Griffith Park’s Haunted Picnic Table: Legend of Picnic Table 29

Griffith Park’s Haunted Picnic Table: Legend of Picnic Table 29

Griffith Park, Los Angeles

Griffith Park is one of the most popular attractions within the city of Los Angeles. There is plenty to see and do within the park, including the famously haunted Hollywood Sign and the abandoned, Old LA Zoo. But there is a dark side to this park, which was once claimed to be cursed.

The Haunting of Picnic Table 29

Plenty of dark deeds have taken place within the confines of Griffith Park. Crimes, suicide, murders and the disposal of bodies have all occurred on this supposedly cursed land, yet one inconspicuous site has managed to gain notoriety within California’s paranormal community. A simple Picnic Table.

Haunted Picnic Table 29, Los Angeles.
Picnic Table 29 crushed beneath the weight of a large tree branch.

It was on Halloween night of 1976 that tragedy gripped this ordinary picnic table. Legend has it that a young couple, named Nancy and Rand, were getting quite heated atop the table when a nearby tree’s branch snapped and fell. The branch fell onto the couple crushing them to their deaths. Following the tragedy, the young couple’s ashes were sprinkled at the site, so they could remain there, together in death, forever.

The Haunting of Picnic Table 29, Griffith Park.
Graffiti written across the table paying tribute to the tragic accident that occurred in this area.

Attempts were made to remove the tree branch from the now destroyed bench, yet something supernatural may have intervened to prevent the clean up. Supposedly a council worker had an interaction with something unexplained that told him to “leave us alone” in a ghostly voice and which shook the tree. This understandably spooked him so much, that he left the area without tempting fate and removing the tree branch. He later told his boss about the incident and wasn’t taken seriously. His supervisor then went to finish the job himself, yet was found dead the next day at the site of the bench, supposed having died of a heart attack.

Tree crushing the Picnic Table 29.
A strange and eerie sight to behold as one hikes through the supposedly cursed Griffith Park.

These stories have been solidified into LA folklore with many visiting the bench at night out of curiosity. Plenty of those to have visited have claimed to pick up on evidence of the paranormal or to have had strange experiences in the area for themselves.

Visiting Picnic Table 29

Picnic Table 29 can be accessed by hiking to these coordinates: 34°08’13.0″N 118°18’23.0″W. The hike is up hill but fairly easy to make. The table cannot be missed off to the side of the hiking trail, remaining crushed under the weight of a great tree branch. Care should be taken if making this trek out through Griffith Park at night.

Ghosts of Picnic Table 29.
Visiting the ghosts of the infamously haunted Picnic Table 29.

If you are interested in visiting other haunted places in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend checking out the now abandoned Old LA Zoo.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

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About Amy

Amy is a world traveller and explorer of creepy locations. She has visited some of the most famously haunted places around the world in search of evidence of the paranormal. Follow Amy's Journey:

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