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Video: Urban Explorers Get Locked In Spooky, Abandoned Lincoln Heights Jail
A group of adventurous urban explorers decided to hit up the abandoned Lincoln Heights Jail—only to find themselves sealed inside.
Tom of YouTube series 'Tom Explores Los Angeles' recently heard from Scott Reyes—who documents his hijinks via his Instagram, @4thandspring—that Reyes had found a way into the old abandoned Lincoln Heights Jail. So, they gathered a crew and headed inside.
The Lincoln Heights Jail, which opened in 1931 and closed in 1965, is popular filming location. Tom rattles off a number of things that have been shot here: Nightmare on Elm Street, Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' video, American History X, Sons of Anarchy.
The James Ellroy novel LA Confidential was inspired by the brutal beatings of seven inmates that occurred on Christmas Day, 1951. Eight police officers were eventually indicted for assault after pressure from the Mexican American community to investigate the beatings. The incident was known as 'Bloody Christmas.'
Reyes said he first broke into the jail about a month prior and that at that time, there wasn't any tagging. He took numerous photos of the jail, including a mural of famous boxers and various jail signage, now all sadly covered by graffiti.
The explorers encountered a couple guys on the roof doing parkour. They also spotted a few workers, who it turned out sealed all the doors—including the ones our heroes entered through—while they were inside. They actually wound up locked in an abandoned jail! Nightmare fuel.
"Thank you for watching the very last episode of 'Tom Explores Los Angeles,'" Reyes jokes.
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If you're wondering how spooky the jail is, people do like to say it's haunted. We went there with Crimebo, the clown that takes you on a macabre tour of L.A., who told us about the legend of a vicious inmate who other prisoners never wanted to be roommates with because those that did met a grisly fate. In fact, Crimebo told us, sometimes the guards would put problematic inmates in the cell with that guy.
Do Tom, Reyes and company ever find their way out of the jail? You'll have to watch and see.
Related: The Tales Behind The 8 Creepiest Places In Los Angeles
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