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Originally submitted by LFN member Constantine

When I first started out in paranormal investigations I did a lot of reading. I was a voraciously hungry fan of Brad Steiger and read everything he had in print as well as listened to radio shows where he was a guest. Here is a recant of one of my favorite ghost stories about Marilyn Monroe courtesy of Steiger. My own interjections are designated by >.

Some history for those who are unfamiliar:

“During the summer of 1946, Bob Slatzer met Norma Jean Baker in the lobby of Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. He was a correspondent for an eastern newspaper, and she was a young model trying to get work by making the rounds. They struck up a conversation and made a date for later that evening. Thus began a long relationship that led to their brief marriage in 1952. Even after Norma Jean had been transformed into the Hollywood love goddess known as Marilyn Monroe, they remained close friends until her death in 1962. Since her passing, many strange things have manifested in Bob’s life that have convinced him that her spirit is still with him. In 1973 he participated in an experiment that actually caused Marilyn Monroe’s spirit form to materialize.” – Brad Steiger from Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits and Haunted Places

>If you do some research, you will find that Marilyn Monroe is a popular celebrity ghost. She has been spotted in a variety of places besides her own home including by her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Roosevelt Hotel (suite 1200), a cabin at Cal Neva Resort in Lake Tahoe and even her own Cadillac. Back to rehash.

The offer:

As a correspondent, Slatzer had also become acquainted with Anton La Vey, the author of the Satanic Bible and founder of the Church of Satan … he also knew that La Vey had a fascination with Monroe. La Vey contacted Slatzer one night to tell him that an “astrological dark moon” would occur on Saturday, August 4, the same way it had eleven years earlier when Monroe had died. La Vey wanted to manifest her spirit and needed the assistance of someone who knew her very well in order to achieve it. Slatzer agreed to the plan and the two went to Monroe’s former home on Helena Drive after La Vey had received permission from the current owner of the property. The owner did not let them in the house itself but she did allow them to sit in the cul-de-sac that led to the property. They positioned their car against the house gates looking out with Slatzer in front driver seat and La Vey in the driver’s seat. The area was still and vacant of any people.  At 11:45 PM they began.

>What struck me about at first about this case was the fact that it was not a ghost hunt or an investigation but participation in a conjuration ritual to raise the spirit of the dead. La Vey was adept at ritual and Slatzer a willing participant for reasons that were unclear. Might have been his curious correspondent nature or perhaps just some longing to see Marilyn again. Speaking psychologically, here were two men who wanted to see something, yes, for different reasons but still willing. To note at this juncture, is that all good seasoned paranormal investigators will do some psychological profiling as well as a background historical search before engaging a case. Continuing …

La Vey had brought several necessities with him – a tape recorder with songs from Monroe’s pictures and penlight to read some words he had written.

The recorder was turned on low volume and La Vey was reported to be either speaking in tongues or chanting. Slatzer’s observations were recorder in an interview for Hollywood and the Supernatural:

“About 12:15 AM, the night was still. Not one blade of grass was moving. The leaves on the eucalyptus tree by the corner of the house were still. All of a sudden, a terrific wind came up. The tree looked as if it were a hurricane for three to four minutes---nothing else on either side of the road was moving. Then from out of nowhere---I didn’t even turn my head or blink, and I have 20-20 vision---this woman appeared. It was as if someone suddenly set her there. She had on white slacks with a little black and white splash-pattern top, little white loafers, and I could see a shock of blonde hair. She started walking towards the car. I had goose bumps all over!”

Once Slatzer was able to control the initial shock, rationality set in. Had the whole thing been set up by La Vey as a publicity stunt? Possible but the thought ran contrary to La Vey’s character as he was intensely serious about his work. Plus La Vey was having his own set of reactions and was sweating profusely and insisting that they should both remain silent.

>An investigator would have had a field day with this situation and indeed the first supposition would have been if the whole thing was a publicity stunt as La Vey was quite a flamboyant character. No investigator worth their salt would have been involved directly with the ritual. Observation is the primary key of an investigation.

The figure of the woman began walking slowly towards the car and stopped about 30 feet away from it.

According to Slatzer, “Anton had dimmed the music a little and finished his chanting when she was about halfway to us. All of a sudden she veered off to our left. There used to be a big tree there, and she just stood there, almost as if made of cardboard, with a kind of wooden look, but the figure was highly recognizable as Marilyn Monroe!”

The ghostly figure seemed not to want to walk past the car but rather turned and began to walk slowly down the boulevard. When the figure was about three-fourths of the way down the street, Slatzer decided to follow it. As he approached her, the image turned, walked to the middle of the road and completely vanished. Both Slatzer and the ghostly figure had walked through a small drainage ditch about two and a half feet wide. Slatzer noticed his wet footprints had left imprints on the road but the ghostly figure had left none.

That was the night that Bob Slatzer became a “believer.”

Are you?

>Assuming they had both seen something how can an investigator define the situation? Based on this evidence alone and ruling out drugs, alcohol, stunts and demonic entities courtesy of La Vey or even a human being, one might say this could have almost been a residual haunting. Why do I say “almost?”

Pro point: For arguments sake, the spirit did not interact or acknowledge who is there – a type of avoidance or oblivious state which is common during such a haunt.

Con point: It is not known the spirit as described by Slatzer was seen by others in the same spaces along the road coming and going at around the same timeframe. This would have been a helpful clue.

Pro point: So called spirits seen during a residual haunt are usually accoutered according to the period in which they were alive. The entity seen was dressed familiarly as Marilyn.

Con point: If it was a residual haunt, La Vey’s ritual attempts might have made no difference because a residual haunt can and will play like an old movie.

Pro point: During residual haunts tremendous energy can be exerted usually having a profound effect on onlookers. There was a blast of hurricane-like wind however the pen light and the recorder, both battery driven would have and should have been affected.

Further and a point often missed is if the area of the haunt was situated above underground water sources including places where water has been drained. There was a drainage ditch that Slatzer believed he had walked through.