OC Ghosts and Legends Tours

I went with some family on a private tour at the end of December in Blackstar Canyon. We had an awesome time! This was our first time going on a ghost tour, and I am definitely going to book another tour. Chris was awesome and very informative. Only one of us experienced something supernatural, but I have my hopes up to see something next time. Thanks Chris for the awesome experience!

I booked a private tour as a Christmas gift for 4 people. 19 – 25. Thinking «out of the box» — to gift something so unique — it cant be duplicated. Everyone opened the gift at the same time and it was a «OMG — WTF» response.
They went last week… all a bit nervous and excited. They came home with lots of stories and have continued talking about it a week later. They want to do it again! I didn’t meet Chris — but he helped me every step of the way — always answering my questions quickly. Really nice guy. Very informative and ready to help.
I am so happy I bought the gift and experience for everyone… they not only had a unique evening — but made some memories too!
As far as ghosts or spirits… someone felt a brush across their face and another felt something poke them in the back. An unexplained light was seen by two. One person heard the sound of a pickaxe near a closed mine… no one else heard it… spooky.
They want me to take the tour with them next time… I think I’m a bit freaked out… call me chicken.

Chris was super cool. Didnt see any ghosts. (Like he can help it!) but just walking around Black Star at night was fun. He had some cool EMF readers and my 5 teenagers had a blast! Thanks Chris!

Went on the tour to Blackstar Canyon. It was the first time I did anything like that. I have ghost experience. It was amazing. Chris was very professional but awesome too. He always listened to us and helped with info about the different areas. I so want to do this again! So looking forward to it! Thanks so much Chris!

We recently went on the tour to Blackstar Canyon with Orange County Ghosts and Legends. Wow! What a great experience! Our guide Chris was professional and really knowledgeable about the area and its history. Each stop along our trail was filled with different stories and legends. We did experience quite a few unusual sounds and light anomalies along our walk. We were all provided with meters that really enhanced the tour as well and towards the end got some unusual readings when attempting to communicate with what we were sensing/​seeing. We will definitely be back. One of the most eerie and spiritually charged areas I’ve ever been to in the OC. Thank you Chris for the awesome experience!!! Highly recommend.

This tour was really awesome ! I really enjoyed the walk and the tour guide Cris telling us about the history of blackstar and the encounters he’s had with other tour groups he’s taken there. Even though Cris has been doing tours for over 5 years, he treats every tour as if it’s his first, he is very knowledgable and enthusiastic ! On the tour I encountered a few spooky things, as well as captured a picture with someone who didn’t belong in it ! :) I highly recommend this tour, and I will be back again! thanks Cris!

This was my first ghost tour ever and it was a great one to break the ice! Im more of a sceptic when it comes to the paramormal, but i was looking forward to the experience. Cris, our guide, called the San Juan tour a level 1, so you can call it the intro tour to ghost hunting. I may not believe in ghosts, but i had a great time. Cris passed out emf devices and we all had fun looking for things to make it go off!
The tour had enough history and fun stories to make it interesting for someone who isnt into the ghost thing. Cris had stories about the history of San Juan, past sightings, and my favorite, stories about the people who lived in the houses we would walk by.
Our tour took 2 hours, which was a perfect amount of time for San Juan. Its all on foot, and you get to see old town San Juan, so a win in my book! I would recommend this tour to anyone wanting to get into ghost hunting, and who knows, work your way up to the other tours Cris has for a creepier experience!

Caught on a post-​Halloween high, I thought I’d like to try a ghost tour. I signed up for the San Juan Capistrano one. The guide, Cris, called it a Level One ghost hunting session, and it was a fun, easy introduction. The guide passed around K-​2 and EMF detectors for people to carry around. That really got people into the whole ghost-​detecting thing.
The guide explained the meters and how the overhead wires might give off false readings. And he explained that there was probably too much noise to try to get any decent EVPs. We walked around a few streets and a park area that had some of the oldest buildings in San Juan Capistrano. There wasn’t quite enough history related to suit me, but as a basic ghost-​hunt, it was cool. He related stories of what others had experienced in various areas and a few local tales about tragic women and children that were rumored to give rise to ghosts and ghost stories.
Some ghost tours are less ghost-​hunting and more just guided walking tours. If you like a bit more hands-​on ghost-​hunting, with a not too long, easy walk, this could be an interesting way to spend an hour or so.
I’m a skeptic, but I like ghost stories and a bit of ghost hunting. I enjoy this kind of stuff so this tour was good enough for me. I’d be interested in doing some of their other tours, actually.

I have been on two tours with these guys. The first was sort of a lark. I was back in CA visiting and we wanted something different to do. We found this guy Matt and the rest, as they say, is history.
The first was to Blackstar Canyon. Lots of noises and things happening that make you wonder if your eyes are playing tricks on you. Seemed like there was lots of activity. Had a blast.
The second was at Star of India. The ship just by itself was cool. Not a lot of activity that night but it was fun none the less.
Matt can be a little over the top but it’s all in the spirit of it. Cris and Matt really know their stuff and you can tell that they really want to give each person a good experience but have no control over what happens.
I will definitely be going with them again, somewhere! Always a great experience.

We had a great time on our tour through Blackstar. We did not see anything particularly spooky, but we did hear noises that seemed to be coming from an area that is nearly impossible for a human to get to, and a few of the rumored drum beats. I also experienced warmth and tingling on the backs of my arms, and I felt very aware that there was a presence with me. Our tour guide, Cris, was awesome. I would highly recommend the tour to anyone interested in the paranormal.
Oh, it’s also pretty cool they let you use their EMF-​type equipment. It’s not actually EMF, I forget what it’s called.

Fantastic experience. Super spooky and really well done. I highly recommend the Black Star Canyon hunt!

I bought a Groupon coupon for my first Ghost tour in San Juan Capistrano last night for myself and my friend. I went on the tour with an OPEN MIND. Which most people should do. We had fun and enjoyed the tour. I wasn’t expecting to experience paranormal activity, but just being there with the group and meeting Cris, our tour guide, was great. I would do it again…
thanks Cris!

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Super fun night with Chris! Our group was we enjoyable. Tour was interactive and informative. You have to suspend belief and relax to have a good time. If you are a heckling duche bag (like some of the other reviewers) Don’t go! But if you can go to enjoy the hike and get into the adventure of ghost hunting it won’t be like any other experience you have had in Orange County!
Big Tip: Heed the warnings from your guide and go to the bathroom before you get to the hike!

I bought a groupon for my husband and I to go on a ghost tour to Black Star Canyon. It was only $ 20 for the both of us, but that turned out to be too expensive for this tour. I don’t want to beat a dead horse so I’ll keep this short. We’ve been on other ghost tours before and although we’ve never seen any ghosts on those tours, we never felt like it was a waste of money. The difference was those tours actually brought us to each «hot spot» and the tour guides would excitedly tell us about the myths and legends associated with them. We still kept a lookout for paranormal activity, but it wasn’t the only thing that kept us entertained. This tour had nothing to offer us other than a night hike. It was something we easily could have done ourselves…

Wife bought a groupon for this «haunted» tour because she knows I like this kind of stuff (thanks babe). Before the tour, I did my research & read all about the supposedly haunted canyon to psych myself up.
We live in the San Gabriel Valley so it was an hour drive for us to meet at the run down Carls Jr. Per email instructions, we brought our flashlights, water, some jackets & wear closed toe shoes since the email stated the temperature in the canyon would drop rapidly.
Sitting in Carls Jr. & listened to Matt about his encounters w/​various paranormal activities & sasquatch while waiting for the rest of the group (about 15 people) to show up & caravanned to Black Star Canyon.
When we arrived at the location, Matt bust out his barely functioning K2 EMF meters from a zip-​lock bag & handed one to every couple of people since there weren’t enough to go around. As we tried to take a few pictures of the surroundings with the help of our flashlights, we were told to turn the lights off because it might «scare» off possible sightings of sasquatch or «ghosts». Ok Matt, you’re the tour guide so you would know more than we do.
While everyone stood at a semi-​circle listening to Matt’s instructions on how to operate the K2 & be careful not to drop them because they cost $ 60 each. Half way into the conversation, Matt’s own EMF meter started beeping as if entity (es) was trying to communicate w/​us. He asked the entity (if it was really there) a few questions like «are you trying to talk to us?», «are you the miner?» etc. At this point, we all quiet down & stared at our own EMF meter hoping it would light up or beep. Few minutes passes by & nothing «happened» as vehicles are flying down the road forcing us to step to the edge of the barely maintained path into the canyon. A sheriff deputy happen to stop by & asked what we were up to, Matt said «ghost hunting» as the sheriff smirked & said to us, «good luck, hope you see a ghost» & drove off.
Night went on as we walked down the road into the canyon with only the illumination from the bright moon (it was a very clear night & we were able to see the constellation of the stars, very pretty I might add). Wife & I were hesitant to use our flashlights because we didn’t want to scare off any possible sighting of paranormal entities or sasquash. Matt would stop every few steps & said «I saw a shadow dart between that light pole on the left to the tree on the right!», «there’s sasquash in the bushes & he just broke a tree branch, I heard it». The group would stop & validate the sightings although no one was able to confirm it (at least I can’t). This is where the mood & my excitement of tour went down the toilet as Matt would constantly point out things that ONLY he was able to see even w/​the help of his Gen 1 NVG that had horrible resolution which would amplify his belief of sasquash sighting. Sorry for bragging, Matt, but my $ 2000 weapon mounted Gen 2+ NV would do a way better job @ identifying a target at 100+ yards & sharper depth of field.
As the night & the distances from our cars progress, I became more irritated with Matt’s constant mumbles of sasquash & hopelessness of sightings, I said to my wife if this tour was a joke & perhaps we should just head on back. She insisted we should stay in case something does happen.
Well, by at the end of the tour, half of the group already decided to ditch & left on their own. I don’t blame them because I wanted to leave too since the entire time, I felt as if we could’ve done this on our own without a «tour guide». From our past experience w/​haunted tours, the guide would take the group to specific «hot spots» with well-​known paranormal activities & let us experience it ourselves rather than pointing things out that no one else could validate. Not to mention the annoying constant «sasquash» sightings which turn out to be tree branches.
All in all, this was a letdown with the ill-​equipped & less-​than-​enthusiastic tour guide. Will I do it again? Maybe on my own.
YMMV.

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY !!! I went on a tour to black star canyon with a group of about 15 people. We met up at Carl’s Jr anf everything seemed legit until we parked. Matt (the ghost expert & tour guide) told us there is lots of high activity up there. So every group got a meter and then everything went down hill. Mat started to TRY to point out shadows in trees and everyone could clearly see nothing. Then another ten feet he would stop and say there was noises in the bush… everyone would stop. and hear nothing… i tried to see what he saw and so did the rest of the group. And we all thought we were going to go on some trail that would be creepy… nope we just walked down the road while other cars would pass us so we also had to be getting off the road and that would ruin the whole ghost hunting experience. then as we are walking in silence Matt puts his night vision goggles on and only had one pair… to share around with a big group… to me that’s unprofessional and unsanitary. but he started to look out and in silence he said «a 14 ft Bigfoot just grabbed a branch and tore it off the tree «now it was quite. Everyone was we would have herd a branch snap. that’s when I lost all my optimism. This guy just lied to us … so we keep walking and he keeps looking out saying there are shadows following us from the beginning and no one is scared at this point … it felt like a night hike to me.. And then we get into the trail and there is like a car meet while we are still trying to ghost hunt. In the back ground you here music and laughter people talking and yelling. The monsters that suppose to measure energy never went off the whole hike and every time we tried to communicate it felt like a joke. Then we walk in and he stops to look at the ground… He tried to convince us that big foot left his foot print on the floor.. He said if you look at it in this angle.. Please stop trying no one could see a damm thing… i felt embarrassed for the guy. it was an awkward 3 hour hike of him constantly saying there is something there and turning out to be nothing… people started started to just leave because it was a waste of time. I’m telling you please don’t waste your time. The best part of this night was the Carl’s Jr… try another ghost company this one doesn’t know at all what they are doing … i read the reviews and they feel fake … I’m being real this was nothing I expected. and the group just fell apart and left. There was no respect the guy at end. It was lame I can’t tell you enough how stupid this guy looked I give him credit for being a good story teller and never giving up.

Friends and I went on the Black Star Canyon tour last weekend and had a great time. Being a paranormal investigator, I appreciated that Cris not only disclosed the personal experiences that he and others have had in the canyon, as well as the theories surrounding these experiences, but also provided his opinions as a sceptic. On some paranormal tours, the guides insist that EVERYTHING is paranormal and it was refreshing that Cris did not. All-​in-​all, it was an educational, fun evening in which my friends captured some light anomalies and possible EVPs with their equipment. We also had some great personal experiences such as seeing shadows and hearing unusual sounds. I look forward to going back again.

Did a private tour of Black Star Canyon & had one of the most interesting, fun & informative nights!
From the initial conversation setting up the event, to the last-​minute details; Cris Arranaga was professional, patient and always ready to answer any & all questions as well as make sure this gathering got together without any problems.
Cris goes above & beyond to make sure that your tour is one that you won’t soon forget. They provide investigating equipment, history & are more than willing to take the time to answer any & all questions as well as educate you on how to use equipment.
This is a great experience for any level of investigator as well as a great night of education, fun & exercise.
They have a great selection of different haunted locations sure to please everyone!
I highly recommend checking them out!
Thank you for a great night & we will be back for another tour soon (we just have to decide which one first)!

I recently went on two seperate tours to Black Star with Matt. He is very friendly and professional.
We had several possible EVPs and an experience including my step daughter having a spirit move through her. She freaked out a bit but Matt immediately came to her side to calm her and the situation down. He then explained to us what may have happened given what she experienced. After that night, he emailed me a few times to make sure she was okay and feeling well, which she was.
I am always looking for a thrill and this is definitely something I look forward to doing again.

Did a private tour of Black Star canyon. I personally didn’t experience anything paranormal. Except maybe hearing a weird gasping noise in one of the bushes. That seemed odd. But others in my group saw shadows and feelings of being followed. One person even claimed her E-​pen was grabbed out if her hand. I had a great time and Cris our guide was a lot of fun and knowledgable. I tend to be an over planner, and the weeks leading up to the tour I was constantly contacting him with questions and RSVP updates. I’m surprised I didn’t drive him up the wall, but he was friendly and helpful and by the time the night arrived I felt like I already knew him and made a friend. I would definitely take more tours with this group and especially with Cris as the host. I would sooo love to do Grand Canyon caverns!