Long ago, long before the Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles was even created, there was a wealthy land owner named Don Antonio Feliz.
Feliz lived with his sister, and his niece, Dona Petronilla who happened to be born blind.
It is said that Feliz dearly loved his niece, and intended to leave his wealth and acreage behind for her upon his death…
A Girl’s Revenge
Updated 2/10/2020 – But some of Feliz’s friends had other plans.
Delirious and in pain, the dying man’s friends tricked him into signing a new will moments before his death.
This will left nothing at all for Dona Petronilla.
Saddened and enraged, Dona declared she would curse the land that was so thoughtlessly taken from her, and died shortly after.
Over the following couple of years, those who had duped Feliz into signing the new will were met with multiple misfortunes, including illness, financial loss, and death.
The land was passed from hand to hand, and each owner was met with an untimely death.
Eventually, the land was passed to a man named Griffith J. Griffith.
After nearly dying from a gunshot wound, Griffith began to donate parcels of the land to the city of Los Angeles for free.
He knew to hold onto the land would be the end of him.
The acreage eventually became known as Griffith Park.
Today, the park’s zoo sits empty, but still draws tourists every year.
Over time, people began to whisper about the place–about the strange dark energy it possesses, and the inexplicable uneasy sensation they felt in their gut when there.
Just a Los Angeles Fable? Or Something Worse?
Monica (Name changed for privacy), a local journalist, caught wind of these rumors and fears and vowed to investigate.
“People began to speak about the old zoo trail with fear evident in their voices, it was very strange,” she said, frowning.
“I could understand it being a little on the creepy side for children, but we are talking about full-fledged adults here.
“I knew I just had to see for myself.
It was a stormy night,” she began.
“There was a steady fall of rain, but my grandmother was always convinced that lightning encouraged paranormal activity, so it seemed like an ideal night to go.
“I walked around the empty steel cages, feeling sad for the animals that had lived there, but was otherwise okay.
The rain continued to pour, and the path was becoming soaked with puddles.
I had to watch my feet with each step that I took,” she laughed and gestured toward her shoes.
“I was considering leaving when I thought I heard a female voice cry out somewhere behind me.
I whirled around, scanning the area for other late night visitors, but I didn’t see anyone there.
Worried someone might try to rob me—or worse—I hurried my pace along the path toward the exit.
“But as I looked back down at my feet, I saw someone standing beside me in the reflection of the puddle.
It was fast, like a flash of lightning itself,” she said, shaking her head.
“But I knew that I had seen the face of a pale girl, with empty black eye sockets.
“I ran out of there, screaming at the top of my lungs.
I think it’s the scariest place in all of Los Angeles.”