In honor of today’s spooky holiday, we’re digging through the vaults and pulling this oldie-but-goodie out of the archives. There’s no time like Halloween for a good ghost story or two!
We caught a lot of panels while we were at New York Comic Con this past weekend, but one of our favorites was called “Celebrity Ghost Stories: Fact, Fiction and Previously Untold Tales in Paranormal Pop Culture.” Celebrities? Ghosts? We’re in! Given by journalist/NYU professor/all-round “ghost guy” Aaron Sagers, this talk made our skin crawl with all sorts of real-life ghostly encounters– had by celebs! Did you know that Matthew McConaughey lived in a haunted house? Or that Taylor Momsen once went ghost hunting? Because they did—and they lived to tell the tale. Want to know more? Come on. Join us around the campfire. Because we’ve got some spooky stories to tell you!
1. Jenna Bush
While her dad, George W., was president, Jenna Bush swears she ran into one (or more!) of the allegedly numerous White House ghosts. Her bedroom, you see, was graced with a fireplace—which she claimed has a tendency to play 1920s-era music. One night after hearing such music emanating from the fireplace, Jenna ran into her sister’s room. Her sister, of course, didn’t believe her—until the next night, when she stayed in Jenna’s room with her. Seeing may be believing, but hearing might be, too.
2. Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith didn’t just encounter a ghost—she had sex with one. Regularly. The first time that it happened, she thought that it was her boyfriend; however, she soon figured out that this wasn’t the case. She was pretty okay with it, though—she said the sex was great!
3. Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson revealed during the filming of Skeleton Key that she’s had her fair share of ghostly encounters. She’s seen a ghost with no face—a commonly ghostly archetype—more times than she can count, and once, the spirit of her grandmother visited her. At least granny’s still looking out for her from beyond the grave!
4. Nicholas Cage
Nic Cage also has a whole bunch of ghost stories in his arsenal. His favorite, though, involves a time that he was staying at Francis Ford Coppola’s house in Napa Valley. Nic was staying in the attic when late one night, a woman with big hair appeared. At first, he thought it was his aunt. But when she approached him… well, let’s just say that he found out quite quickly that it was NOT his aunt. He doesn’t know who it was, but she scared the bejeesus out of him.
5. Matthew McConaughey
In 2003, everyone’s favorite shirtless wonder was living in a haunted house. The first time he encountered his ghost, he freaked out: He kept hearing noises that sounded like a dime getting dropped about ten feet (have you ever heard a dime get dropped ten feet? It’s loud. Seriously.) He leapt out of bed—buck naked, of course—grabbed a baseball bat, and started running around the house like a mad man. He’s since made his peace with his ghost, though; he calls her Madame Blue, and he says that they get along quite well. He suspects his constant nudity has something to do with it.
6. Keanu Reeves
Keanu’s tale doesn’t really have a resolution, but it’s a creepy image all the same. When he was five, he and his sister encountered a ghost in the house they were living in. The ghost wore a white double-breasted suit—except that he had no legs. Spooky.
More celebrity ghost stories, including Taylor Momsen and Alyson Hannigan, up next!