I must say your ability to find the exact locations of these photos is unparalleled

Delved really deep into the subject matter , research , and editing on this video. I hope that shines thru on the finished product. Thanks so much for watching and hope you enjoyed it .

Wow... The way you presented this is truly impressive. To be able to "walk" through a piece of history and actually see remnants of the past is astounding. Very tastefully done.

This is a terrific video! Seriously captured some incredible footage. Nothing I've ever seen before. Excellent job!

that was without doubt your most informative and in-depth video to date, take a bow Mr. The Woo

Loved the then and now pictures added to this, very well put together, why can't TV documentary's be more like this, take you this close and show you the bits you want to see like remnants of buildings, objects, cars and landscapes.

This is by far the BEST layout video of the Spahn Ranch that I have ever enjoyed viewing. Well done.

Having lived in Chatsworth from 1967-1987 (Owensmouth/Chatsworth St) and living “through” the Manson days, I’ve found your video one of the best depicted so far on KZfaq. In all my years hiking all over those rocks and canyons as a kid (including the Old Stagecoach Trail), NEVER did I know about those caves. Thank you for your most excellent research, filming, and narrative of my old “front yard playground.”

I knew Old George Spahn. Horrid man. I went to Riverside Dr elementary school with his daughter, Rosemary. He called her "Porky" and she was a tough, unapproachable girl. I rented horses from his filthy stables at .50 an hour. I couldn't stay away from horses. He moved off the property to start the Spahn Movie Ranch and I lost track of Porky. Her life was rough. Your video brought all these memories back. Yup. I could go on, but I shan't bore you. Too much intimate knowledge of this place.

So fascinating! I love how you're able to find the exact locations and show the classic photo compared to the now, beautifully shot and edited. It all looks so beautifully eery. I'd love to visit there one day

Fun fact Bryan Cranston actually saw Charles Manson at Spahn Ranch in the late 60s as a kid while riding horses

If you never heard former 95.5 KLOS’ newsman, Chuck Moshontz, tell his ‘Manson’ store, you really missed out. Chuck Moshontz did the news on KLOS, as well as some program direction, up until about 1994, the heyday of Mark & Brian (about the time Howard Stern was taking the LA market from the duo). As far as the story, I could never do it justice, as when Chuck would recite the experience each year, it left you with chills/goosebumps, etc. Chuck was up in the San Francisco area in the early-to-mid 1960’s. Toward the end of the decade, but before anything Manson-related became news story #1, Chuck and a friend decided to come down to LA, but did not have, nor could they afford, any transportation of their own. As a result, the two decided to hitchhike their way down. It wasn’t too long before they found a ride from a driver who was headed to LA. As they began their 7-hour or so journey down, the conversation began to pick up between the two parties. The driver (I’m sorry, but I forget who the driver was) began to tell Chuck and his friend that he was headed back home. It wasn’t really ‘home’ per se, but rather this compound where everyone who stayed was expected to contribute, whether that was through a traditional job, or maybe some farm work, or some minor construction, on the compound itself. He continued the story by saying how it had grown by many people in a short time, and their living was anything but traditional. There were few rules, lots of ‘free’ love, and true happiness, if you were to drop your guard, and participate at the compound with an honest effort each day. With those rules well established, there was one more thing that was expected of each member: true acceptance, and the turning over of your will, to the group’s charismatic leader, ‘Charlie.’ As Chuck and his friend continued to listen, they both said how wonderful it sounded, and that they would both like to see and experience the compound. The driver agreed, and drove the two of them to the lot. Having driven through the early-to-mid morning hours, this gave the duo the opportunity to see an almost full day of the compound’s operation. During the day, they ate fantastic meals, were welcomed with open arms, participated in some singing and dancing, and just really felt that the ties of society that seemingly bind some, had fallen away almost effortlessly. It was later during this day that ‘Charlie’ showed the two around, with a personal tour of all the inner workings, what was expected of each member, and that dissidence was not tolerated. Late in the evening, several hours after the sun had set, all members were gathered around a campfire. Some people told stories, others played an acoustic guitar, some sang, but what was truly evident to the two was this unquestionable, no-questions-asked allegiance to their leader, Charlie. As the night became late, and as the fire dwindled, some individuals retired for the evening. While much of the conversation around the fire consisted of things that weren’t...a utopian society, free will, choice without consequence, etc., Charlie interrupted the somewhat silence of the evening by delivering an almost sermon-like speech. The two individuals, for the first time since getting in that car up in San Francisco, felt a darkness come over the group, and the compound. They could now see just how serious the situation was becoming, and they began to fret a bit. After an awkward silence, ‘Charlie’ looked at the two and said, “You know, after this much time here, and with everything you’ve seen, I don’t normally give the individual a choice. By this time, whether you agree or not, you are a member of this compound.” After a bit more silence, ‘Charlie’ said, “Gentlemen, I’m going to give you a choice. You can either get up now, walk out of this compound, don’t ever look back, don’t ever come back, and forget EVERYTHING you’ve seen and heard here today.” One of the individuals then spoke up and said, “And if we don’t leave at this moment?” ‘Charlie, who’s infamous menacing look was evident even in the darkness of night, simply said... “Then you can NEVER leave.” It was such a fantastic story. I hope I did it justice.

That was amazing,talk about getting goosebumps.The mix of photos,old sounds,mixed with the modern location was spellbinding.You need to do many more of these Adam,you have a gift my friend.=)

This is so good, Adam! Endlessly fascinating. The new camera looks amazing. Editing is on fleek. Loved every minute!!!

Can't believe I just descovered this. One of the best Spaugn Ranch videos ever! Really love how you took us to all the out of the way places. That car, cave, just errie.

Very cool. somehow i pictured the ranch very far off the road.

Those 'California live-oak' trees grow very slowly. The large older trees you see today, were around at the time of old Spanish California.

my dad was a teenager when that was all happening, and lived in chatsworth fairly close to this ranch. he told me one time he was out exploring with some friends and they accidentally came upon the ranch. they saw a guy walking around outside but they were too scared to investigate further (obviously!) and ran away. cool vid, thanks for sharing!

My grandfather pick Charles Manson up as a hitch hiker many years ago. He didn’t know who he had in his car until two weeks later when the news came on. Lesson that was learned...... never pick up hitch hikers because you never know who they really are.

Adam you may have set a new record for the number of times the word(s) "actual" and "actually" were used in 20 minutes. Bravo!

Man, that is the creepiest video yet...wow. Nice work, as usual!

It was a shock when the news broke about the murders. The fire in 1969 burned through there and all around Simi. The next winter brought heavy rains and the floods wiped out the land bridge to the ranch. I also saw two of the girls once at a party on Cochran St. They were looking for marijuana. I also worked two summers for a tree cutter in Box Canyon. He had almost run over Charlie on a foggy morning once. Charlie was plain naked and trying to direct traffic around a stream of ants that were crossing the road. (I’m not making this up). Bruce Davis was a friend of Charlies and he and Shorty came to the rental yard once to rent a welder to fix the water tank. They first tried the electric unit but came back for the Oxy/Gas one. I remember Davis well because he only had a British Passport for ID. Strange. They ended up stealing the welder and when my boss went up to talk to them he was told to get lost. They weren’t afraid of the County Sheriff. I remember Davis as rather large although the police photos of him don’t show that. OK. Reality. My family moved to Simi Valley in 1967. I graduated Simi High in ’68. In 69-71 I worked at a equipment rental yard on Industrial St. My sister used to rent horses at the Spahn ranch for trail riding. Mom would drop her off and I would pick her up. I talked to Charlie several times, mostly just asking when the riders would be back. Yes he was strange, setting on the front porch of one of the buildings with his friends. I once pressed for more information and he gave me that famous wide eyed stare. I’m a country boy from N. Dakota and frankly I don’t scare so easy.

We studied this case extensively in 1986 literature class in HS and my teacher really brought it to life as if we were lawyers in training. This is really cool that you showed us! Ive always wondered where it was at and what it looked like.

I found a piece of the stable fence when I was there in 2010, and it still had a little white paint on it,and it was partially burned !

Adam, I totally respect your effort and initiative to do what you do. As a movie fan and history enthusiast, I thank you for your work. Keep it up buddy, you rock!

Fantastic video! I love old Hollywood creepiness. I learned some new things because of your awesome work on this; the baby caves were really interesting! I love the additional camera view that is filming you, while you're filming with your camera. Awesome, Adam!

Thanks I really appreciated the Tour. I live with health issues and would likely never have made it there in person. Thank you once again!

Considering the subject, this is the eeriest of your videos that I have seen, Adam. Well done. I am impressed with your eye for detail.

Awesome Adam! Best tour I ever saw of Spahn! Maybe sometime you can video the cult location near there. Well done buddy! - Dr. Bill

Hey Adam, I found a police officers statement about the stolen cars. That VW you found was the one mentioned in THIS piece.............Good catch!! ________________________________________________ BILL GLEASON, Los Angeles County deputy sheriff assigned to probe auto thefts. He is 77 and retired. Charles Manson and some of his group just showed up at the Spahn Ranch and started living in the movie sets. Most of the buildings were false fronts, but they made them into rooms. I thought they were just a bunch of hippies, but we started getting reports that members of the Straight Satans, a motorcycle gang from Venice, were going to the ranch on weekends and partying. The word was that they were trading drugs for sex with the women there. Some of the women were runaway juveniles who provided Manson with cash and credit cards stolen from their homes. We also had reports that members of the group were shooting a machine gun. The Manson people were also stealing and building dune buggies and driving them onto adjoining properties, creating a nuisance. A couple of nights before the raid, we hiked into the ranch and found a stolen, brand-new 1969 Ford and a stolen Volkswagen. That was the main basis for our search warrant-to recover these vehicles and try to identify who stole them.

Thanks Adam - My parents took me here as a child to ride the horses before the murders (of course).

1:48 “Always Is Always Forever” a.k.a. the most unsettling song ever

You should be proud man. The hard work absolutely Shines through here, editing is amazing too. Really excited to see the types of videos you'll produce with this set up. Cheers !

I enjoyed this video Adam, you really grow on people, I have liked and subscribed!

Awesome stuff! It must have been creepy yet fascinating to walk in the steps of the Manson family. Great job!

Whos Here after Once upon a time in hollywood?🤣

Awesome video! So different from the usual Manson documentaries. Thank you for all you do! ❤👍🏼

Someone stole the mailbox took it to pawn stars.

Great video! My brother and I were at the Spahn Ranch about 20 years ago. The "Charlie Manson Rock" we found was still intact and had his initials carved into it, not his signature.

Interesting to see this area again, it was much different in 1969..My uncle was one of the officers that raided the place...I wasn't suppose to be there but since my uncle was a high ranking officer I was...

After googling I found no answer to this question, why would Life Magazine take a photo of the Manson Family posing on those rocks & in the cave. I imagine they weren't famous until the murders & after the murders they wouldn't have the time and freedom to "pose"

When he showed the lil clip of him running from the snake 😂😂😂😂😂

Incredible! Thanks for taking me on that journey

I see that you've updated your equipment. everything is so vivid and well put together. good job!

Great detective work Adam. This was really well put together! The production value was through the roof! That Canon 70D tho!!

Great video and the equipment looks and sounds great!

I cringe a little whenever Sharon Tates murder is discussed; evil incarnate, unimaginable violence.

Damn wish they hadn't have messed with the rock.

Very good documentary you did on the Spahn Ranch, i always wondered where this location was. Like you i am always curious about places that once where that are no longer in a location. If that made any sense lol. I have seen your other videos and i am very impressed with what you do. Thanks for the videos. Jay.

4:49 The triangle part of the fence post goes in the ground to anchor it actually. You have it upside down.

Wow I so enjoyed that. Great work. I love the story. U have so open my mind and take me places from my home in Australia in all of your stories. Thank you so much.

Woa, that was fascinating yet wicked. Hard to believe people stoop so low and with an idea of carrying on in life as though nothing happened....so wierd. SUBSCRIBED~!

Well done video, Adam. Thank you for the solid research and for posting it. It’s good to see that the site hasn’t been either trashed or glorified-to do either would somehow have been "deifying" Manson. This way the history remains but in a cold way. He passed this way, but did not leave a living, thriving mark. What a sad place, what sad memories.

Nice camera work for a nice area. Definately best documentary you have done.

I know its a bit late, years late. The lines you see connected to the trees, including the barber wire are sometimes called, head lines. Charles had a fear of Bikers due to run ins with local drug dealers and such. Head lines are usually strung up to stop motor cycle troops from getting into an area without loosing their heads in the process. The lower line you found, the thick one, looks like an old choker for logging. Its set low to hook the lower portion of the motorcycle and flip it effectively. It could have been put there as a winch cable for 4X4. The barbed wire though due to how and where its set between the trees there, that is a head line.

I knew about the baby caves, but you're the first that's taken me so far inside! thanks!!!

I used to go riding at the ranch. In fact I was going to ride the day the police were there. I saw all the police and turned around and went home. I left a few years after that and often wondered what happened to Shorty. He was a great guy and very patient with the customers.

Just a few minutes from my house. Sister used to go horseback riding on Saturdays. Funny how I drive by that so many times but it's been yrs since I've stop there. The place still has a creepy feel. Not far from there are tons of dirt roads where you can still find weird, drugged out people wandering around. Me and a friend drove on one of those dirt roads only to hit a dead end...as we were coming back to Rocky Peak Rd, a long haired dude was standing in the bushes staring at us. We busted out of there. Great video. So much work went into it!

I remember the brush fire in the early 70s, I lived down below Spahn ranch on Glade Ave behind Chatsworth Elementary. I remember my dad and uncle hosing off our wood shingle roof during the fire. Spent many days up at the train tunnel in the early/mid 70s. Thanks for the upload.

This is VINTAGE Adam The Woo. Thank you, Sir, for going on adventures for me, and not even asking my Mom. I'm a fan till the end, Sir.

Excellent video. 50 years later and some relics still exists...

You got bigger ones than me pal. I would not want to go there. I think, because so much still remains from that event, that there's probably still bad spirits that linger. Just watching this and seeing the exact spots and the photo comparisons, gave me the real creeps. Well, good night and good luck !! 💀👽🐷🔫 🚬👓...

You should have asked the Spahn Ranch Worker (Mr.Fox) for a tour. He’s a specialist in everything Manson and has a great KZfaq channel. Also he keeps the grounds clean, he’s also on the Netflix show Dark Tourist.

+adamthewoo - Great segment! I know you're a warm weather guy, but if you're also a 60s history enthusiast, the steps of Kent State are mostly still there to retrace and, though perhaps a slightly more somber subject, fans might find them interesting. Blanket Hill. The pagoda. All still there. If you walk outside of the School of Journalism you can still see the modern sculpture one student photographer hid behind complete with M16 bullet hole (photo of guardsman taking aim at him in James Michener's book). Will be 50 years ago in 2020.

i loved it so much i did not know about them. you deserve to have your own show on the history channel or something love your videos

I think a night investigation sleep over should be done by Ghost Adventures.

Always much love Mr Woo ! Keep it up !!

I went souvenir hunting on the Spahn property in the early 90s. Still have a melted Coke bottle and charred wood from the fire as well as an intact soft drink bottle on a shelf here in Las Vegas. I well remember the gutted VW chassis at the bottom of the ravine.

Ahhhh The darker side of Los Angeles.. Nice work all-around Great production awesome editing & camera angles. Again this is my opinion and only my opinion. I'll be going up there soon to do a ghost investigation. On a sidenote they actually filmed some of the old Lone Ranger and Bonanza TV series there & in the area. Nice work Adam you inspire me

Frickin Manson family stuff still freaks me out. I can't believe all that stuff actually happened. Yuck. Great video though Adam. :)

Such an amazing in depth video! Am planning a trip to LA to see various infamous sites like this- wish I could hire you as a tour guide.

Really good video, enjoyed the fact you pointed out the exact spots 👍🏻

Absolutely love this type of video.. I could of watched another hour... Loved it!

Really good job, the best you did so far. Being a dinosaur, I remember all of this plus. It was big news to the max, almost daily for years.

This is my second time watching this video. When your showing where the mailbox used to be I start cringing because your arm is so close to the poison oak. When I was a teenager my friends, and I would go there, and go in the caves that nobody shows. They go on for what seems like forever. We all got poison oak from going there at night. Great video one of my favorites! Thank you

Dang Adam... awesome video !!! thank you soo very much for sharing and producing it.

That would have been a cool place to live. To think many of them went from that beautiful sunny ranch to prison for life.

Nice job. I used to live just north of the freeway off Topanga for a few years and never went to investigate the Spahn Ranch area. I always wondered where it stood, but as your video clearly shows, the rough area with steep embankments throughout kept me away. Now I feel like I investigated the area myself. Thanks!!

I' ve been following the Manson' s case since 1988 and this video is amazing. I loved the comparisions of the actual location with the famiy' s photos. 👍👍👍👍

Awesome video Adam. 1 thing I can't understand is how 2 people walked away from that car crash.

Susan Adkins looks so adorable in that picture. I wish someone could have reached all those kids and talked some sense into them.

I lived right next to this place before leaving the u.s. outskirts of simi valley. So moorpark.. on the other side of simi valley aré the Manson caves..which i went to as a young lad lol. Theres a giant rock Pipe at the caves everyone writes on

That was awesome! I can’t hike anymore so it was neat seeing it live. When my friend was young, her and her father use to deliver firewood to the Manson Family, she said Manson had a real creepy scary vibe. It left her with an icky feeling seeing him.

These places must get a lot of visitors. I must admit that I was very curious to see these spots. Thanks!!

Glad you mentioned the caves. They actually go hundreds of feet into the mountain. When I was a kid we spent a whole night crawling through the caves. Your also so rite about the people who live around there. They hate people coming, and investigating the area. They have also planted poison ivy all over the place. We all got it. GREAT VIDEO

I counted 54 times the words "actual" or "actually" were used. Damn.

i love all of your videos but seeing how yesterday was a special anniversary this is even more remarkable.keep up the great work!!! 😄😄

That was superb Adam. So interesting x 🇬🇧

Someone has that rock hanging on their wall

We all revisit Spahn ranch and Manson because of tarantino's once upon a time in Hollywood.

Some great history there. One of my friends since childhood sat under that rock ledge several years ago where LIFE took the photo and shared it to Facebook. Thanks for sharing guys. You ROCK! 🪨

I love these excursions into historical spots. Thanks Adam.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. You got this spot on.

Hey, There's a female patient here at the State Hospital in Colorado, who writes to Charlie Manson at the Corcoran State Prison. She had written to him so much that a complaint came back, filed by Manson, instructing her to stop. I got to read his affidavit complaining about her writing to him all of the time. It may not be a big deal to some, but I got to read something that crazy ass wrote. The patient still writes to him religiously...Just thought I would share that.

Watching during Covid. Fascinating stuff ATW!

GREAT video man! We appreciate the work you put in to show us the story and exact location of all this things. Amazing stuff man really well done!

I’ve been “Click-Baited” by many others! There’s a couple that’s good!! But Hoss!! You do a GREAT JOB and tell the stories really good!! Enjoy your videos!!

I really thought the stolen vws were really cool. My father would always tell me about the manson family stealing those cars and to finally see it the cars sitting there finally put a image to the stories that i have been hearing about for years. This vid was great. Thank you Adamnthewoo.

I lived in LA for a decade and have been pretty much obsessed with this case ever since. Although I never got a chance to visit Spahn Ranch, regretfully 😠

I couldn't find the hillside with all of the cars and safes they pushed down the hill. I'll have to make another trip out before the church develops the land