Black Star Canyon's mysterious nature and its colorful, often dark history has given rise to a whole host of urban legends and ghost stories throughout the Orange County area. The air of mystery surrounding the canyon is further enhanced by its eerie silence and being prone to sudden gusts of wind (both due to its unique geography). Though historically innacurate, one of the most popular ghost tales, which originally appeared on the Internet in 1995 and later published in the book Weird California, tells of a group of friends who witnessed the ghosts of the Spanish conquistadors marching down the hill in the form of small, black shadowy figures (Read here). Many of the more popular legends have sprung from the fact that Black Star Canyon was, allegedly, the meeting place of a Satanic cult in the 1980s, which is often misstated as having been the Ku Klux Klan due to the numerous hikers' reports of seeing distant bonfires in the canyon. Other stories include the canyon being haunted by a demon called "Black Star", being home to extraterrestrials and/or a secret military installation, and being guarded by Indian spirits. The oldest ghost story involving the canyon came from the Spanish, and involved the canyon being haunted by a banshee called "La Llorona" (The Wailer), who was said to live in a well and have the head of a horse. The following excepts, illustrating the rich urban legends and stories surrounding the canyon's history, is from the paranormal website, The Shadowlands: