• Jealousy over pixels: GTA 6’s ‘romantic’ features spark an online scandal

  The highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI — scheduled for November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S — has triggered an unexpected real-life controversy. Girlfriends, fiancées and wives around the world are reportedly threatening to boycott the game, arguing that virtual romances with its female protagonist, Lucia, amount to real-life cheating...

• Three Berlin men are ‘marrying’ each other — but there’s no sex: “We just love each other”

  They live together, but they aren’t a couple. They wear wedding rings, but have no plans to have sex. And now they have decided to get married. Three friends from Berlin — Karam Nwilati, Kristian Naydenov and Santeri Lehtonen — have made friendship the central partnership of their lives, The Independent reports...

• “We Went Down Like the Titanic”: Newlyweds Plunge Into River During Wedding Photoshoot

  Newlyweds Jamie and Michelle Wade, both 46, were posing for photographs in a canoe on the River Bure in Norfolk, England, when they lost their balance and ended up plunging straight into the water...

• Sickle Around Her Neck, Padlock on Her Toe: The “Vampire” in the Grave Was an Innocent Teenager

  The “real vampire” who was feared so intensely that she was buried in a locked grave rigged with a deadly trap was actually just a teenage girl. The circumstances surrounding her death, however, remain a mystery, according to the NYP...

• Australia Holds Its First Funeral in a “Living Coffin” Made from Mushrooms and Hemp

  Australia has held its first-ever burial using an unusual and eco-friendly coffin made from fungi and hemp. A 70-year-old woman named Carolyn became the first person in the country to be buried in what is known as a “Living Cocoon.” Her funeral service was held in Faulconbridge, with the burial taking place at Springwood Cemetery in the picturesque Blue Mountains...

• Former OnlyFans Manager Calls Platform a “Bottomless Pit”: “Sexual Freedom Is a Lie”

  Victoria Sinis, who previously ran an OnlyFans management agency in Australia, has publicly turned her back on the adult industry after returning to her Christian faith. She is now warning about the darker side of the business, describing modern “sexual freedom” as a lie that can leave both women and men with lives in ruins...

• Fashion Victim or the Real Bigfoot? Hairy ‘Monster’ Terrifies an Entire US Town

  Maine police launched an investigation after a small town was flooded with 911 calls from residents claiming they had spotted Bigfoot wandering the streets. It eventually turned out that the mysterious creature was simply a man in a furry costume — albeit one so convincing that he managed to scare an entire town, according to the New York Post...

• What Do Jeff Bezos, Shakespeare and Genghis Khan Have in Common?

  What does it take to become great? Being in the right place at the right time? Possessing extraordinary genius? Or does true greatness require something more? Daily Mail explores the question...

For most fans, an obsession with a celebrity is limited to rewatching their movies or regularly buying overpriced concert tickets. But for 62-year-old tech investor Anthony Jabin, it means a willingness to spend eternity right on the other side of the wall from his idol, The NYP reports.

In 2024, Jabin took his lifelong fascination with Marilyn Monroe to the absolute maximum. He shelled out $195,000 at a Julien’s Auctions event for a single crypt at the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park cemetery in Los Angeles. This is a modest plot just for him, located one row up and four spaces to the left of the legendary blonde's final resting place. "I bought a crypt next to Marilyn Monroe because it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to spend eternity with the most iconic actress of all time. And she is definitely my favorite blonde!" Jabin enthusiastically told The Post, adding that he sends flowers to her memorial every year on her birthday.

Today, wealthy individuals are willing to fork over six- and seven-figure sums to reserve burial plots next to movie stars, music legends, and politicians, turning America’s famous cemeteries into gated luxury communities for the dead.

The Hunt for Elite Real Estate in Hollywood

At the famous Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles—which now hosts movie screenings, concerts, tours, and yoga classes—the demand for "star neighbors" is immense. Yogu Kanthiah, co-owner of the cemetery, notes that for many families, proximity to a celebrity is a way to touch a piece of Hollywood history.

In the cemetery's most prestigious sector—the Garden of Legends—plot prices start at $200,000 and can exceed $6 million for exclusive, custom-designed mausoleums.

According to Noelle Berman, Director of Private Estates, clients on golf cart tours regularly ask to find them a spot close to Johnny Ramone or Neil Sedaka. The hype is so great that a large portion of sales are made pre-need. It resembles buying prime real estate in New York City, with the only difference being that this lease has no expiration date.

"Friends of Dorothy" and a Living Display in a Niche

In the Judy Garland Pavilion, the cost of niches for cremation urns varies depending on proximity to the actress herself. Jeffrey Dicker, a 49-year-old artist, paid over $50,000 for a glass-front niche about the size of a large shoebox, just steps away from the Wizard of Oz star.

For Dicker, the connection is deeply personal: "Even before I realized I was gay, I looked at Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. That movie was always a fantasy land to escape reality. If you're going to go out in style, it might as well be next to her."

Noelle Berman confirms that older members of the LGBTQ+ community frequently seek spots specifically near Garland. In an era when being openly gay was incredibly dangerous, the phrase "a friend of Dorothy" (in honor of her character) served as a secret password to find like-minded people.

New York Style: "Jazz Corner" in the Bronx

In New York, the cemetery trend looks a bit different—there is more history and cultural heritage involved. At Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx and Green-Wood in Brooklyn (where Leonard Bernstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat rest), tourists and buyers look for entirely different names.

At Woodlawn, management realized back in the 19th century that famous deceased individuals attracted clients. When Civil War hero Admiral David Farragut was buried here in 1870, people began coming to the cemetery for picnics, causing a massive boom in plot sales.

In the 20th century, musicians adopted this tradition. In 1959, Duke Ellington bought a plot of land here. When Miles Davis was buried nearby in 1991, an iconic trend was born: jazz legends wanted to rest alongside jazz royalty. Today, this sector, dubbed "Jazz Corner," is home to Lionel Hampton, Max Roach, and Illinois Jacquet.

Marian Pardo, 79, and her 85-year-old husband, Michael Tunkel, both successful Manhattan professionals, purchased plots at Woodlawn in 2025 precisely because of their love for jazz. Experts estimate that a spot in this area costs around $76,995. "My husband and I don't always agree on everything. But the one thing we’ve always shared is our love of jazz. I want to rest somewhere people will actually visit," Marian said with a smile. "There's an old joke about a woman who left instructions to have her ashes scattered at Bloomingdale’s so her daughter would visit her at least once a week. Well, I just want to be where people enjoy being."

A Modern Form of Immortality

Experts note that this phenomenon is older than Hollywood itself. For centuries, people paid fortunes to be buried close to saints, monarchs, holy relics, or military heroes. Modern celebrity graves are simply the digital-age version of an ancient tradition.

"Choosing a burial site is a statement about how a person wants to be remembered," concludes Gene Newman, Education Director at Everplans. "For some, neighboring a star is a way to upgrade their status in the afterlife. For others, it's a deeply personal connection to an idol they never got to meet in life. In a way, it’s an accessible form of immortality—without the hassle of becoming a vampire."

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram