Located in an isolated spot in the hills over Lake Herman Road in Vallejo, Cal., the “Zodiac Shack” was rumored for decades by locals to be the former hideout of the Zodiac killer. The property had long been abandoned, but I found it thanks to directions from some residents of nearby Benicia.
(I took these photos on the morning of Dec. 20, 1998. None of the structures remain.)
The shack was just past the ranch of the late Stella Borges, who discovered Zodiac’s Lake Herman Road victims on Dec. 20, 1968.
I found myself out of cell-phone range. If Zodiac really did use this area to hide from police, he picked a good spot.
After crossing a rickety bridge on foot, I came to this gate. It looked like it hadn’t been opened in years.
My first view of the infamous “Zodiac shack,” complete with barn. It was about here I started wishing I hadn’t come alone.
Yet another gate. The strangest thing about this house is there seemed to be no available vehicle access.
This tiny addition (4′ ceiling) is located behind the house.
A side view of the house. This property was amazingly isolated.
Welcome to the World’s Scariest Hallway.
I still don’t know how I mustered the nerve to actually enter the house…
A beautiful view of complete isolation.
Including a few empty beer cans strewn about, everything inside the house was very old.
The barn could be heard creaking from far away.
I didn’t venture too far inside the barn, as it looked (and sounded) like it could collapse at any second. Within a few years, it did just that.