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For decades, the common assumption was that the actress famous for Bride of Frankenstein had been incinerated and her ashes scattered in the ocean after her death in 1986.

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

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

An Interest for Tinseltown's Tragic Tales

The historian, 63, focuses in the dark side of Hollywood. He has consulted for films such as Quentin Tarantino's a film about the Manson murders.

Extremely dedicated about unsung Hollywood, he arranges fundraisers for marginalized or cult actors, like the actor known as Pinhead and Pugsley from Addams Family.

It was this interest that inspired him to look into what became of Lanchester's remains.

The Career of Elsa Lanchester

Born on October 28, 1902 in Lewisham, London, she was a young performer in theatre and musical shows, and even recorded albums of old ballads.

When she was 25 she met and married fellow actor her husband, and appeared with him in a historical drama, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar.

Laughton portrayed the lead character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the pair worked on twelve films together, most notably Witness for the Prosecution in 1957, for which they were both nominated for Academy Awards.

Lanchester had been previously nominated in 1949 for Come to the Stable, and after Laughton's death she continued to work regularly, including a number of family movies like a musical and That Darn Cat!.

Recollections from Fellow Actors

Bruce Davison, who played Willard alongside Lanchester as his controlling mother Henreitta, recalls warmly of that time.

She told me: 'When a director gives you nonsense? Just say 'Oooh, that's very interesting, let me do that.' And then just do whatever the hell you want!' he laughs.

Davison also recalled an incident that would excite genre enthusiasts today.

"I brought a Super 8 camera to set, and once I recorded her at the staircase when she recreated her Bride role," he continued. "She was glad for the Bride role," she understood its impact on her career.

The Mystery of Her Final Resting Place

Although the 1935 film – in which Lanchester's own long hair was pulled upward over a special effects frame – secured her a place in film history, the issue of what happened to her remains posthumously was less well recorded.

She wrote in her memoirs that she disliked the site of her husband's burial plot in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills cemetery – he passed away in 1962. She wrote she would rather to be cremated with no funeral service, which is partly why everyone assumed for years that her remains were dispersed.

The Historian's Early Interest with Mortality

An interest in death began early for the tour guide, who was born and grew up in Detroit.

He recalls observing the tented graveside set-up at a family funeral and asking his mom "are we going to the circus? He was three years old.

More than that, the his house was on one of the most dangerous intersections in the city. As a boy heard – and saw so many collisions that it seemed normal, and the springboard for an unique profession celebrating those who have died.

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

A Legacy Worth Remembering

Her brief, wordless appearance alongside Boris Karloff as the Bride was iconic – she earned to have her memory honored.

After all, she was essentially the sole leading lady of the studio's horror lineup.

"It's often overlooked that she portrayed the author at the beginning of the film," Mr Michaels says.

Interest in Lanchester had been ignited earlier in the year when Universal Studios issued merchandise and special editions of Bride of Frankenstein to celebrate the film's nine-decade milestone.

It was a surprise when the historian discovered that Lanchester's agent had placed her ashes at a cemetery in North Hollywood – and that her ashes had not been scattered as was commonly thought.

"Perhaps she was indifferent about what occurred posthumously," he speculates.

A Fitting Tribute

In less than 36 hours, he had raised funds enough for a commemorative plaque to recognize this horror legend.

The unveiling ceremony will be held on 28 October – the anniversary of her birth.

"I wanted to celebrate on her 123rd birthday," Michaels says, "and honestly I overlooked that it was only days before the spooky season."