Reminds me of something my dad used to say. To paraphrase: "Just when they make something foolproof, they invent a better fool."

"It was not thought that he was suicidal, but colleagues did remark that he had often been careless around the lions before." What a collossal understatement.

"Rangers patrolled the habitats in Jeeps armed with shotguns and radios. " That's straight out of Jurassic Park

I really appreciate the distinction between the two Kings Island videos; one, where regulation and operation are at fault, and one where it is truly the decisions of individuals which can't really be accounted for by most reasonable standards. This is a great and responsible illustration of due diligence.

Kings Island: warrants a two-part series. Action Park: could take up an entire year of videos.

Never leave a drunk friend alone, even if they seem "fine" or if they're really really annoying!

The thought of someone getting tangled in elevator wires makes me *squirm*

"he was 20 years old" WHY was a 20 year old in charge of THE LIONS!?

"and.....a *pride of lions* " Oh n o.

he was pissing in the lions territory of course they killed him

That elevator one was some final destination level shit. The chance of that being your homies blood from being diced up above you man. That’s horrible and terrifying shit to say the least.

I can't remember where, but I've heard before the hardest thing to design for is human factors. If someone wants to find a way, they will.

foolproof systems never take into account the ingenuity of fools

How do people that drink manage to do the hardest and impossible things imaginable

Having been an employee at Kings Island for many years these stories were still well in circulation when I was there during most of the early and mid-1990s. The wild animal habitat Safari was only vaguely known to employees by then but was still referenced occasionally. As an employee there however I heard a slightly different variation on the Eiffel Tower incident. One thing that was not addressed in the video is that the Eiffel Tower actually has three viewing platforms. The lower one which is accessible by stairs only and I believe is now closed to the public and then the two upper viewing platforms located at the top of the tower. Both platforms were located one right over the top of the other and both are only accessible to the public via elevator. One elevator serves the lower upper platform and the other serves the upper upper platform. The way the story was related to me by a park policeman told along side a Security Supervisor was that at the time the door leading from the public viewing platform to the inner maintenance areas of the top of the tower were kept locked by a traditional door knob style key lock with a spring latch. In other words, a normal locking door knob. Apparently he was able to bypass this latch somehow with what they assumed was by using the traditional credit card/driver's license style shim method. After that the story is pretty much the same as told here with the exception that I had been given the impression that his body had remained entangled in the cables for much longer at the very top of the hoistway and that initially park guests had dismissed the blood believing it to be hydraulic fluid. To this day the doors on both upper level viewing platforms do not have knobs at all but are instead kept secured with deadbolt style locks.

Another interesting fact about John and the Eiffel Tower incident. He's referred to as Tower Johnny by park staff and his ghost has said to have been seen by multiple people late at night after all the guests have left

"Hey, Mr. Lion. Mind if I mark my territory within _your_ territory?" "Why yes. Yes I do." =)

I wouldn't tug a tail of a cat, let alone a lion. Not particulary suprised about the first death.

Anytime somebody climbs over a security fence, it doesn’t end well...

Peeing on a lion's territory is a really bad idea. They're territorial. Any male lion would see that as a challenge.

I think It's the Disneyland effect. As in "nobody dies at Disneyland!" People are having fun and the festive setting of an amusement park makes people careless because they can't imagine dying in such a nice place.

The lions were like: "Are you taking the piss?"

I really appreciate the tone of these videos. You lay out the facts without sensationalizing or over-dramatizing. You’re always respectful and never resort to victim-blaming, even if the victims showed poor judgement or did foolish things. We’ve all been young and reckless, we’ve all done dumb things, most of us have had too much to drink at least once and did something silly or dangerous. Fortunately most of us didn’t have to pay with our lives for it.

"Pet them like they were domesticated animals." Dude, they're *lions*. Not housecats.

I worked on The Beast crew back in the early 1990s. The cables that were removed from the elevator after the incident, were piled in an area by The Beast track between the bottom of the first drop and ravine drop. Every time I walked by that area, I got the chills. Fun Fact: There was a worker in the elevator when the guys body fell on top the elevator. That person was in therapy for a really long time.

I really don't think that the Kings Island site was ever remotely big enough to warrant a 'Safari Park' area with lions and antelope....

I'm glad that the park didn't have to take responsibility for the lion incident. 100% the guy's fault. At the end of the day they're still wild animals and should be treated as such

My dad works with the maintenance manager that was on duty during the '83 elevator incident. I can confirm that people riding on top of the Eiffel Tower elevators was a regular occurrence.

Every time I hear about people treating wild animals like pets or friends, I fear the worst.

As a safety professional, these types of stories are the most heartbreaking... Thank you for providing such thorough and respectful coverage of these tragic losses. I’m from Ohio and had NO idea that King’s Island has lost so many souls.

Caution: Staff Only Danger: High Voltage *DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE* *CAUTION: DO NOT ENTER WHEN RIDE IS IN OPERATION* [Dude ignores the multiple warnings]

"...and most prominently, a pride of lions." me: oh *no*

Whenever I ride the beast at kings island I feel like I'll get decapitated at one of the tunnels. People that have ridden it will know what I'm talking about

Give a man some responsibility of a few wild animals and suddenly he thinks he’s Androcles the mighty lion tamer.

The King's Island Eiffel Tower was always one of my favorite attractions at the park. The view from the top is spectacular! I was never aware that anyone had died on it, not that it would have changed my opinion.

I’ve worked in the King of theme parks here in Orlando and you truly wouldn’t believe some of the things people try to get away with. Most people don’t know the first thing about attractions and end up getting hurt. For some reason it’s always the parks fault and never theirs.

"The eiffel tower was the site of another incident on Friday The 13th of May." Jason Vorhees: *Sweating intensifies*

His voice is therapeutic

When I lived in VA, we had a park called Kings Dominion. I learned recently that it’s owned by the same people who own Kings Island, which makes sense since they’re nearly identical in their rides. Kings Dominion also had an Eiffel Tower ride and other similar themes throughout. It’s scary to think that so much can happen in such unsuspecting places.

This episode is a very diplomatic example of Darwin Awards in action. Yes, these events were horrible and tragic. OTOH, they were both completely preventable by a tiny little smidgen of self preservation. Still, condolences must be extended to the loved ones.

Thank you for never inserting a jump scare into these videos.

Who else has watched every video and it makes their week to see a new one uploaded?

In conclusion: "Death, uhhh.... Finds a way"

Teasing lions: play stupid games, win stupid prizes 🙄

You are so diplomatic at the end about how you describe the decisions made by those who died. I would have just said that the park isn't responsible to safeguard against two incredibly determined morons.

If I'm ever that way, I've got to go. Seems a really cool place. I do NOT get people's disrespect of wild animals. They're not pets; they're not our friends. Think it's a weird kind of power trip people have.

The past couple weeks, I’ve been watching a lot of “urban exploration gone wrong” and “clips not to watch right before bed” videos at night, and have been unfazed by them all. Something about stories of someone drowning from being knocked out by electrified water, or someone slumping over in a cart and being dropped out of the cart from several stories, got me heebie jeebieing hard right now, though!

I was at the park for my Grad Night in 1983. I will never forget how they hung up tarps around the elevator to shield what was going on. No one knew. Everyone gathered around the Eiffel Tower thinking that there was going to be some kind of show for the event. We did not find out what happened until later

How sad that these young men's foolish decisions cost them their lives.

I wonder if the Lions thought he was marking his territory when peeing

When answering the call of nature, there are few places indeed that are more unsuitable than a lions enclosure.

When I went to My Favorite Murder live show in Cincinnati, they talked about the safari death in Kings Island. It’s crazy that even after being slashed in the neck, he wouldn’t stick to safety rules.

I need more than one of these a week!

A park ranger that was extremely arrogant and had no respect for a wild animal that can take down a multi-ton Cape Buffalo.

I remember in the early 70’s the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family both had special episodes filmed at Kings Island. Small wonder the park became an instant hit.

I’m glad they didn’t fire the lions

Death by misadventure is the likely conclusion.

They don't call counterweights _"widow makers"_ for nothing. It's like a guillotine coming down but it weighs several thousand pounds.

I, along with other graduating seniors from my school were at the park on May 13, 1983. The park kept the incident at the Eiffel Tower very quiet for that evening. We didn’t even know anything tragic had happened until we were back home. May the young man Rest In Peace.

I was at Kings Island that night in May 83. Saw a lot of people looking at the tower for some reason but didn't know why. Didn't learn of the death until the next day.

Always stoked to see videos on places I've been in, around my hometown, in my feed.

Me: wait? There’s more? I had heard of the other two incidents before because I don’t live that far away from the park, but didn’t know about this stuff.

The safari momraul can be found today at an amazing grocery store in Hamilton, Ohio called Jungle Jim's.

"The Eiffel Tower was a site of another incident on Friday the 13th of May-" oh, ok.

I was waiting for this and I'm not disappointed 😊 I expected more stories of careless Park employers after part 1 and was surprised where you took us from there. You, sir, are a great story teller and always manage to put in a positive message in the conclusion there and I appreciate that 😊✌️

Playfully tugging on their tails?!? Good Lord.

I've been going to King's Island for about 20 years now, and I had only ever heard of the incidents on the Beast/Son of the Beast rides. Both part 1 and part 2 taught me something new, thanks for the vid!!

I find it fascinating that this was one of few “vacation” spots my parents took myself and my eldest younger when we were super little. The possibly thousands of pictures from the early 90’s... this paints a whole new image

Congrats on THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND subs my dude! It's been so cool to watch this channel blow up.

My favorite narrator. Could do audio books starting with Grimms Fairy Tales.

I was there on Grad night. I remember standing at the bottom of the tower after this happened. There was a radio station there(Q102) and I even remember the songs that were playing. Most people didn’t realize what had happened. The week after it was eerie to see the elevator stuck in its place partially up the tower and when it reopened again we swore went to the top and came down where we could still see the stains of blood that seems couldn’t be removed. Weird trying to remember these things so many years later. Well done on this video

Threw us for a loop, where gross negligence wasn't the culprit. Very nice.

I have been going to King's Dominion in Doswell, VA my entire life and never realized it had a sister park! When I was younger we always set the Eiffel Tower as our meeting point if we all somehow got separated.

I remember seeing a Lion in a cage a long time ago. I was less than five feet away from the cage. The Lion was asleep and it still was a magnificent and beautiful animal. The keeper explained that Lions do not kill a person right away. Lions slap victims around with their paws with 400-500 pounds of force before they kill. I can imagine how horrifying it would be to be confronted with a Lion in their habitat. The speed and power of these creatures are not like a Cheetah’s, but it is just as frightening. The rule to not tease or provoke the animals should have been posted. But the animals, especially Lions, state it clearly. I remember Grad Night. My class went to Disney World in 1984. The park was set aside for us to enjoy parties rides and concerts. I don’t think any alcohol was served anywhere, but I wouldn’t doubt that some was probably smuggled in. It was very unfortunate for the young man who died in the tower. I guess he was drunk as he was climbing up on top of the elevator.

You aren't allowed on the lower observatory deck anymore bc of Tower Johnny. They also say he haunts the park . May he rest in peace.

My friends and I were at the park that day in May 1983 for our Senior Class trip! We had a blast that night and there was definitely some crazy crap happening. We stayed overnight at the campground and went into the park again the next day when we found out the Eiffel Tower was closed. Then we heard that, “some guy was decapitated on the elevator”, from a couple of girls. Gave me the chills and it was definitely hard to enjoy myself that next day.

I love Kings Island! My favorite ride is The Beast -- a wooden rollercoaster that is both peaceful at times and yet wild and rough. Never knew about these accidents, very sorry about the loss of life.

Your voice and your perfectly chosen background music have become the soundtrack to my mornings while I get ready for work and school. The effort you put into these is commendable! Thank you.

Seems to me he was an emotional drunk wreck, made a poor decision and paid his life for it

I’m 20 right now. I can’t imagine working with lions by myself.

I knew about the johnny incident. They call power outages Johnny's to this day.

Yeah pull the tails of lions, what can go wrong. Some people seem to be to stupid to survive.

I was born, raised, and still live in Toledo, Ohio and we went to Cedar Point & King's Island every single summer. I always (& still do) like King's Island better out of the 2 parks. I just love the Cincinnati area too. I remember the safari monorail!! That was during my young childhood. I remember being sad finding out the safari monorail was no more. We never knew about the death though. I completely forgot about it until I started watching this video! Good memories. The Eiffel Tower is so scary, but I still go on it everytime we go. The floor on the high observation deck is metal with spaces between that you can see all the way down and shake when you walk. I always hold onto the bars you have to look through as soon as I get off the elevator. Lol.

That overview shot of Kings island makes me so sad- I miss Vortex!

Love this channel so much!

King's Island was my favorite part of every summer as a kid. The 4th of July was always the best day to go. People were doing other things besides amusement parks and we'd get to ride the Beast and the Vortex 3 or 4 times in a row. No lines anywhere.

I attended grad nights 84 and 85. We heard about the elevator in the eiffel tower incident but most of us thought it was an urban myth. I lived over 100 miles from Kings Island so the groups that I was with hadn't heard anything on the news. How many 17-18 year olds sit and watch the evening news anyway. I was amazed when you revealed that it was true. Damn do I have some old friends that are going to be shocked.

I enjoy your stories very much. They are tragedies, I know, but very interesting

Guy relieves himself on lion territory Lions: "-and I took that personally"

Yes! I've been waiting for the part 2! Thanks fascinating horror!

I grew up in Kings Mills (where kings island is located) went to kings Highschool and didn’t know about any of this. Great stuff, thank you for presenting my towns history.

I like that you’re covering this. I grew up in Cincinnati and had season passes to Kings Island every year. Heard a lot of stories from the people that worked there.

F.H. are you open to collaborations, I would love to see you and Horror Stories work together 😁 thanks for part II.

I haven't been to Kings Island in a few years. I do love this park, and in my opinion, has the best wooden roller coaster I've ever rode on, The Beast. If you are ever there I highly suggest riding it. I didn't know about these two incidents. There is a cemetery within the park grounds too with some ghostly tales surrounding it.. Great video as always.

Absolutely loved this, and love your channel! My Grandfather was a mine engineer, and he missed the Markham Colliery Disaster in 1973 by a shift. I wondered if you'd consider covering it in a video of yours. It was national news back in the day, and was a huge rescue mission. I've researched it, and my Granddad told me stories, but I'd love to see your take on it ☺️

It's so cool to see FH cover a theme park that I visited so many times during my childhood. I can't believe I never heard about all these crazy things that happened there.

Love this sooo much, been going to Kings Island for years and am so glad to see it on the channel.

Never a good sign when your home park shows up on this channel. Lol

i didn't know this much went wrong at kings island!!! we went there all the time when i was growing up

I never get tired of the music in these videos