Speaker 1: Hello friends, Steve Stockton here with you. Welcome to our
Speaker 1: latest video. In this episode, we're going to take a
Speaker 1: look into the creepy legend of the Hiding Man of
Speaker 1: Griffith Park. Join us now. We all know what a
Speaker 1: wonderful and yet weird place the Internet can be, and
Speaker 1: when we came across the story recently, we found it
Speaker 1: so bizarre and fascinating we thought we'd share it with
Speaker 1: all of you. First, a little background, it's in order.
Speaker 1: Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, has four three and
Speaker 1: ten acres, making it not only the second largest park
Speaker 1: in California, but also one of the entire country's largest parks.
Speaker 1: A few of the highlights of Griffith Park include the
Speaker 1: Griffith Observatory, the Greek Amphitheater, the abandoned Los Angeles Zous,
Speaker 1: the Museum of the American West, the travel town On
Speaker 1: Train Museum, a Merry go Around, countless hiking and horse trails,
Speaker 1: the famous Hollywood Sign, a few ghosts, and an eighteen
Speaker 1: sixty three curse. Yes that's right, a curse. Rancho Lost
Speaker 1: Feedlas originally belonged to the Felis family. The land eventually
Speaker 1: became property of Don Antonio Felis, who lived there with
Speaker 1: his sister Solidad and his seventeen year old blind niece
Speaker 1: Donna Petranilla. In eighteen sixty three, when Don Antonio Felis died,
Speaker 1: instead of leaving his land to his family, he left
Speaker 1: it all to a man named Don Antonio Coronel. Back
Speaker 1: there is still a street in Los Angeles named after Cornell,
Speaker 1: consisting of fewer than a dozen houses. So this huge
Speaker 1: parcel of land went to Don Antonio Cornell, and not
Speaker 1: to Donna Petranilla, as she'd hope. A few items supposedly
Speaker 1: went to Solidad and some other relative. His godson received
Speaker 1: a few horses, but the land representing the lion's share
Speaker 1: of the wealth went to Don Cornell, and poor Petronilla,
Speaker 1: who had hoped for an inheritance, received nothing. Because of this,
Speaker 1: Dona Petronilla wasn't pleased, to say the least. In order
Speaker 1: to seek revenge, she cast a curse on the land.
Speaker 1: After that, it seems, in order to seal the curse,
Speaker 1: she apparently passed away. Don Leconte, the lawyer who had
Speaker 1: helped trick Dona Petronilla, was the first to fall victim
Speaker 1: of the curse. He was shot and killed shortly thereafter,
Speaker 1: and the judge who decided the will was legal, although
Speaker 1: it was contested, also met with a tragic end shortly thereafter.
Speaker 1: In fact, the entire Coronell family all died slowly of
Speaker 1: misfortune and disease. When Don Coronel died, the land was
Speaker 1: left to his young wife, and she promptly remarried. However,
Speaker 1: she and her new husband, who probably was just after
Speaker 1: the well wealth, fought over the inheritance, and in the
Speaker 1: subsequent divorce proceedings the lawyers ended up getting most of
Speaker 1: the wealth through legal fees. Around the end of eighteen
Speaker 1: sixty eight, a man named sev Howard owned most of
Speaker 1: the land and the land's water rights, which he sold
Speaker 1: for a handsome profit. During a celebration of his good fortune,
Speaker 1: he was allegedly shot to death. Next Leon Lucky Baldwin
Speaker 1: eventually acquired the property, but his lucky streak ended when
Speaker 1: he established a dairy and a ranch on it. Nothing
Speaker 1: went according to play it. All his cattle on the
Speaker 1: land died, mysterious fires destroyed the grain, and then a
Speaker 1: swarm of grasshoppers devoured the crops. Baldwin was reportedly killed
Speaker 1: by the outlaw after he went bankrupt and had to
Speaker 1: sell the land to pay off the mortgage. Then Thomas
Speaker 1: Bell of a nancier from San Francisco, ended up owning
Speaker 1: the land. He was terrified of the curse, however, and
Speaker 1: all held the land for a short time before selling
Speaker 1: it to Colonel Griffith J. Griffith. Apparently Bell lived into
Speaker 1: his eighties and then the curse touched him too. He
Speaker 1: fell from his mansion's master or was pushed by his mistress,
Speaker 1: depending on who you believe. So Colonel Griffith Jay Griffith,
Speaker 1: who now owned the land. As well as his aristocratic pretensions,
Speaker 1: he also had an uncanny knack for finding silver and gold.
Speaker 1: He allowed a man named Frank Burkett to start an
Speaker 1: ostrich farm on the property, hopefully to entice other residents
Speaker 1: to the area and Griffith's other properties nearby. However, as
Speaker 1: a result of a huge storm in eighteen eighty four,
Speaker 1: it was believed by locals that the curse had returned.
Speaker 1: The ranchands reported seeing the ghosts of Don Antonio Phelis
Speaker 1: riding in the rain after lightning struck some of the
Speaker 1: oak trees on the property. Don Antonio remained to haunt
Speaker 1: the area after the storm, often making an appearance near
Speaker 1: a place called b Rock. It has been said that
Speaker 1: Griffith would not visit the land unless it was midday
Speaker 1: and at night. Ostriches were rumored to stampede and run
Speaker 1: wild throughout the area, attacking anyone foolish enough to venture
Speaker 1: onto the property. So, after ghosts appearing an Ostrich's stampeding,
Speaker 1: Griffith foreclosed on the failing Ostrich farm, causing Burkett to revenge.
Speaker 1: Burkett attempted to shoot Griffith with a shotgun outside the
Speaker 1: old Calvary Cemetery, which is now the location of Cathedral
Speaker 1: High School on North Broadway. Griffith survived the attack, but
Speaker 1: only because Burquette had used bird shot instead of buck shot.
Speaker 1: Burkehette apparently believed he had succeeded in killing Griffith, though,
Speaker 1: so he took his own life. Griffith, tired of all
Speaker 1: the misfortune and drama, donated three thoy fifteen acres to
Speaker 1: Los Angeles in December eighteen ninety six as an attempt
Speaker 1: to rid himself of the cursed land and the ghost.
Speaker 1: Despite Griffith's efforts, the course would not let him go.
Speaker 1: That easily devout Protestant. Griffith concluded afterwards that his Catholic wife,
Speaker 1: Christina Mesmer, was conspiring to poison him and steal all
Speaker 1: his money. Christina, herself, because of her family and connections,
Speaker 1: was already very well off and very well connected. Been
Speaker 1: reported that Griffith would often switch his plate with hers
Speaker 1: at dinner so that the allegedly poisoned food would be
Speaker 1: on her plate instead of on his. Then, one night,
Speaker 1: when the couple were staying at the Arcadia Hotel in
Speaker 1: Santa Monica, he ended up shooting his wife. She survived,
Speaker 1: although she was disfigured and blinded in her right eye
Speaker 1: after she threw herself from the window, landed on an awning,
Speaker 1: and crawled to safety through yet another window. Griffith was
Speaker 1: charged with attempted murder for this little stunt, and although
Speaker 1: he only spent two years in San Quentin for attempted
Speaker 1: murder thanks to an alcoholic insanity defense, his reputation never recovered.
Speaker 1: When he was released from prison, the city ignored his
Speaker 1: efforts to continue building Griffith Park, not wanting to do
Speaker 1: business with him. Griffith did, however, set up a trust
Speaker 1: fund for the observatory and Greek theater be built and
Speaker 1: maintained after his death. In nineteen nineteen, he passed away
Speaker 1: from liver disease and was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Speaker 1: Since then, Los Angeles has only suffered one unfortunate event
Speaker 1: on the land in the last century. A fire in
Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three resulted in twenty nine deaths and one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty injuries. The fire was the deadliest in
Speaker 1: the city's history. Now, in spite of the fact that
Speaker 1: the curse doesn't seem to be hurting anyone anymore, several
Speaker 1: ghosts have been spotted in the park. In addition to
Speaker 1: Don Antonio Filis, who rides the trails of the park
Speaker 1: and laughs crazily on top of large rocks looking over
Speaker 1: the park, people have also reported seeing the blind niece
Speaker 1: Donna Patronila. It's also believed that this original course layer
Speaker 1: roams to the land dressed in white. Additionally, she's been
Speaker 1: spotted riding a white horse around midnight near an old
Speaker 1: adobe building used to the park headquarters. Other ghost has
Speaker 1: also been spotted riding a horse in the park, but
Speaker 1: as the writer's style does not match that of a
Speaker 1: Spanish non is believed to be Griffith j. Griffith Himself's ghost.
Speaker 1: There have been reports of other ghostly figures all throughout
Speaker 1: the park, including one who appears to be seeking assistance.
Speaker 1: According to some, is the spirit of a girl who
Speaker 1: was abandoned in the park as a child and eventually
Speaker 1: died of exposure. Now she wanders the park forever looking
Speaker 1: for the parents who abandoned her. Ghosts have also been
Speaker 1: seen descending steps near the Merry Go Round and disappearing
Speaker 1: as they reached the last step. The number of reported
Speaker 1: sightings that both travel Town and the Griffith Observatory prompted
Speaker 1: teams of paranormal investigators to spend nights in the park. However,
Speaker 1: they did not find any evidence of paranormal activity. And
Speaker 1: there's also the ghost of Pegan Whistle, who infamously jumped
Speaker 1: from the h in the Hollywood Sign, and she's still
Speaker 1: seen there today. Reportedly, her ghost is seen recreating her
Speaker 1: death in which she flung herself from the famous sign.
Speaker 1: This apparition then disappears before hitting the ground. And there's
Speaker 1: the haunted picnic table number twenty nine in nineteen seventy
Speaker 1: six on Halloween night, two young lovers, Rand Garrett and
Speaker 1: Nancy Jeanson, were engaged in a shall we say, amorous
Speaker 1: encounter on the picnic table when a huge tree branch
Speaker 1: fell on them, killing the both of them. After their
Speaker 1: funeral and for some strange reason, their ashes were scattered
Speaker 1: around the site for the picnic table, which led to
Speaker 1: their ghosts haunting the area for years to come. Every
Speaker 1: attempt to remove the fallen tree has been gruesomely unsuccessful,
Speaker 1: with those who have tried often telling supernatural horror stories.
Speaker 1: As a result, it has been reported that people frequently
Speaker 1: hear disembodied voices near picnic table twenty nine moaning leave
Speaker 1: us alone and next time you die. There was even
Speaker 1: a couple of park service tree trimers who had been
Speaker 1: tasked with cleaning up up the area and experienced something
Speaker 1: so frightening they quit their jobs on the spot and fled.
Speaker 1: That have never been seen or heard from again. Pretty creepy.
Speaker 1: I'd love to know what they experienced. Griffith Park has
Speaker 1: also served as a temporary resting place for many murder
Speaker 1: victims throughout the years. The Hillside strangler or stranglers frequently
Speaker 1: dumped bodies here During the nineteen seventies, and each year
Speaker 1: it seems that hikers still find bodies in the massive
Speaker 1: wilderness park and call the police. In recent years, a
Speaker 1: woman's body was found wrapped in blankets dumped in the park,
Speaker 1: a man's body was found in a park restroom, and
Speaker 1: a third man's body was discovered near a high voltage
Speaker 1: transmission tower. In twenty sixteen, during a hike along the
Speaker 1: Little Youth Side trail, a pair of hikers happened upon
Speaker 1: a partially exposed human skull within a stone's throw of
Speaker 1: the famous Hollywood Sign. According to KPCC radio, the LAPD
Speaker 1: and the corner's office swooped in and searched the area
Speaker 1: for signs of a crime scene. Nothing was found, and
Speaker 1: the identity of the skull remains unknown now. In addition
Speaker 1: to ghosts, curses, dead bodies, and general awareness, urban legends
Speaker 1: also claim that there's a creature lurking in the parkast
Speaker 1: talking visitors. Three separate witnesses have described it as a
Speaker 1: humanoid of some sort. Its legs were very long, as
Speaker 1: were its feet, and it was making great strides down
Speaker 1: the trail. Some claim its back was bent backward and
Speaker 1: its neck was bent forward. They said that no human
Speaker 1: being could possibly bend like that. Its skin was of
Speaker 1: transparent green, and it wore nothing but white pants and
Speaker 1: black shoes. And this brings us to a modern tail
Speaker 1: that of the hiding man of Griffith Park. Recently, crude,
Speaker 1: madly misspelled leavelets in broken English have been found along
Speaker 1: the paths and hiking trails in the park. One such
Speaker 1: leaflet begins, you be sorry, do not hiking Griffith Park
Speaker 1: off of trails. Many types do see a hiding man
Speaker 1: inside bush watching you, and he thinking a lot about
Speaker 1: how to gotsu or you loved ones to take the
Speaker 1: hidden tunnel and pipe go underpart. If you see this
Speaker 1: one gots away fast to tell on him to a
Speaker 1: police to catch before he can got you. He'd liked
Speaker 1: to grab from inside bush and cover a mouth. Some
Speaker 1: of these strange leaflets do appear to be made by
Speaker 1: different people. Here's one of the more clearly written examples.
Speaker 1: Please be careful. Several pedestrians and bike riders have reported
Speaker 1: seeing a man walking around or peering through the river
Speaker 1: foliage for unknown reasons. The hiding man has been described
Speaker 1: as having a Caucasian or a Neapolitan complexion, wearing a
Speaker 1: blue button down shirt. Other people on the path after
Speaker 1: dark have reported someone in the brush with a flashlight.
Speaker 1: Be very careful if you see this man and there's
Speaker 1: an accompanying drawing, please call the Glendale Police Department at
Speaker 1: eight one eight five four eight four eight four zero
Speaker 1: to report. He may be dangerous or sick or worse.
Speaker 1: How would you like to see that posted in an
Speaker 1: area where you're hiking. Some reports also call this entity
Speaker 1: the rubber face Man, as his face appears to be
Speaker 1: made of rubber, or perhaps he's wearing a cheap Halloween
Speaker 1: mask and in a strange case of art imitating life,
Speaker 1: someone presumably an avant garde artists calling themselves four three
Speaker 1: hundred and ten acres, which probably not coincidentally is the
Speaker 1: size of Griffith Park, has created a website selling expensive
Speaker 1: handmade T shirts, other garments, and even paintings which detailed
Speaker 1: the legend of this creepster. You can find them on
Speaker 1: the web at the Hidingman dot com. Well, folks, there
Speaker 1: you have it. What do you think of all the
Speaker 1: weird goings on in Griffith Park and the urban legends
Speaker 1: of the Hiding Man. If you've ever hiked in the park,
Speaker 1: If you have a story to share, please email me
Speaker 1: at the link of the description. I'm really looking forward
Speaker 1: to your comments on this one, but please let's keep
Speaker 1: it friendly and respectful. In the meanwhile, be good to
Speaker 1: yourselves and each other, and be careful. Don't get taken
Speaker 1: to the hidden tunnel or pipe. And I'll see you
Speaker 1: a little farther on down the trail. I'm Steve Stockton
Speaker 1: and I'll talk to you next time.