Los Angeles, CA | A wild mountain lion, the disembodied roar of a tiger, and a serial killer bear, oh my! And that’s just the wildlife of Griffith Park. It’s known for the Hollywood sign, its world class observatory, countless places to hike or chillax. Not so much for its long shady history of land owners mired in scandal, restless ghosts, and a few dozen dead bodies found over the decades. It’s pretty safe today, but you might just want to make sure you always hike with a buddy….and sanitize the picnic tables. We’ll tell you why!
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🐇 Go ahead, down the rabbit hole you go… Here’s the complete list of sources for this episode.
-Autry Museum of the American West. (2024). Investigating Griffith Park [Museum exhibition]. The Autry.
-Bartlett, J. T. (n.d.). Griffith J. Griffith statue. Atlas Obscura.
-Cantrell, L. (2020, May 3). The tragic true story of Peg Entwistle, the actress who jumped to her death from the Hollywood sign. Town & Country.
-Desert Sun. (1963, April 26). Ivan the polar bear kills mate. Desert Sun, 36(226). California Digital Newspaper Collection.
-Hamel, J. (2019, September 12). The Tongva descendants: We originated here [Audio podcast episode]. In Curious Coast. KCRW.
-KCRW. (2020, May 20). Discovering Griffith Park with Casey Schreiner [Radio segment]. In Press Play with Madeleine Brand.
-L.A. Not So Confidential. (2022, February 27). Vintage case: Griffith J. Griffith & J. Paul Deriver (re-release) [Audio podcast episode].
-Lank, B. (2021, November 12). Legends, detention centers, and a gay in high and low lights from the 125-year history of Griffith Park. The Eastsider.
-Los Angeles Explorers Guild. (2021, October 6). Griffith J. Griffith statue.
-Lost LA. (2019, October 15). Griffith Park: The untold history (Season 4, Episode 1) [TV episode]. PBS SoCal/KCET.
-Meares, H. (2017, October 31). Ghost stories from Los Feliz. Curbed LA.
-Meares, H. (2019, October 16). The complex life of Griffith J. Griffith. PBS SoCal.
-Meares, H. (Host). (2019, July 16). Murder at Rancho Los Feliz (No. 1) [Audio podcast episode]. In Underbelly LA.
-Rasmussen, C. (1994, January 3). For almost 100 years, Griffith Park, the… Los Angeles Times.
-Schreiner, C. (2020). Discovering Griffith Park: A local’s guide. Mountaineers Books.
-Tejeda, V. (2014, October 31). Is the Hollywood sign haunted? Vanity Fair.
-The Real Los Angeles Tours. (2025, January 15). Griffith Park: LA’s greatest gift. The Real Los Angeles Tours.
-Washington Post. (2016, March 28). 150 years of misfortune in L.A.’s Griffith Park: A curse, ghosts and now an unknown woman’s skull. The Washington Post.
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Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)
