WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:05.919 Hello friends, Steve Stockton here with you. Welcome to our 2 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:10.000 latest video. In this episode, we're going to take a 3 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:13.359 look into the creepy legend of the Hiding Man of 4 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:20.600 Griffith Park. Join us now. We all know what a 5 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.960 wonderful and yet weird place the Internet can be, and 6 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:27.960 when we came across the story recently, we found it 7 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.399 so bizarre and fascinating we thought we'd share it with 8 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:35.280 all of you. First, a little background, it's in order. 9 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.719 Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, has four three and 10 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.039 ten acres, making it not only the second largest park 11 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:48.520 in California, but also one of the entire country's largest parks. 12 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:51.439 A few of the highlights of Griffith Park include the 13 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:56.520 Griffith Observatory, the Greek Amphitheater, the abandoned Los Angeles Zous, 14 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:00.119 the Museum of the American West, the travel town On 15 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:05.560 Train Museum, a Merry go Around, countless hiking and horse trails, 16 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:11.200 the famous Hollywood Sign, a few ghosts, and an eighteen 17 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:17.239 sixty three curse. Yes that's right, a curse. Rancho Lost 18 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.799 Feedlas originally belonged to the Felis family. The land eventually 19 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:24.760 became property of Don Antonio Felis, who lived there with 20 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.400 his sister Solidad and his seventeen year old blind niece 21 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:34.239 Donna Petranilla. In eighteen sixty three, when Don Antonio Felis died, 22 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.319 instead of leaving his land to his family, he left 23 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:41.760 it all to a man named Don Antonio Coronel. Back 24 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:44.920 there is still a street in Los Angeles named after Cornell, 25 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:49.200 consisting of fewer than a dozen houses. So this huge 26 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.200 parcel of land went to Don Antonio Cornell, and not 27 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.920 to Donna Petranilla, as she'd hope. A few items supposedly 28 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:01.959 went to Solidad and some other relative. His godson received 29 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:05.920 a few horses, but the land representing the lion's share 30 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.919 of the wealth went to Don Cornell, and poor Petronilla, 31 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:13.960 who had hoped for an inheritance, received nothing. Because of this, 32 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:18.400 Dona Petronilla wasn't pleased, to say the least. In order 33 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:21.240 to seek revenge, she cast a curse on the land. 34 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:24.319 After that, it seems, in order to seal the curse, 35 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:29.120 she apparently passed away. Don Leconte, the lawyer who had 36 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:32.439 helped trick Dona Petronilla, was the first to fall victim 37 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:35.319 of the curse. He was shot and killed shortly thereafter, 38 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:38.759 and the judge who decided the will was legal, although 39 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.599 it was contested, also met with a tragic end shortly thereafter. 40 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:48.080 In fact, the entire Coronell family all died slowly of 41 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:53.159 misfortune and disease. When Don Coronel died, the land was 42 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:57.280 left to his young wife, and she promptly remarried. However, 43 00:02:57.400 --> 00:02:59.680 she and her new husband, who probably was just after 44 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:02.800 the well wealth, fought over the inheritance, and in the 45 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:06.479 subsequent divorce proceedings the lawyers ended up getting most of 46 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:10.199 the wealth through legal fees. Around the end of eighteen 47 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:13.599 sixty eight, a man named sev Howard owned most of 48 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:16.719 the land and the land's water rights, which he sold 49 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.080 for a handsome profit. During a celebration of his good fortune, 50 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:25.759 he was allegedly shot to death. Next Leon Lucky Baldwin 51 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:29.719 eventually acquired the property, but his lucky streak ended when 52 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.120 he established a dairy and a ranch on it. Nothing 53 00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:36.120 went according to play it. All his cattle on the 54 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:40.840 land died, mysterious fires destroyed the grain, and then a 55 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:46.120 swarm of grasshoppers devoured the crops. Baldwin was reportedly killed 56 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.319 by the outlaw after he went bankrupt and had to 57 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.639 sell the land to pay off the mortgage. Then Thomas 58 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:56.240 Bell of a nancier from San Francisco, ended up owning 59 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:59.639 the land. He was terrified of the curse, however, and 60 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:01.960 all held the land for a short time before selling 61 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:06.439 it to Colonel Griffith J. Griffith. Apparently Bell lived into 62 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:09.719 his eighties and then the curse touched him too. He 63 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.879 fell from his mansion's master or was pushed by his mistress, 64 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:17.360 depending on who you believe. So Colonel Griffith Jay Griffith, 65 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:21.240 who now owned the land. As well as his aristocratic pretensions, 66 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:24.879 he also had an uncanny knack for finding silver and gold. 67 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.360 He allowed a man named Frank Burkett to start an 68 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:31.959 ostrich farm on the property, hopefully to entice other residents 69 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:37.319 to the area and Griffith's other properties nearby. However, as 70 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:39.800 a result of a huge storm in eighteen eighty four, 71 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:42.680 it was believed by locals that the curse had returned. 72 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.879 The ranchands reported seeing the ghosts of Don Antonio Phelis 73 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.040 riding in the rain after lightning struck some of the 74 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:53.519 oak trees on the property. Don Antonio remained to haunt 75 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.560 the area after the storm, often making an appearance near 76 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:59.480 a place called b Rock. It has been said that 77 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.199 Griffith would not visit the land unless it was midday 78 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.560 and at night. Ostriches were rumored to stampede and run 79 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.040 wild throughout the area, attacking anyone foolish enough to venture 80 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:13.920 onto the property. So, after ghosts appearing an Ostrich's stampeding, 81 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:19.240 Griffith foreclosed on the failing Ostrich farm, causing Burkett to revenge. 82 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:22.879 Burkett attempted to shoot Griffith with a shotgun outside the 83 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:25.920 old Calvary Cemetery, which is now the location of Cathedral 84 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:29.439 High School on North Broadway. Griffith survived the attack, but 85 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:32.720 only because Burquette had used bird shot instead of buck shot. 86 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:36.399 Burkehette apparently believed he had succeeded in killing Griffith, though, 87 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:40.000 so he took his own life. Griffith, tired of all 88 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.879 the misfortune and drama, donated three thoy fifteen acres to 89 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.399 Los Angeles in December eighteen ninety six as an attempt 90 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:49.720 to rid himself of the cursed land and the ghost. 91 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:53.839 Despite Griffith's efforts, the course would not let him go. 92 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:58.920 That easily devout Protestant. Griffith concluded afterwards that his Catholic wife, 93 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:02.399 Christina Mesmer, was conspiring to poison him and steal all 94 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.879 his money. Christina, herself, because of her family and connections, 95 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.519 was already very well off and very well connected. Been 96 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.079 reported that Griffith would often switch his plate with hers 97 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.319 at dinner so that the allegedly poisoned food would be 98 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:20.040 on her plate instead of on his. Then, one night, 99 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:22.279 when the couple were staying at the Arcadia Hotel in 100 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:26.680 Santa Monica, he ended up shooting his wife. She survived, 101 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.199 although she was disfigured and blinded in her right eye 102 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.680 after she threw herself from the window, landed on an awning, 103 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:38.160 and crawled to safety through yet another window. Griffith was 104 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.319 charged with attempted murder for this little stunt, and although 105 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.759 he only spent two years in San Quentin for attempted 106 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:48.759 murder thanks to an alcoholic insanity defense, his reputation never recovered. 107 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:51.959 When he was released from prison, the city ignored his 108 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.879 efforts to continue building Griffith Park, not wanting to do 109 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.560 business with him. Griffith did, however, set up a trust 110 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.720 fund for the observatory and Greek theater be built and 111 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:06.240 maintained after his death. In nineteen nineteen, he passed away 112 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.560 from liver disease and was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. 113 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.920 Since then, Los Angeles has only suffered one unfortunate event 114 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.160 on the land in the last century. A fire in 115 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.519 nineteen thirty three resulted in twenty nine deaths and one 116 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:24.279 hundred and fifty injuries. The fire was the deadliest in 117 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.839 the city's history. Now, in spite of the fact that 118 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:31.079 the curse doesn't seem to be hurting anyone anymore, several 119 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:33.920 ghosts have been spotted in the park. In addition to 120 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.879 Don Antonio Filis, who rides the trails of the park 121 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:40.040 and laughs crazily on top of large rocks looking over 122 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:43.959 the park, people have also reported seeing the blind niece 123 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:49.040 Donna Patronila. It's also believed that this original course layer 124 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:53.199 roams to the land dressed in white. Additionally, she's been 125 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.160 spotted riding a white horse around midnight near an old 126 00:07:56.199 --> 00:08:00.680 adobe building used to the park headquarters. Other ghost has 127 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.600 also been spotted riding a horse in the park, but 128 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.759 as the writer's style does not match that of a 129 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.959 Spanish non is believed to be Griffith j. Griffith Himself's ghost. 130 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:13.480 There have been reports of other ghostly figures all throughout 131 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.600 the park, including one who appears to be seeking assistance. 132 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:19.920 According to some, is the spirit of a girl who 133 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.360 was abandoned in the park as a child and eventually 134 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:26.920 died of exposure. Now she wanders the park forever looking 135 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.199 for the parents who abandoned her. Ghosts have also been 136 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.360 seen descending steps near the Merry Go Round and disappearing 137 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.480 as they reached the last step. The number of reported 138 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:39.919 sightings that both travel Town and the Griffith Observatory prompted 139 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:43.519 teams of paranormal investigators to spend nights in the park. However, 140 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.279 they did not find any evidence of paranormal activity. And 141 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:51.720 there's also the ghost of Pegan Whistle, who infamously jumped 142 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:55.000 from the h in the Hollywood Sign, and she's still 143 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:59.480 seen there today. Reportedly, her ghost is seen recreating her 144 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.279 death in which she flung herself from the famous sign. 145 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:07.360 This apparition then disappears before hitting the ground. And there's 146 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:11.159 the haunted picnic table number twenty nine in nineteen seventy 147 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:15.320 six on Halloween night, two young lovers, Rand Garrett and 148 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:19.399 Nancy Jeanson, were engaged in a shall we say, amorous 149 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:22.799 encounter on the picnic table when a huge tree branch 150 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.879 fell on them, killing the both of them. After their 151 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:30.159 funeral and for some strange reason, their ashes were scattered 152 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:33.159 around the site for the picnic table, which led to 153 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:37.320 their ghosts haunting the area for years to come. Every 154 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.759 attempt to remove the fallen tree has been gruesomely unsuccessful, 155 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.120 with those who have tried often telling supernatural horror stories. 156 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:48.000 As a result, it has been reported that people frequently 157 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.360 hear disembodied voices near picnic table twenty nine moaning leave 158 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:57.120 us alone and next time you die. There was even 159 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.200 a couple of park service tree trimers who had been 160 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:02.000 tasked with cleaning up up the area and experienced something 161 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:05.200 so frightening they quit their jobs on the spot and fled. 162 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:08.720 That have never been seen or heard from again. Pretty creepy. 163 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:13.440 I'd love to know what they experienced. Griffith Park has 164 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.440 also served as a temporary resting place for many murder 165 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:21.000 victims throughout the years. The Hillside strangler or stranglers frequently 166 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:24.879 dumped bodies here During the nineteen seventies, and each year 167 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.440 it seems that hikers still find bodies in the massive 168 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:31.080 wilderness park and call the police. In recent years, a 169 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:33.799 woman's body was found wrapped in blankets dumped in the park, 170 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:37.480 a man's body was found in a park restroom, and 171 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:40.039 a third man's body was discovered near a high voltage 172 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:44.200 transmission tower. In twenty sixteen, during a hike along the 173 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:47.200 Little Youth Side trail, a pair of hikers happened upon 174 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:49.879 a partially exposed human skull within a stone's throw of 175 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:55.399 the famous Hollywood Sign. According to KPCC radio, the LAPD 176 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.879 and the corner's office swooped in and searched the area 177 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:01.600 for signs of a crime scene. Nothing was found, and 178 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:06.200 the identity of the skull remains unknown now. In addition 179 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:10.440 to ghosts, curses, dead bodies, and general awareness, urban legends 180 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.000 also claim that there's a creature lurking in the parkast 181 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:17.440 talking visitors. Three separate witnesses have described it as a 182 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.639 humanoid of some sort. Its legs were very long, as 183 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.480 were its feet, and it was making great strides down 184 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:27.399 the trail. Some claim its back was bent backward and 185 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:30.720 its neck was bent forward. They said that no human 186 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:33.879 being could possibly bend like that. Its skin was of 187 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:37.240 transparent green, and it wore nothing but white pants and 188 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:41.840 black shoes. And this brings us to a modern tail 189 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.519 that of the hiding man of Griffith Park. Recently, crude, 190 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:50.120 madly misspelled leavelets in broken English have been found along 191 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.440 the paths and hiking trails in the park. One such 192 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:58.440 leaflet begins, you be sorry, do not hiking Griffith Park 193 00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:02.960 off of trails. Many types do see a hiding man 194 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:06.399 inside bush watching you, and he thinking a lot about 195 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:09.679 how to gotsu or you loved ones to take the 196 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:13.759 hidden tunnel and pipe go underpart. If you see this 197 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:16.720 one gots away fast to tell on him to a 198 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:20.039 police to catch before he can got you. He'd liked 199 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:24.240 to grab from inside bush and cover a mouth. Some 200 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.679 of these strange leaflets do appear to be made by 201 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:30.759 different people. Here's one of the more clearly written examples. 202 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:35.600 Please be careful. Several pedestrians and bike riders have reported 203 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:38.080 seeing a man walking around or peering through the river 204 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:42.720 foliage for unknown reasons. The hiding man has been described 205 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.919 as having a Caucasian or a Neapolitan complexion, wearing a 206 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.559 blue button down shirt. Other people on the path after 207 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:52.200 dark have reported someone in the brush with a flashlight. 208 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:56.360 Be very careful if you see this man and there's 209 00:12:56.360 --> 00:13:00.399 an accompanying drawing, please call the Glendale Police Department at 210 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.679 eight one eight five four eight four eight four zero 211 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.840 to report. He may be dangerous or sick or worse. 212 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:10.759 How would you like to see that posted in an 213 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:15.080 area where you're hiking. Some reports also call this entity 214 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:17.879 the rubber face Man, as his face appears to be 215 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.000 made of rubber, or perhaps he's wearing a cheap Halloween 216 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:25.720 mask and in a strange case of art imitating life, 217 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:31.360 someone presumably an avant garde artists calling themselves four three 218 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:34.639 hundred and ten acres, which probably not coincidentally is the 219 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:38.600 size of Griffith Park, has created a website selling expensive 220 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:42.799 handmade T shirts, other garments, and even paintings which detailed 221 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:45.840 the legend of this creepster. You can find them on 222 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:51.120 the web at the Hidingman dot com. Well, folks, there 223 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:53.440 you have it. What do you think of all the 224 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.799 weird goings on in Griffith Park and the urban legends 225 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.360 of the Hiding Man. If you've ever hiked in the park, 226 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.039 If you have a story to share, please email me 227 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:06.279 at the link of the description. I'm really looking forward 228 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:09.240 to your comments on this one, but please let's keep 229 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.279 it friendly and respectful. In the meanwhile, be good to 230 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:17.720 yourselves and each other, and be careful. Don't get taken 231 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:20.360 to the hidden tunnel or pipe. And I'll see you 232 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:23.919 a little farther on down the trail. I'm Steve Stockton 233 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:25.799 and I'll talk to you next time.