Marilyn's bathrobe sells for $120,000

An auction in Las Vegas has netted $120,000 for a short terry bathrobe, purportedly the last piece of clothing Marilyn Monroe wore before her death. I find that infinitely more creepy than the $63,000 somebody paid in the same auction for a costume jewelry necklace she once wore.

This is the auction where Elvis's prescription pill bottles went on the block. And, a day after Michael Jackson died, a signed "Jackson 5" album, originally priced at about $600 went for an unexpectedly high $33,000.

What is this morbid fascination with the belongings of dead celebrities? I understand why artwork rises in value when the artist dies. He's not around to make any more art. But artwork has value in and of itself.

But the bathrobe? The pill bottles? They have value only because of fame and tragic death. Somehow that seems...unworthy.

The actress in a blouse sold at the auction, courtesy Julien's Auctions