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Los Angeles-Ellen Degeneres is having problems at home - with a ghost. The talk-show titan - who hosted Sunday night’s Academy Awards - recently moved into a $40 million mansion, and is convinced it’s haunted by its original owner, who died there in 2009.
“The house had been remodelled, so Ellen thought it would have no trace of the former owner,” a source told the National Enquirer. “But she was wrong. Within a few nights of moving in, Ellen started hearing random noises, including footsteps and doors opening and closing.
“Then, in the middle of the night, she heard a woman’s faint cry. Ellen is totally freaked out. She hasn’t had a solid night’s sleep since she moved in. She said she’s never been a believer in ghosts or spirits, but she doesn’t have any other explanation for the mysterious sounds and voices.” The 13,000-square-foot mansion was built for real estate developer Sidney Brody and his wife Frances in 1951. It’s located in the exclusive Holmby Hills neighbourhood next door to the famed Playboy Mansion. Brody died in 1983. His wife, a renowned art collector and philanthropist, passed away in the house at age 93 after a long illness.
After her death, an investor purchased the home and completely remodelled it. Ellen then bought the nine-bedroom, eight-bathroom spread in early January. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Ellen couldn’t pass up,” said the source.
Ellen said she’s convinced the noises and voices she hears are Frances Brody’s, and Ellen thinks Mrs. Brody’s spirit can’t bear to part with the house, even in the afterlife. “Friends have convinced Ellen to conduct a spiritual cleansing ceremony in the house,” the source said. “She doesn’t want her new home to have any bad energy, and she’s not going to share it with Frances Brody.”