dailies and said, 'Who the hell's that little girl?' And they realized it's Carol Anne from 'Poltergeist'!" (No one we spoke to could corroborate that story with any actual footage.)
These are just a few of the more remarkable rumors that have been spoken around the lot in recent days. Most people meet them with a grin, but many are steadfastly skeptical.
When we approached the security guards currently working at the sets of Enterprise to see if they had any ghost stories from their area, they promptly shook their heads and dismissed any such notion. "Anytime you hear strange noises on the soundstages, it's usually cats."
Black cats, perhaps? Oooooohhhh...
Do you believe any of it? Discuss the ghosts of Paramount at the Star Trek message boards!
