Ghosts, Goblins and Assorted Wierdos in Black Star Canyon

Ghost stories in Orange County, California?

The county's hardly old enough to have ghosts, much less stories about ghosts. Yet they do abound here, particularly about a strange canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains that hardly anyone ever visits.

Black Star Canyon Road has been around since the 1920's when it was built to access a mine at the top of one of the mountains between Orange and Corona. For many years this dirt road was wide open and wound up the canyon and across the peaks to a quick run down the other side near Corona.

Sometime in the 1980's the road was closed to auto traffic but was maintained by the county and was and is still open to hikers, bikers and other assorted trail mavens. Although they are not supposed to, teenagers and wilderness junkies hike up the trail all the time, during the day and well into the night.

According to one story, sometime in the 1970s a school bus crashed up the road, killing 12 children. Their ghosts are supposed to still appear from time to time, according to some canyon visitors. Others are more skeptical. The tales do add to the mystery of the place, however.

From time to time, two residents of the area will accost visitors and tell them that the road is private and that they are trespassing. According to those who know, the county holds an all access easement on the roadbed and all people who want to are welcome to use it. According to county records, the Irvine Company owns most if not all of the property in the area and claims by residents that they own the property may or may not be true.

It all adds up to an adventure for those who get up the courage to cross the closed fence and walk or bike up the road.

I know this road from personal experience. Back about 1972 or so, I drove up the road (when it was still open) all the way from Orange, across the mountains and down to Corona. On the way I took a lot of pictures of the area as it was back then, which was mostly pristine and virtually untraveled. Even then the road was and is unpaved. It was filled with potholes and washouts and was difficult to drive. Twenty miles an hour was about the top speed and that was rare.

I have to admit I saw no ghosts, crashed buses or angry residents and met only a few cars coming from the other direction.

At the time I was the editor of the News-Times Newspapers in Placentia, just to the north, and after making this trip published the photos and a story in the paper, making my early trip about the best documented one on record.

Apparently after the road was closed, a lot of squatters moved into the forests at the top of the canyon and caused problems for visitors. There were stories of gunshots and even dead bodies, none of which have been confirmed as far as I know.

Black Star Canyon is one of those fascinating places found all over the country, where mystery, legend, rumor and innuendo mix to create a volatile attraction to anyone with a sense of adventure. That it is within minutes of one of the most populated urban areas in the country adds to the mystique.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

By the way, Google "Black Star Canyon" for a bunch of sites and photos where you can spend a couple of hours reading more about this fascinating place.