The first week of November 2010, Tyler, Carol and I drove up to Altadena for an investigation of the old Cobb Estate, or what is locally referred to as the Haunted Forest. It sits on 107 acres at the top of Lake Avenue in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Because it is part of the Angeles National Forest, the estate is open 24/7, and it hosts numerous night time visitors in the form of both hikers and local teens.
Self-portrait of the LAGP at the gates to the Cobb Estate. Those gates, by the way, were in the original Phantasm movie.
Reports of hauntings at the Cobb Estate are wide-spread yet, for the most part, non-specific in nature. People report negative feelings, being “watched” or even touched, strange lights, laughter, screams, along with tales of Satanic rituals and KKK gatherings. The land the estate encompasses was once a temporary home to many who prospected for gold in the hills. Around 1916, Charles Cobb purchased the parcel and built a summer retreat. Cobb was an active Mason, and after his death in 1939, the main house became a Masonic Home for a time, then was used as a retreat by the Sisters of St. Joseph. In the 1950s, the Marx Brothers purchased the estate and the main house was torn down by 1960. The site was almost sold to developers until the citizens of Altadena raised enough funds to buy it at auction and donate it to the forest service with the provision that no structures would ever be built on the land.
In the past, the LAGP has focused more on indoor locations and we were excited to hike into the woods on a chilly Southern Californian night. Walking through the spooky main gates, we were immediately surrounded by the deep black of the forest at night. We followed the paved road up and to the left, back towards where the main house area was thought to be. It became apparent that we were not alone: there were some kids with a stereo and a tambourine and the sound was audible throughout the estate. A major annoyance, but something which we were going to have to put up with the entire night.
It's very dark on the roads and trails.
We reached the back of the estate where a bridle path & hiking trail continued up to a storage tank and then further into the mountains. High up above us and to our right on the lower Sam Merrill trail, we could see the lights of hikers in the forest. This could explain the often reported lights – nothing paranormal about them. On the far curve of the paved road, we started to get random hits on the KII even though our phones were turned off and we were in an electricity-free area. We decided to try a EVP session here despite the faint radio noise. About 10 cold minutes into the session, we began to experience what can only be described as pebbles being thrown:
Unfortunately, we cannot be 100% certain that these pebbles were paranormal in nature due to the presence of other people in the park. However we did not spot anyone in our immediate area upon searching with the night vision cameras.
The steps of what we believe was the main Cobb house.
We moved on to the steps of what we think were the main house area. These had been painted with graffiti and faced a cleared area planted with palms, which that night gave us a view of the crescent moon. Once again we settled in and started an EVP session. After several minutes of no responses, Tyler decided to walk into what would have been the house and that’s when things began to get interesting:
We heard footsteps approaching down the road and when Carol grabbed the camera there was nothing there. Then the footsteps were heard near the stairs moving into the area of the house. At this area in the park we were positive that these footsteps were not caused by any human visitors. In the middle of all this, Tyler’s flashlight died even though he had put in fresh batteries. After Tyler asked a direct question about whether they wanted us to leave and I began to walk up the steps, we got the strongest KII hits of the evening. It was pretty amazing.
The crescent moon setting over the Cobb Estate.
To see a full video of this investigation, check out our YouTube channel. We plan to post all our future investigations as webisodes as well as write-ups and video excerpts here on our site.
i heard a story when going up there that a child that lived there with his parents set the house on fire and killed his parents and later on the child died in the fire. I also heard there is a well in there and you can hear water flowing in and out of it and might i say the trees that surround that house are pretty spooky. may i ask if the place is really haunted or what I just wish there was more information on the history of the cobb estates I visited once with a few friends at night and i saw the steps but there was nothing but trees and brush that covered the foundation of the house. It was very eerie to see steps that lead to no where i would like to visit it during the day sometime but i was told that you could get arrested for trespassing on the property
I’ve been there 3 times and everytime I stand by those stairs I always get an uneasy feeling of being watched or just not wanting to be there at all. I’m planning to go again soon and everytime I go something new happens. First time was stick breaking and people screaming when we were the only people there. Second time was sticks snapping and something following us and 3rd was a scary growl coming from the top of the stairs. This place is legitimate!
I went last night with my friend and it was our first times going and we were walking and out of the corner of my eye i saw a little girl standing a few feet away from me and i turned to face her and i could see right through her and when i shined the flashlight towards her she was gone. And my friend so a man watching us between some trees and she said he looked tall and skinny and she could see through him. I am planning on going back soon because i was so fsaicnated by the whole thing. It definetly gives you that uneasy feeling once u walk through those gates. You immediatly get that feeling of being watched and you have that feeling the whole time you are there.
if anyone wants to meet up with us even you LAGP guys weve been up there a couple times and have unexplained activities everytime we just got back tonight and we saw a face and a white figure moving around those bushes up those stairs we even Ouija boarded it twice and had full real sessions
This whole Haunted forest thing is very fascinating i am going to visit this forest during the weekend. There have also been legends of a slaughter house located somewhere deep in the forest.
I have been there and its weird. If its a forest why is there light in the houses? There shouldn’t be electricity. I have actually been there twice but didn’t get far the 2nd time because we seen some kind of white big animal. There is also a lady who lives in the forest? I seen her watering plants at like 9:30 pm.
As a teen in the early 90′s I frequented what we called the “Haunted Forest”. I never really saw anything there despite hiking what seemed hours into the Angeles National Forrest. The last time I was there, my now wife and I, were separated from our group. We decided to wait for them back at our car and thus hiked back down to the gate. As we were about to get back on to Lake Ave., two huge rots (dogs) appeared. They seemed to form out of a light mist that was hanging over the area. I pulled out my knife (I was stupid and always carried one for ‘protection’) and hope to get the best of them. After a stare down they turned and walked away into the forrest. We walked back to the car and there was no sign of them. I’m not sure if this is a supernatural event but it sure seemed like it…I have not been back since.
We are going soon and just wanted to ask how long is the walk from lake rd. to the Cobb estate gates?
The gates are right at the corner of Lake & Loma Alta. Not far at all. Watching the parking restrictions so you don’t get ticketed or towed!