The Dark Watchers of Big Sur

What really lives in the mountains? Join me this week as we dive into the Santa Lucia Mountains around Big Sur, and the Dark Watchers that watch you from the ridges.

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When asked what earthly element scares you, many would say the ocean.  The open waters that run thousands of miles deep leave too much room to the imagination and we don't really know what's down there.  When it comes to the ocean though it is not what scares me.  I swam past the waves out into open water the ocean floor 40 ft below me and if anything what I felt was far from fear.  Now I know 40ft deep can not compare to thousands of feet deep but still it is simply something I don't truly fear.  But if you ask me what strikes my curiosity and some fear in me are the mountain and forest ranges across the states and even those across the world.  Just like the ocean we have not fully explored the dense thickets of forests like the Appalachian mountains so who knows what resides behind the trees just beyond our vision.  We can not say we know of everything that lives below the treacherous waves of the ocean, however we also can not say we know what lives among the stillness of the mountains and forests.  You hear stories about BigFoot or SkinWalkers, Wyndigos, and other creatures.  Who is to say they are not real?  Another such spectral being has been making news for generations across the Santa Lucia Mountain Range that surrounds the Big Sur coastal area.  Dark Watchers.  These beings seem to reside just out of reach, shadows among trees that seem to vanish just as your eyes focus on them.  Many visitors and locals alike have claimed sightings of these apparitions and no one can really explain who or what they are, even finding a home within art and literature.  So, let’s talk about that.

So to begin let me set the stage.  Running 140 miles from carmel to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County stands the Santa Lucia Mountain Range.  The range sits no further than 11 miles from the coast at any point and with a peak of 5158 ft making it the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the states.  The range was a barrier used by Spanish explorers as they explored the central coast of California.  Like the Santa Ana winds in Southern Cali The Santa Lucia mountains are famous for their Katabatic winds that cause intense temperature changes as they rush down the slopes of the mountain range.  These fast moving winds have the power to create frost, mist and fog within the valleys.

The range is even known for its highlands designated as winegrowing fields.  But it does also carry a dark history.  On December 7th 1987 Pacific Southwest Airlines flight 1771 departed from LAX at 3:51pm to San Francisco International Airport set to arrive at 6:43pm.  On that flight was David A. Burke.  He was a ticketing agent that was fired by the airline for petty theft of $70 from inflight cocktails.  After a meeting with manager Ray Thomson, Burkes was unsuccessful in getting his job back.  Purchasing a ticket for flight 1771 fully knowing his ex manager Thomson would be the same flight as it was his usual flight home.  With credentials that were not surrendered yet, Burkes armed with a gun was able to bypass security and gain access to the flight through the locked crew door.  As he took his seat he wrote on an airsickness bag “Hi Ray.  I think it's sort of ironical that we end up like this.  I asked for some leniency for my family. Remember? Well, I got none and you'll get none.”  It is speculated based off black box recording that Burkes handed the letter to Thomson and then headed to the bathroom to load the gun.  He then emerged and shot Thomson point blank killing him.   The pilots heard the blast as they are talking to air traffic control and they state gunshots on the plane.  A moment later a female voice of the flight attendant comes through as she states a problem.  Then Burkes voice as he states “ I'm the problem” followed by two more shots killing the pilots.  In total 6 shots are fired within the plane.  At 4:16pm the plane slams into the hillside on the Santa Rita Cattle Ranch in the Santa Lucia Mountains around 770 mph killing all 48 passengers on board.  Only 11 were ever identified. 

As the Spanish arrived in the mountain range in the 1700 they quickly began referring to something as Los Vigilantes Oscuros which translates to “the dark watchers”.  Even as settlers began making their way through the range they would state feeling like they were being stalked in the region, they felt well watched from within the hills.  

The Santa Lucia range was the home of the Chumash people and at times people attribute these spectral beings as native american, however when we look into the chumash tribes mythology there doesn't seem to be anything stated that describes the watchers.  Until the 20th century these watchers didnt really have a listed description at all.  They seemingly took form once authors began describing them within literary works.

In 1937 poet Robinson Jeffers taking inspirations from his surroundings from his life on the coast mentioned the watchers in his collection “Such Counsels You Gave to Me and Other Poems”.  He poem that mentions the watchers is a free form narrative poem and the excerpt goes like this, “...he thought it might be one of the watchers, who are often seen in this length of coast-range, forms that look human to human eyes, but certainly are not human. They come from behind ridges to watch. But when he approached it he recognized the shabby clothes and pale hair and even the averted forehead and concave line from the eye to the jaw, so that he was not surprised when the figure turning toward him in the quiet twilight showed his own face. Then it melted and merged into the shadows beyond it…”

The following year in 1938 famous Big Sur resident author John Steinbeck who wrote “Of Mice and Men”and “The grapes of Wrath” released his short story titled “Flight” within a collection titled “The Long Valley”.  Flight follows the Mexican-Indian Torres family living along the coast.  The story opens with 19 year old Pepe Torres throwing his fathers knife who died After a rattlesnake bite accident 10 years before.  As he plays his mother tells him to ride into town 15 miles away for salt and medicine and plans to stay at the home of Ms Rodrigez for the night.  As he comes home he tells his mother he must run to the mountains to hide as in the night after some wine he got into an argument with a man and plunged his knife into the mans chest killing him.  His mother becomes worried and knows he wont come back alive if it ventures into the mountains. Pepe states he is a man now and will be fine to go.  He gathers his fathers hat gun and horse and rides into the mountains where he piece by piece loses his fathers things.  As he is chased by the posse on horses he climbs the mountain side where in the end a bullet hits his chest and Pepe falls landing at the base of the hill.  

As Pepe runs through the surrounding forests the narrator states “Pepé looked suspiciously back every minute or so, and his eyes sought the tops of the ridges ahead. Once, on a white barren spur, he saw a black figure for a moment; but he looked quickly away, for it was one of the dark watchers. No one knew who the watchers were, nor where they lived, but it was better to ignore them and never to show interest in them. They did not bother one who stayed on the trail and minded his own business."

As the years went on more and more people began coming forward with their sightings.  Within newspaper clippings from the mid 1960s an article was found with an interview of a Monterery Peninsula local and former high school principal.  They stated that as they hiked within the Santa lucia mountains he suddenly saw a dark figure standing on the rocks surveying the area.  When the principal called out to the other hikers, the figure vanished.  

So what do they look like?  The descriptions all seen to be the same.  They seem to always be spotted around sunset or twilight hours.  Dark watchers are always large human shaped figures standing at least 10 ft tall.  They seem to always have on a wide brimmed hat and what seems to either be a long trench coat or cape.  Watchers are featureless shadows though at times reports do state lowing white eyes within the darkness of the shadow.  They seem to always stand still.  They never move or bother unless you are doing something wrong in the forest.  And just as your eyes begin to focus on the beings they always just vanish into thin air. 

Within John Steinbecks story “Flight” the mothers fear of the mountains is not all just literary fiction.  Even Steinbecks own mother believed these spectral beings lived within the range.  It is said amongst the people, if you want to see a Dark Watcher, bring it a gift.  Steinbecks mother Olive Hamilton would bring fruits or sometimes she would bring flowers as offerings if you will.  Even Steinbecks son Thomas said his grandmother Olive fimly believed.  She would tell the children and grand kids to follow the ritual of bringing an offering.  She stated to them that one day she left fruit and nuts in Mule Canyon on her way to school in Big Sur.  As she made her way back home after school the fruits and nuts were gone, now flowers stood in their place.  Is it possible that the Dark watchers accepted her gift and showed theirs in return?

Now with every paranormal, bigfoot, alien, or other worldly sighting that comes up there are those who will go to no end trying to explain it all away.  So in pure skeptic fashion here are a few theories to explain away the Dark Watcher.  One thought is the good ole fashion shadows casted by swaying trees and that are obscured or manipulated by the passing fog or mist that is always in that area.  With these trees shadows hitting the fog our minds may be twisting them into humanoid shapes, thus stating Dark watchers are just paredolia.  Pareidolia is the brain trying to make sense of patterns in turn creating images that are not exactly there.  This is why we say we see faces on the moon or jesus in our burnt toast.

Another theory is this is the effect of the Brocken Spectre.  Much like in Big Sur the Harz mountains in germany have locals reporting shadow figures on Brocken Peak.  Authors like Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice in Wonderland took inspiration from the ghostly sightings for his work.  The Brocken Spectre seems to be a fancy way of saying an optical illusion.  This happens when a shadow like that of a near by hiker is casted onto the low hanging fog or mist.  If the sun is behind the hiker who is observing their shadows gets casted on to the mist and can be manipulated by the mist to appear large and menacing.  The shadow can then appear to be darting away as the mist suddenly shifts or breaks apart in the breeze. 

Now both those theories sound great and all but they leave a few things unanswered.  How does the casted shadow of a hiker stand perfectly still even though the hiker is walking and seeing the Dark watcher? How does the shadow not show features?  When my shadow is casted even on uneven surfaces I still see my outline including legs and arms.  And unless I am wearing one my shadow does not usually look like I have a cape, trench coat or wide brimmed hat on.  And if you as Steinbecks mother Olive, she would ask you to explain how the shadow of a hiker turned her fruit and nuts into flowers by the road side.  

Skeptics can bring to the table all kinds of theories about why things happen, but how do we know for sure that the Dark Watcher specters of Big Sur are just shadow play and illusions?  After all, most myths and legends come from some sort of fact.  Its not like John Steinbeck was influenced by a social media article claiming to see figures in the mountains so whos to say they are not real.  Centuries have claimed these shadow watchers seemingly surveying the land and there is something in me that cant believe a simple scientific phenomenon can just explain everything away.  They have been embodied within literary works and art and each person seeing the same thing. I guess the only way to know is to venture into the mountains yourself and wait for sunset.  So if you do venture to the Santa Lucia Mountains above Big Sur, just as the sun begins to dip, look up as you may just see shadows looking back down at you.