Mysteries Within Games – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

There are many reasons why the San Andreas installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise is considered one of the best in the series of those game even until this day, including the games huge scenery, varied areas, array of weapons and vehicles, numerous missions and side-activities, all of the in-game “Easter Eggs” and references that could be found – if you don’t know what an Easter Egg is in a game, it is pretty much anything in the game that is hidden or not entirely obvious at first glance, such as an object, feature and the such and it is also often references to something as well – for example one of the San Andreas Easter Eggs is the game developer’s logo in the night sky, as a constellation of stars.

But outside of all that there was also another element to the vast game as well which included numerous apparent unexplained mysteries, strange events and apparent sightings of things in the game – such as bigfoot or other cryptids reported by players. Most of them were likely started off by using some sort of modification of the game to insert something into it that was not added by the developers, which was extremely common in San Andreas at one point and even kind of still is, for example the GTA San Andreas Online mode was created via a modification of the game. So of course, such things have been done to implement things like Bigfoot as well and pretend they were in the game.

Some though, did actually believe that such cryptids existed and were just incredibly rare to come across, although the game’s developers have denied it. Other strange mysteries in the game were simply either glitches that were accidentally left in the game or missed in the bug fixing process or they are just simply references. Sometimes there are actual mystery things implemented by the game developers, such as the Epsilon cult in San Andreas, but often times many players have expanded on this and blown it way out of proportion to create folklore within the game and fool other players.

It wasn’t a bad thing though and actually made the game more enjoyable for many and created a fringe group of players who would build it up and even search for the mysteries on Youtube videos. There was one well-known channel at the time that made GTA San Andreas Mysteries videos and of which many people even associated the X-Files theme song with as it was used so much on the channel’s videos, but I am not entirely sure of the channels exact name or of where its videos are anymore as there have been so many videos on the game at this point and the fact that I have not watched the videos in many years.

GTA San Andreas myths and legends became so popular in-fact that a wiki fandom was created dedicated to documenting the many legends and mysteries of the game, whether they actually existed in the game or were just made up by players and it has continued to document these oddities in further installments of the franchise as well.

So, I thought I’d go over a few of the game’s popular mysteries and legends.

Number 1 – Bigfoot and Madmen

Of course, many people claimed that the ole’ infamous bigfoot was hidden away in the game’s vast forests and wilderness areas, with many uploading videos showing encounters with the legendary creature or players who attempted to hunt for and find it. Although it is strongly believed that all the players who did encounter it on videos were staging it with modifications of the game rather than it being a legitimate feature in the game.

Nonetheless it was one of the big inspirations to look for strange mysteries in the game and is dedicated with really kicking off the big fandom of GTA San Andreas myths and legends.

There are also numerous other supposed cryptids in the game.

There are also said to be deranged madmen such as Piggsy, a horrifying human who wears a severed pig head as a mask, splattered with blood and of which carries a chainsaw as a weapon. Piggsy is an actual character from another game made by the same company of GTA: SA called Manhunt. Some believe that the character may have been implemented into the game as a big Easter Egg, and of which little figurines of can actually be found in a shop within the game. If one comes across this deranged lunatic, it will attempt to maim and kill them with its chainsaw.

Another similar madman myth in the game is that of leatherface, said to be based off the antagonist of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He is said to wear the skin of those he killed as a mask and go after people with a chainsaw as well and also eat his victims. Some fanfiction has depicted Piggsy and Leatherface competing against each other.

Strange chainsaw noises are said to be heard at certain places in the game from time to time with no discernable location able to be found – with some suggesting it could mean Piggsy or Leatherface are close. The reality is though are that the noises were likely just put in for the added auditory atmosphere of the game, as an everyday noise.

Number 2 – CJ’s Mum’s Ghost

Another big legend in the game was of the protagonists mother, who had been murdered prior to the beginning of the game and is the reason the main playable character – CJ, otherwise called Carl Johnson – returned from Liberty City to Los Santos and prompts the beginning of the game, going after and looking for those responsible for her death, which occurred at CJ’s childhood home in Grove Street, which becomes the players first safehouse.

But there is some who believe the ghost of CJ’s mum can sometimes be encountered at that home in Grove Street, although again from those who have shown proof it is very likely it is just the usage of game modifications. But it had an effect on many players, who became scared of going into the safehouse, just in-case the legend was real. I do remember being a little afraid myself – I mean you have to remember, many who played these games were just kids who got frightened at silly things, even though the game was meant for 18+, there were many who didn’t go by that. It was just a game after all and even if there was a ghost it would simply just be something that was programmed in by developers and so nothing to really be afraid of.

There has also been a legend of another ghost in CJ’s house as well in Grove street, one that can emerge from the TV and has been called “the Ring ghost” as it has been associated with the movie of the same name. Although the game is known for doing references as mentioned, it isn’t thought that this is one of them and is either some kind of glitch if it even happens sometimes or again another modification someone made to start off another legend.

Number 3 – Ghost Vehicles

Another major mystery in the game was that of ghost vehicles and of which did actually partially exist – or kind of. The ghost vehicles that did exist were these odd beaten-up cars that could be found at specific odd locations, often in the middle of nowhere such as a wilderness, desert or in a forest. It isn’t exactly known why they appear where they do, or could possibly be some kind of glitch or perhaps they were just put there for some kind of in-game testing and of which they forgot to remove afterwards. Or perhaps they were put in merely to weird players out who came across them.

Again modders jumped on this and started having these kind of cars drive by themselves and activate when the player approached, and make it seem like they were actually being controlled by some invisible force and would often act in an aggressive fashion towards the player, attempting to run them over and kill them. These mods once again expanded on something already in the game but blowing it way out of proportion and making others who were none-the-wiser thinking these paranormally controlled ghost cars were actually in the game.

There though are a few actual “real ghost vehicles” though which one is of a hovercraft – one of the games many unique vehicles that can drive on both land and water. One specific area where one of these spawns is a large lake and upon coming into focus the hovercraft appears to be moving and driving around off its own accord – but on closer inspection a player would discover this only happened as the hovercraft spawns on a hill and would then gain momentum from going down the hill into the lake and speeding on the lake for a bit before running out of momentum and coming to a halt. So, although it was just a physics thing and a badly-placed spawning location, it did not stop players promoting it as a real ghost vehicle.

A few others are of vehicles called Glendale’s, which spawn in the forests and when they spawn it’ll be on a hill that causes it to roll down, again making it look like it is driving itself for a bit, but again is merely just physics. Again though, why the game developers implemented these “ghost vehicles” isn’t known and has caused some to say that since the developers took time to implement these oddities, then they may have implemented many other mysteries as well – of which is not proven.

Number 4 – Disembodied Screams and Breathing

Next up is another one that may actually be observed in the game and there are two areas this can be the case; one is disembodied screams and another is disembodied breathing.

The first location is on a mountain called Mt. Chiliad, which in of itself is one of the game’s most mysterious areas, having been associated with Bigfoot, UFO’s and aliens, among other oddities and cryptids. The disembodied screaming is known as the Mount Chiliad Horror Voices and they are said to be heard at a cabin on a part of the mountain and also on the summit of the mountain, some have also reported the sound of a chainsaw but of which the source cannot be found – although some believe it is just nearby vehicles engines that are being mistaken for the sound.

The screams on the other hand appear to be more unexplained, although they are possibly just glitches and some videos depicting it may also have used modifications to make it more apparent/extreme. Theories of the screams have included ghosts and people committing suicide from jumping off the mountain while others have said it could be cryptids mimicking the sound of humans. On one mission at the cabin on Mount Chiliad, CJ kills a police officer, and some believe that it could also be the ghost of him.

The strange breathing sounds happen at the Prickle Pine Safehouse, specifically when the player uses the stairs there, the loud breathing sound can be startling but it is possibly just a sound file implemented for the character that is triggered from using the stairs – and of which the developers perhaps didn’t realize how obnoxious it could sound. Other players claim it could be a ghost in the safehouse that follows CJ around and can be heard breathing sometimes. Whatever the case, it is nonetheless creepy.

Number 5 – Aliens and UFO’s

Another big mystery in GTA San Andreas is that of aliens and UFOs – said to be seen in various areas of the game. Alien creatures have often been reported in desert and badland areas in the game and is also where UFO’s are sometimes alleged to be seen.

Another popular area to possibly see UFO’s is at the summit of Mount Chiliad. There is also an airforce/army base in the game called Area 69, which is strongly inspired and based off the real-life Area 51 – and of which many players have claimed to see UFOs and aliens around.

Of course, aliens have not been proven to actually exist in the game and many of the evidence videos of it are once again simply modifications of the game and practically all UFOs are also seen to be mods.

But there is one interesting oddity in the game, that can sometimes be witnessed when one looks up or is in the sky – incredibly fast-moving blinking lights that leave behind very long chemtrails. Even more bizarre is that these strange fast-moving lights are called “UFOLIGHTS” in the game’s files, further fueling that they could actually be real UFO’s implemented into the game. The objects are faster than any vehicle in the game and cannot be caught by the player without the usage of exploits or modding and through using this to get close enough, one would find these objects to litrally just be glowing balls of light. It could be that they are meant to look like planes high in the sky at distance, but then others say that real in-game planes can be used for that are in-fact already are.

In-game icon markers and glitches have been seen as reasons for other strange activity that can be mistaken as UFO’s witnessed by players who have not modded the game.

Conclusion 

The conclusion is that GTA: San Andreas is a big game, so big that it even has its own wealth of folklore, mysteries and legends associated with it and still popular even until this very day. The popularity of these mysteries and legends were in-fact so intense that in future installments of the franchise such as GTA IV and especially GTA V – which is set back in Los Santos, references have actually been added into the game, such as Bigfoot, actual real UFO’s that can be discovered and found or that appear after certain tasks are completed as well as the expansion of mysteries in these games for players to discover and attempt to figure out.

Fascinating!

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