Dateline>City of Angels

There’s nothing like a good summer-night campfire and some real-life spook stories. The two that follow are re-posts from my former blog. The Doheny entry originally appeared Feb. 25, 2006, and the Marian Parker item was first posted Feb. 24, 2007. Whether you’ve caught them before or are reading them for the first time, enjoy!

I’ve wanted to visit this L.A. landmark for quite a while and finally had the opportunity recently. At first glance, this rather nondescript house that straddles the West Adams and Koreatown districts would appear no different from the many late-Victorian homes dotting the city. However, it has quite a storied past, being connected with a gruesome kidnapping/murder that shocked the nation in 1927.

Back then it was the residence of banker Perry Parker, his wife, and their twin 12-year-old daughters Marian and Marjorie. Parker was a prominent officer of Los Angeles First National Trust and Savings; the children, students at nearby Mt. Vernon Junior High School. On Dec. 15, 1927, a man appeared at the school asking for Marian. Her father, he said, was ill and anxious to see her. Totally hoodwinked, the girl’s teacher handed Marian over to the stranger, who then sent several bizarre ransom notes to the Parker home signed “The Fox.” He demanded $1500 in gold certificates in exchange for the girl.
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Though it happened nearly eight decades ago, Beverly Hills officials make it their policy not to discuss the tragedy of Greystone Manor. They’re even less inclined to acknowledge the numerous ghost tales surrounding the property. Off the record, however, many familiar with the estate have plenty to say about eerie lights and gruesome visages in the windows, along with weird apparitions, strange thuds and shrill cries in the mansion’s dark, abandoned halls.
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