Grim Reaper Figure Sparks Panic After Climbing onto Hospital Roof

Doctors and patients at a hospital in Wales were left staring up at a bizarre and unsettling sight after a man dressed in a hooded black costume climbed onto the roof while carrying what appeared to be a large scythe.

Leon Gillespie, 26, spent roughly 50 minutes on top of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospital on June 6, allegedly staring down at people and making noises toward those gathered below.

The strange scene immediately drew comparisons to the Grim Reaper, the legendary hooded figure associated with death.

Gillespie, however, later insisted that he was not dressed as the Grim Reaper. He claimed the outfit was supposed to make him look like a crow.

Authorities were apparently not impressed by the explanation.

Gillespie, who lives in the small Welsh town of Deganwy, was eventually brought down from the roof and charged with causing a nuisance or disturbance on National Health Service property without a reasonable excuse.

He appeared in court on July 15 and admitted the offense. He was ordered to pay a fine of approximately $269, or £200.

Police said Gillespie had refused to leave the hospital grounds after being instructed to do so by an officer. He was not at the hospital to receive medical advice, treatment or care.

The bizarre rooftop stunt was not Gillespie’s only recent run-in with the law.

The court also heard that he had committed two shoplifting offenses before the hospital incident.

On March 26, Gillespie stole approximately $50 worth of cat food and litter from a pet store in Llandudno, North Wales.

He later stole merchandise from a Sainsbury’s supermarket in the same town on May 28.

Gillespie was ordered to pay approximately $336, or £250, in connection with the two thefts.

The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which operates Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and is the largest health board in Wales, condemned the disturbing stunt.

The organization said it maintains a “zero tolerance approach to abuse, aggression or nuisance” at its hospital facilities.