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The Ghosts of Old Capistrano LbNA #19994

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jan 13, 2006
Location:
City:San Juan Capistrano
County:Orange
State:California
Boxes:1
Found by: Heyford
Last found:Mar 4, 2018
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFaFF
Last edited:Jan 13, 2006
Adopted by Clarinet 226. These boxes were originally planted by Heather, and archived to the LbNA Basement, though Box #1 of the series still remains intact. I always liked this series, so I decided to save it for the rest to enjoy. Though #2 and #3 are gone, the story is interesting and worth visiting the places the boxes were once located.

According to the book The Haunted Southland, San Juan Capistrano has more ghosts than any other town in America. We’d like to introduce you to a few of the ghostly hotspots in this small mission town. To begin your terrifying tour, exit the 5 freeway at Ortega Highway and turn west. Turn left on El Camino Royal and park in the public lot on your right. Head west on foot between the buildings until you reach Camino Capistrano then turn left. Pass the Swallow’s Inn Bar and keep going. A couple of hundred years ago, this road was a dusty trail lined with adobes, and many of the buildings you pass, beneath a new coat of paint are those original buildings. You’re looking for one such building across the street that is now the El Adobe Restaurant.

#1-THE DAUNTING DUNGEON OF EL ADOBE (Active) Now a Mexican restaurant, the El Adobe was once two separate buildings. The northernmost, the Yorba Adobe, was a residence built in 1778. The southern end of the restaurant was the juzgado—a combination courthouse and jail—built in 1812. The staff has reported many creepy goings on throughout the restaurant. (One waitress we interviewed reported seeing faces in the dining room’s mirror when she was alone in the room.) The below-ground dungeon, now a locked wine cellar, is where most of the paranormal activity is reported. Go to the south end of the building and follow the brick pathway down the steps. Look for a circular window at the base of the building covered with a wagon wheel. This was the barred window to the dungeon jail. To find the box, stand with your back to the dungeon. There is a small white building just to your right. Look above the mission style lamp on the wall, and you will find a shelf up under the roof’s overhang. The letterbox is hidden there.
(From Clarinet 226- The stamp is now broken in two pieces, so be careful when stamping. )

#2-THE LOS RIOS LADY IN WHITE (Missing) From the El Adobe restaurant, head back north on Camino Capistrano. Turn left on Verdugo Street and head down towards the old railroad station. Cross the tracks and you will be on Los Rios Street—sometimes called the most haunted street in the US. Dozens of phantoms have been reported on this historic lane, but the most famous is the Lady in White. Look for the big pepper tree outside the adobe just across the tracks. (The adobe is now a lawyer’s office, which is scary in itself.) This pepper tree is where the famous ghost is most often spotted. For more than a century she has been seen wandering along Los Rios Street—sometimes walking a ghostly black dog. To find the box look for the old jail cell just to the north of the tree. The box is hidden under the farthest corner of the jail cell.

#3-THE CANDLELIT WAIF OF THE OLD MISSION (Missing) For the next box, retrace your steps back across the railroad tracks and up the hill. Turn left on Camino Capistrano, and soon you will see the front gate of the old mission on the far corner of Camino Capistrano and Ortega Highway. We’re hoping you’re on this journey after dark, when the mission grounds will be closed. But head east on Ortega Highway along the outside wall of the mission. Above the wall you can probably spot the ruins of the original mission sanctuary, which collapsed soon after its completion in the earthquake of 1812. Turn left (following the mission wall) onto El Camino Real. Watch for a small locked gate in the wall. Through the gate you can see the old cemetery where the victims of the earthquake are buried. In this area, and around the rest of the mission grounds, walks the restless ghost of a young Native American girl who was killed in the earthquake. She is only seen at night and is usually reported to carry a candle to light her way. (A group of investigators in the 70s left recording devices in this graveyard and kept an overnight vigil. In the morning they found several whispering voices on the tape, though no one had been seen in the area.) To find the box, retrace your steps to the front gates of the mission on the corner of Camino Capistrano and Ortega Highway. From the corner you will have to find a blue USPS mailbox. (Hint: you'll have to cross the street to get to it.) The Candlelit Waif letter box is attached to the underside of the mailbox with magnets.

You have now braved the The Ghosts of Old Capistrano. The parking lot where you left your car is just across Camino Capistrano behind the Swallow's Inn.