Five great cemeteries worth exploring in California

Hollywood
Hollywood Forever Memorial Park. For Halloween, visit the palm-shaded “Resting Place of Hollywood’s Immortals,” from Cecil B. DeMille to Jayne Mansfield. 6000 Santa Monica Blvd.; 323/469-1181.

Los Angeles
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. Get a history lesson at Southern California’s most famous cemetery, with its reproduction of Boston’s Old North Church and larger-than-life statues of Jefferson and Lincoln. 6300 Forest Lawn Dr.; 800/204-3131.

Los Angeles
Westwood Village Memorial Park. Perhaps no grave site draws more mourners than that of Marilyn Monroe; she’s buried in this small and fascinating cemetery. Also here: Natalie Wood and Burt Lancaster. 1218 Glendon Ave.; 310/474-1579.

San Diego
El Campo Santo Cemetery. Early San Diegans rest here in Old Town amidst unmarked white cross markers. Part of the burial ground was paved over in the early 1940s; paranormal activity has been reported on and off since. San Diego Ave. between Arista St. and Conde St.

San Diego
Mt. Hope Cemetery. Prominent San Diego residents, including Raymond Chandler and Kate Morgan (known to many as the resident ghost at Hotel del Coronado), lie among rolling green hills on the outskirts of the city. 3751 Market St.; 619/527-3400.