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For many years, it was widely believed that the actress famous for Bride of Frankenstein had been incinerated and her ashes spread at sea after her death in 1986.

But a Hollywood historian, founder of Dearly Departed Tours, uncovered an unexpected truth: her cremated remains were actually interred in a rose garden under her married name, Elsa Lanchester Laughton.

"For almost 40 years no one had made the connection – until now," he states.

A Passion for Hollywood's Dark Side

The historian, sixty-three, focuses in celebrity deaths and scandals. He has consulted for movies including the director's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Deeply passionate about unsung Hollywood, he arranges fundraisers for overlooked or iconic performers, like the actor known as Pinhead and Ken Weatherwax.

It was this interest that inspired Mr Michaels to investigate what became of the actress's ashes.

The Career of a Hollywood Legend

Born on October 28, 1902 in Lewisham, London, Lanchester was a child actor in stage and cabaret, and even recorded albums of old ballads.

At 25 she married fellow actor Charles Laughton, and appeared with him in a historical drama, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar.

He played the title role in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the couple worked on twelve films together, including Witness for the Prosecution in 1957, for which they were both nominated for Academy Awards.

Lanchester had been nominated before in 1949 for Come to the Stable, and after Laughton's death she kept acting steadily, including a number of Disney films like Mary Poppins and That Darn Cat!.

Memories from Co-Stars

Actor Bruce Davison, who played Willard alongside her as his controlling mother Henrietta, recalls warmly of their collaboration.

She told me: 'When a director gives you nonsense? What you do is say 'Oooh, that's very interesting, let me do that.' And then just do exactly as you please!' he laughs.

He also remembered something that would tantalise horror fans today.

"I used to take a home movie camera to set, and one time I recorded her at the staircase when she did The Bride for me," he added. "She appreciated for the iconic part," she recognized what it had done for her.

The Mystery of Where She Was Buried

While The Bride of Frankenstein – in which Lanchester's own long hair was stretched up over a wire beehive contraption – secured her a historic status, the issue of what became of her body posthumously was poorly documented.

She wrote in her memoirs that she did not like the location of her husband's grave in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills cemetery – Laughton died in 1962. She wrote she would rather to be burned with no ceremony, which is a reason everyone assumed for decades that her remains were dispersed.

The Historian's Early Interest with Mortality

An interest in death began early for the tour guide, who was raised in the Motor City.

He remembers observing the funeral canopy at a family funeral and inquiring of his mother "are we going to the circus? He was three years old.

Additionally, the family home was on one of the most dangerous intersections in the urban area. As a boy heard – and saw so many car accidents that it almost became business as usual, and the springboard for an unique profession honoring those who have passed away.

Upon discovering of where she was buried, during his ongoing investigations into old records, he determined she would be his latest tribute effort.

A Legacy Worth Remembering

Her brief, wordless appearance with Boris Karloff as the Bride of Frankenstein was legendary – she deserved to have her legacy remembered.

After all, she was essentially the only female star of the Universal Horror cast.

"Many people also forget that she played Mary Shelley at the start of the film," Mr Michaels says.

Attention toward the actress had been ignited earlier in the year when Universal Studios issued merchandise and special editions of Bride of Frankenstein to mark the film's 90th anniversary.

It was a surprise when the historian found that Lanchester's agent had placed her ashes at Valhalla Memorial Park in a Los Angeles neighborhood – and that her ashes had not been scattered as was commonly thought.

"Perhaps she was indifferent about what happened after she was gone," he suggests.

An Appropriate Memorial

In less than 36 hours, Mr Michaels had raised funds enough for a formal wall marker to recognize this horror legend.

The dedication event will be held on October 28 – the anniversary of her birth.

"I aimed to commemorate on her 123rd birth anniversary," Michaels says, "and truly I overlooked that it was just a few days before Halloween."