The Curse of Capistrano is a 1919 story by Johnston McCulley and the first work to feature the fictional Californio character Zorro (zorro is the Spanish word for fox). It would be later published as a novella in 1924 under the title The Mark of Zorro.

Before being published in novella form, The Curse of Capistrano appeared as five serialized installments in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly.

After the enormous success of the 1920 film adaptation, The Mark of Zorro, the story was republished under that name by Grosset & Dunlap.

The story follows the story of Californio Don Diego Vega?Zorro in the company of his deaf and mute servant Bernardo and his lover Lolita Pulido, as they rival the antagonists Captain Ramon and Sgt. Gonzales in Alta California, the Mexican era (1823?1846) pre-U.S. state of California. It is set amongst the historic Missions, pueblos (towns) such as San Juan Capistrano, Spanish ranchos, and the rural California countryside.