Haunted San Juan Capistrano; Famed Ghost Stories Of SJC

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — Ghost story lovers flock to San Juan Capistrano over Halloween, hoping to catch a glimpse of shimmering apparitions from the many people who died in the 1812 earthquake that destroyed the mission.

According to Ghost Hunters, there are three ghosts who frequent the San Juan Capistrano Mission. Scents of tobacco sometimes herald their arrival. Other times, the bells can be heard when no one is tolling them, according to legend.

El Adobe de Capistrano Restaurant, originally build in 1797 as the home of Miguel Yorba also served as the town's court and jail in the early 1800s.

That jail, now the restaurant's wine cellar, is a "haunted place" according to the popular website www.HauntedPlaces.org. There are many reports of a friar also haunting the premises. Some, say he is wielding an ax and others say that he himself is headless.

Also, in San Juan Capistrano on Los Rios Street underneath a large pepper tree, a dark haired woman in white will stare at you. Her background is a guess for those who have seen her. Perhaps a convicted killer? Or a witch? Others say she is a La Llorona—a traveling spirit from Mexico in search of her missing children.

Both were highlighted by the recent videos created by Eric Bergstrom with his So Cal Safari site.Subscribe"I've heard these stories over the years and realized that nobody has ever filmed a TV show on them and knew this would be perfect. But I didn't just want to narrate the stories, I wanted to re-enact them and get talented local actors to play the parts. Finding the haunted venues wasn't too hard in this quaint little historic town. The more I researched the more I realized that we are surrounded by stories of local ghosts. So the task would be to narrow it down to the top three in order to make it fit in a half hour TV show," Bergstrom said.

Mechelle Lawrence Adams, the executive director of Mission San Juan Capistrano, who allowed SoCalSafari to come in after hours in order to film the Ghost of Magdalena segment in the actual ruins where 40 people perished in the 8.0 Earthquake of 1812.

The decision on where to anchor the show, from which each story would branch, was a natural decision according to Bergstrom.

"It hit me that El Adobe de Capistrano Mexican restaurant has an underground jail cell from the 1800s, which would be perfect for holding a seance to contact these different spirits," he said of his scripted plan. "Steve Nordic, the Managing Partner, was gracious enough to allow us to film down there."

Tom Ostensen of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society and he granted us the right to film at their O'Neill Museum, also known as The Pryor House where several ghost sightings have occurred.

Tom Scott and Beverly Blake of The Camino Real Playhouse allowed SoCal Safari to film a sequence on "The Lady in White." Scott, who is the president of the playhouse, has actually had an encounter with the Lady in White, according to Bergstrom.

Photo, courtesy Cheryl Pruett, Patch Poster