There is a place, about 1/2 hour from where I live, called Black Star Canyon. I have heard about this place for years but have never gone.
It is said to be haunted, dangerous and is full of legends.
That is not why I have never been there. I just didn't really know where it was and never had a desire to go before.
Next week, I'm going to take a group of Paranormal Investigators there at night. Before I went I went I wanted to check it out during the day.
Today was that day.
I thought you might like to go along.
I went with my nephew, Jason. He had the day off and I was thrilled he was willing to spend it with me hiking through the canyon.
It's fairly hard to find this place and unless you know where it is you could easily get lost.
You turn down a road and it dead ends at a gate marked with a sign that says Road Closed. From this point on, you must either walk or ride a bike as vehicles are not allowed.
The hike was an easy one, for the most part. A nice path that is pretty flat most of the way.
I wasn't sure what the feeling would be like here as I've heard so many stories.
Back in 1831 the Tongva Indian tribe fled to the Canyon in the summer months to search for a break from the heat and to find acorns to eat. This area of the Santa Ana Mountains had a low population of grizzly bears.
Fur trappers also went through this area during their travels.
The bloodiest known battle in the history of the Santa Ana Mountains took place here over the fact that the Indians stole the horses from the Fur Trappers to eat as meat.
The Fur Trappers then went during the day and an armed conflict took place. Most of the Indians were killed and rumor is, those Indian spirits still roam the Canyon.
All along the path, you find signs that say Keep Out. These signs tend to add to the scary feeling that you are not wanted there.
However, the signs are not for the pathway. The areas on the side of the pathways is private property. There is also barbed wire fence and at times there even electrical fences put up to keep trespassers out.
There are areas where the trees grow over the path and form arch ways. Very pretty during the day but could be a bit creepy at night.
In 1899, a man by the name of Henry Hungerford, shot and killed James Gregg over a $2.50 conflict that was a result of a horse trade.
It is said, that at times, the Spirit of James Gregg can still be heard and seen looking for Henry in an effort to get revenge.
It was a beautiful clear day today. The hills looked very inviting but of course the hike up there was off limits due to the fences.
Many people claim to have seen figures of shadows walking around up there, watching over the land and following hikers through the canyon.
As we walked further into the canyon, we saw sign after sign that had been riddled with bullet holes.
One of the scary stories, of Black Star Canyon, is there is a homeless man called Black Star Bill that doesn't want anyone to disturb him and he will chase you off as he fires his riffle at you.
I don't know if Black Star Bill is a real person or not but we didn't come across him on our hike. Thank goodness!
The hills were still covered with wild flowers in certain spots. It's hard to tell in this photo but the whole area is covered in these purple wild flowers. It was breath taking!
The beauty made it hard to believe in the stories I've heard of rape, torture and murder taking place here.
These bright white flowers with big yellow centers were lovely. The flowers were swaying in the gentle breeze and the area seemed very peaceful.
Nothing like you think you would feel with stories of KKK meetings taking place here or extraterrestrials roaming around or the home of a demon called Black Star. Yes, those are all stories about what has taken place in this area.
It was odd to come across this old rusted out piece of equipment. How did it get there? Why would they leave it here? Strange.
Upon doing some research on the Internet, I found stories of the "haunted piece of farm machinery".
Hmmm, I wonder what is haunted about this?
More bullet holes to remind you that someone or something has been shooting a gun for some reason in this area.
One of the disturbing stories I heard was back in the 1970's the road was open and used often. It was a road that a school bus traveled daily.
However, on one fateful day, the bus lost control and went over the cliff and killed the driver, the teacher and most of the children on board.
When we came across this bus I did get an eerie feeling. A feeling of sadness and darkness came over me.
Many people have heard screams coming from this area and have seen shadows of children have been seen trying to get away from the bus.
There is a creek that runs through the area. It is along this creek that people tell about how they have seen and heard a Satanic Cult doing sacrifices.
My research shows that it is in fact true that this used be a known meeting place for them but it was back in the 1980's.
Could the sounds and sights be ghosts that people see and hear now days?
This is another sign that lets you know you are pretty much on your own here. Also, all cell phone reception is lost in this area.
As we were about an hour into our hike, I did start to get a bit freaked out thinking about how scary it would be to have anything happen in here. How would you call for help?
We reached an area where we found this old tiny shack and abandoned trailer. Or was really abandoned? We didn't go up to check it out. I didn't really want to know if it wasn't.
We would come across things like this big rusted pipe or whatever it was. I can see how going here at night would be scary with the moon shinning down and casting shadows through the trees on things like this.
With the sounds of nature creaking and cracking and little critters running through the bushes causing noises could be very unsettling I'm sure.
Let's not forget the sounds of running water or frogs croaking.
With people owning property in the canyon one could easily mistake a residence for a ghost or shadow.
Hollowed out trees seem spooky as you pass them in the dark evening, I'm sure.
I'm not saying Black Star is not haunted. Though I'm not saying it is either.
I do believe there are stories that are true about things that happened here but I have no doubt that many active minds have added to those stories.
Either way, I'm looking forward to going with my Paranormal Group to do some investigating. I do think it could be scary. However, I must admit I'm more scared of the living and what they may do then any ghosts.
How about you? Would you like to go to Black Star Canyon?
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. I sure did. It's always a great time when I get together with my family.
