April 28, 2025 • 22 mins
10-foot-tall shadowy figures silently watch hikers from California's Santa Lucia ridgelines. The Dark Watchers have terrified witnesses for centuries, from Chumash tribes to pilots & scientists. See one? Don't stare too long... Some who do are never seen again. Links mentioned in the video: https://www.darkwatching.com https://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=179
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(00:32):
If you see tall figures watching youfrom the ridge
at sunset in the Santa Lucia mountains,don't approach them.
Don't try to photograph them.
And whatever you do, don'tstare at them for too long.
These warnings have been passed downfor generations.
But what exactly are people seeingthat is so dangerous?
And why do pilots, hikers,and even respected scientists
(00:52):
continue to report encounterswith these mysterious watchers?
I'm Carol Ann.
Welcome to The InBetween.
don't.
The Santa Lucia Mountains stretch
along California's Central Coastlike a dragon's spine,
(01:13):
cutting between the crashing waves of BigSur and the fertile valleys beyond.
This isn't just another pretty postcardlandscape.
It's a place where reality itselfseems a little thinner.
The fog here doesn't just roll in.
It creeps.
It swallows. It transforms.
One minute you're enjoyinga spectacular sunset, and the next
(01:35):
you're involved in a cloud so thickyou can barely see your hiking boots.
Perfect conditionsfor playing tricks on the eyes
or for somethingto watch you without being seen.
And that's exactly what peoplehave been reporting for centuries.
They call them the Dark Watchers.
Humanoid figures often describedas reaching 7 to 10ft tall,
(01:57):
usually wearing dark cloaks and widebrimmed hat, sometimes carrying walking
sticks, sometimes having glowing eyes,
and have one particular hobby - standing
silently on ridgelines at twilight,watching hikers below.
Try to approach them,they vanish without a trace.
No footprints, no evidence.
(02:18):
Just that spine tingling certaintythat something was there.
So grab your hiking boots and stay close.
We're about to venture into territory
where not everything that watches fromthe ridgelines is human.
The Santa Lucia Mountainsaren’t your average range of hills.
Rising anywhere from 1000 to 3000ftright off the beach,
(02:40):
they create their own weather systems,where sunshine can transform into pea soup
fog faster than you can say,“What's on that ridge?” The earliest
whispers of these mysterious figures traceback to the indigenous Chumash people.
While they never nameshadowy beings called Dark Watchers
in their oral history,their spiritual traditions
(03:01):
include their ancestral spiritswho linger in this world in human form
and watch over the tribefrom the mountaintops.
They also have somethingcalled mountain spirits, who are described
as tall and cloaked and said to watch oversacred sites or guide lost travelers.
Either one of those could passfor our Dark Watchers.
(03:23):
And thanks to Jeremy at BeliefHole Podcast for looking over
all the Chumash cave paintingsto find this little guy,
which to me looks a lot like a darklittle guy with a wide brimmed hat.
But we also have this painting
that looks like a tall, slenderman standing behind another man.
(03:43):
Two completely different depictions,but they are both
certainly depicting somethingout of the ordinary.
And while the meaning of boththose paintings
is certainly subjective,this next part is not.
As time rolls on into the 1700s.
The Spanish hit the shores of Big Surand, according to local tradition,
(04:04):
it doesn't take long beforeSpanish explorers and missionaries
start telling tales of tall, dark figuressilently observing from ridgelines.
The “LosVigilantes Oscuros”, the Dark Watchers.
And while these mountains are carefullycultivating their ominous reputation
over the years,we get to 1937, when poet Robinson Jeffers
(04:28):
publishes a collection of poemscalled “Such Counsels You Gave to Me”,
which includes a poem of the same namedescribing the watchers as “...forms
that look human to human eyes,but certainly are not human.”
His poem mentions a
watcher that seems to dissolve into shadowwhen approached.
(04:48):
A year later, John Steinbeck referencedthem in his short story “Flight.”
When the character Pepe fleesinto the Santa Lucia mountains.
His mother warns him, “Whenthou comest to the high mountains,
if thou seest any of the darkwatching men, Go not near them, nor
try to speak to them.” Later, Pepe spotsa black figure, but quickly looks away.
(05:11):
Smart kid.
And as it turns out, John Steinbeck knew
a little something,something about the watchers.
According to John’sson, Thomas Steinbeck, his grandmother -
so John's mom, Olive Hamilton - wasn'tjust familiar with the Dark Watchers.
She actively interacted with them.
Olive, a practical womanwho only believed in things she could see,
(05:35):
was a schoolteacher in Big Sur
and would see the watchersas she passed through Mule Deer Canyon.
So she left offerings of fruitand nuts and flowers in a shaded alcove.
And sometimes there'd be flowersin that same spot, on her way back home.
In 2014, Thomas Steinbeck and artistBenjamin Brode
published “In Search of the DarkWatchers,” interviewing locals
(05:58):
who claimed firsthand encountersdocumenting this ongoing phenomena.
And to say they're ongoingdoesn't even quite cover it.
Probably the mostwell known account comes from the 1960s.
A former high school principalfrom Monterey Peninsula is hiking
in the Santa Lucia mountains when he spotsa dark figure in a hat and cape
(06:21):
standing motionless on a rock, surveyingthe wilderness in front of him.
When the guy calls out to who he thinksare his fellow hikers,
the figure vanishes without a trace.
Reddit user Jbouser shares a storyfrom the 1980s, when they’re camping in
Big Sur and sees figures wrapped in blackwith unusual pointed ears.
(06:42):
On January24th, 2015, around 2:00 in the afternoon,
Joey from Sylmar, California,
is running along a trailwhen he happens to look up into an area
that can only be reachedwith climbing gear to see
a figure that he describesas darker than dark.
The best part of this encounter?
Exactly one year to the day later,
(07:04):
he's running the same trailand sees the same figure.
One posterby the name of Kick Boy Face, of
Moreno Valley, talksabout how many years ago he's out
with a friend around Alessandrochecking out some abandoned barns.
His friend's car, an oldbeat up VW bug, breaks down.
It's getting dark,so the two have no choice
(07:26):
but to hang out in the car until morning,when they can go and get a tow.
As the two guys kill time in the darkwith stupid conversation and cigarettes,
they notice motionless, dark shadowsall the way around the car.
The figures look like they'rehunched over, maybe kneeling,
and look to be about as big as the car.
(07:48):
The two guys get in and out of the carand walk around a little, trying
to figure out if what they are seeingis an optical illusion or something.
But the shadows never move untilthey fade away in the morning daylight.
Then there's Lee Brennan of Ramona.
He's flying south in his twinengine Beechcraft about 20 miles
(08:08):
north of Vandenberg Air Force Base,just after sunset.
He glances toward the Santa Lucia range
and sees seven large, dark figures,
spaced evenlyabout a quarter of a mile apart.
And the list goes on and on.
If you want to read moreof these encounters,
check outDarkWatching.com and WeirdCA.com.
(08:30):
I'll put links to both in the description.
And unlike many paranormal reports, DarkWatcher sightings often involve
multiple witnesses, including peoplewho had no prior knowledge of the legend.
These aren't just wide eyed believersseeing what they want to see.
They're ordinary people who walk awayfrom these encounters profoundly
(08:52):
unsettled, convinced they've experienced
something beyond conventional explanation.
So what exactly are people seeingwhen they report encounters
with the Dark Watchers?
Well, the theories range all the wayfrom the science lab to the seance table.
So let's start with what I thinkis a very plausible solution
(09:14):
to at least some of these sightings.
The Brocken spectre- an optical phenomenon
named after Brocken Mountain in Germany,where it was first documented.
Basically, when the sun is low,your shadow gets projected onto mist
or fog, creating a giant silhouettethat appears to loom on distant fog banks.
(09:34):
The Santa Lucia mountainsare like a Brocken spectre factory
- coastal fog,dramatic elevations, gorgeous sunsets.
Perfect for creating giant shadow peoplethat vanish
as the sun sets or the fog moves on.
However,there's a little hole in this theory.
Brocken spectres typically comewith a rainbow like halo called a glory,
(09:58):
which I've never seen mentionedin one single Dark Watcher encounter.
Plus,many sightings happen when conditions
aren't rightfor this particular phenomena.
Not to mention, it's your shadow.
So it moves when you move.
I saw one encounterwhere the witness talked about the watcher
mimicking his movements.
(10:19):
It's a perfect example of wherethe Brocken spectre might be the answer.
But usually the witness is in motion,like hiking or something.
Unlike the often motionless Dark Watchers.
Then there's good old pareidolia,
our brains tendency to see faces in humanforms, in random objects.
That's why we see Elvis in a potato chipor a face on Mars.
(10:43):
Throw in some spooky folklore, mistyconditions, and the power of suggestion.
And suddenly that weirdly shapedtree in the ridge becomes a cloak figure,
watching your every move.
Another theory is infrasound.
The geography of the SantaLucia mountains, with wind tunneling
through canyons and waves crashingbelow, could be the right conditions
(11:05):
for generating infrasound, which are soundwaves below our hearing range.
Studiesshow infrasound can trigger anxiety,
unease, and possibly visual distortions.
Your brain literally startsplaying tricks on you.
It's not necessarily prevalentin the encounters I highlighted,
but most dark watcher experiencesdo come with a heavy sense of dread.
(11:31):
Also, I feel I would be remiss
if I didn't mention the theory of hypoxia,or altitude sickness.
Some people mentionthat this is a possible reason
that people are seeing strange thingswhen they are climbing the Santa Lucia's.
But hypoxia usually doesn'tbecome an issue
until you start climbing above the 8000ftrange.
The tallest peak in the SantaLucia range is only 5000ft.
(11:55):
While it's possiblethat some people could be affected
at lower altitudes,the majority of people are not.
And many of these sightingstake place at or near sea level.
Taking a slightly less scientific path.
Some local cultural interpretations viewthe watchers as spiritual guardians
of the land.
Ancient protectors observingthose who pass through their territory.
(12:18):
The Spanish settlers viewed themas pretty much the same way, as either
benevolent sentinelsor ominous harbingers.
And while the watcherscertainly look the part,
my question is…guarding what?
they're guarding the land, you would thinkthat at some point we would have
an encounter story where the watcherbecame actively menacing in some way.
(12:40):
But we don't.
Now, there is a rumorthat says that the reason you should not
even look at them is because if you do,you will never be seen again.
So that leads me to believethat if the watchers are guardians
and no one has ever been outwardlythreatened by them, that those they catch
doing bad things must be in the groupof people who are never heard from again.
(13:04):
Except that according to David Paulides’sMissing 411 cluster map, the Santa
Lucia mountains are not even a blipon the missing persons radar.
So if they're guardians,maybe they're not very good at it.
Kevin.
But then again, maybe they're notguardians as much as just observers.
Okay. But where do they come from?
(13:25):
The interdimensional theory suggeststhese entities exist alongside
our reality, but only become visibleat certain times, like twilight,
when the boundary between worldssupposedly thins.
This would explain their tendencyto appear at dawn
and duskand their ability to vanish instantly.
But following that logic,we would be seeing them in more places.
(13:50):
The Santa Lucia mountains are certainlynot the only place in the world
where the veil between dimensionsseems thin.
Maybe we are.
Newsflash.
The Dark Watchers of California aren'tthe only mountain top jockeys on the
planet.
Across the globe, mountain rangeshave spawned eerily similar legends.
The Irish have their fae folkguarding their sacred sites.
(14:11):
And the Norwegians have their trolls.
The Himalayas have Yakshas,which are nature
spirits guarding the sacredpeaks of the mountains.
But the one I think isthe most interesting
is hanging out in Scotland's Cairngorms.
The Am Fear Liath Mòr,
or “Big Grey Man” of Ben Macdui.
Just like our Californian shadow specters.
(14:34):
This entity is described as an unnaturallytall humanoid with a knack for appearing
in fog and creating overwhelming dreadin those who encounter it.
In 1925, J.
Norman Collie, a respected professor andmember of the Royal Geographical Society,
stood up at a meetingand dropped a bombshell
(14:55):
about his experienceon Ben Macdui in 1891.
I began to think I heard something else
than merely the noise of my own footsteps.
Every few steps I took, I heard a crunch.
Then another crunch,as if someone was walking after me.
But taking steps 3 or 4 timesthe length of my own.
(15:17):
As I walked on and the eerie crunch crunchsounded behind me.
I was seized with terrorand I took to my heels,
staggering blindlyamong the boulders for 4 or 5 miles.
And this guy was no schlub.
After laying the groundworkfor the modern neon light
as an organic chemistry professorat University College London,
(15:40):
he was part of the first Himalayanexpedition to even attempt
to summit an 8,000 meter mountain,which is over 26,000ft.
They didn't make it and losthalf their party to an avalanche.
Now, this happenedafter his experience at Ben Macdui,
but I think it showsthe guy has fortitude.
(16:01):
After Collie’s confessionabout his Ben Macdui encounter,
other climbers came forwardwith similar stories.
Hugh D.
Welsh admitted thatwhile hiking with his brother in 1904,
they heard “slurring footsteps” and felt“frequently conscious of something
near us.” Alexander Tewnionhad probably the most dramatic encounter
in 1943, claiming “a strange shapeloomed up” and charged at him.
(16:27):
He fired three shotsfrom his revolver at the figure.
And when that didn't stop it,he fled down the mountain in terror.
Sounds familiar?
Both the Dark Watchersand the Grey Man are tall, shadowy figures
that appear in misty conditionsat high elevations.
Both createintense feelings of being watched,
both often vanish or evadewhen confronted, and both
(16:50):
have been reportedby credible witnesses for generations.
But wait, there's more.
In Welsh mythology lurksthe Brenin Llwyd, The Grey King
who haunts the misty peaks of Snowdoniain northern Wales.
But while the Scottish and Californiaversions generally keep their distance,
the Brenin Llwyd is said to, in certainversions of the folklore,
(17:13):
actively try to lead travelers astray.
So just a public service announcementto watch yourself
on any future Snowdonia expeditions.
Some researcherssuggest these mountain entities represent
a universal human responseto the combination of isolation,
reduced visibilityand imposing landscapes.
(17:35):
Perhaps our ancestral survival instinctstrigger
false positives when we're alonein potentially dangerous terrain,
causing us to sense watchful presenceseven when none exist.
Others favora more spiritual interpretation.
That mountains, as boundariesbetween earth and sky,
(17:55):
naturally attract or generate phenomenathat exist at the edges of perception.
In this view, the DarkWatchers, the Grey Man, and the Grey King
might all be called interpretationsof the same underlying reality.
Different namesfor the same mysterious sentinels.
The scientific explanations for all threephenomena are nearly identical:
(18:18):
Brocken spectres, pareidolia,
infrasound,and psychological responses to isolation.
Call me crazy, but
I just don't think these explanationsquite cover everything that is going on
in all these witness accountsacross continents and centuries.
Now, you might think that in our ageof Instagram filters and TikTok
(18:42):
challenges, mysterious
mountain sentinels would be relegatedto dusty folklore books.
Think again.
The Dark Watchers are having quitethe cultural renaissance.
In recent years, local tours of Big
Sur often highlight Dark Watcher lore.
Guides take eager visitorsto spots known for sightings, particularly
(19:02):
during twilight hours when encountersare supposedly most likely.
The warnings from Steinbeck's “Flight”still circulate.
Don't stare too long.
Don't approach.
Don't attempt communication.
And some locals continue Olive Hamilton'spractice of leaving small offerings.
Modern sightings continue to followthe same patterns reported for centuries
(19:25):
- tall figures, range tops,twilight hours, disappearing in a flash.
Meanwhile, scientists haven't given upon trying to crack the case.
Researchersstudying meteorology, optical physics
and environmental psychologyhave been examining the specific
atmospheric conditionsof the Santa Lucia range.
(19:46):
But what keeps this mystery aliveis precisely
its resistance to definitive explanation.
When satellitescan map every inch of the planet,
and your smartphone can instantly answeralmost any question.
These elusive figuresremain refreshingly analog.
Experienced rather than explained.
(20:06):
Felt rather than photographed.
So we're left with a delicious mystery,one that bridges centuries and continents.
Science and folklore.
Psychology and the supernatural.
The dark monsters challengeour certainty about reality itself.
Maybe we don't know as much as we thinkwe do.
These Dark Watchers remind usthat no matter how far our technology
(20:30):
has come, there remain cornersof our world that stubbornly
and brazenly defy the experts.
And now for the question that's probablybeen nagging at you since we started.
If you visit the Santa Lucia mountains,will you see them?
There's only one way to find out.
Just remember,if you glimpse a tall figure
(20:53):
watching from a distant ridge,as the light fades, don't stare too long.
And maybe leave asmall offering before you go.
It's nice to know thateven in our high tech world of satellites
and smartphones, we've still gota few good mysteries kicking around.
I mean, who doesn't get that thrillwhen fog rolls in
(21:16):
and suddenly familiar landscapesturn disturbingly unfamiliar?
Now, if I actually saw a Dark Watcher, I'dprobably set
a new trail speed recordgetting back to my car.
If you're in the mood for more shadowyentities that have haunted humans
for centuries,check out this video on Shadow People.
(21:38):
But warning,you may not be able to sleep tonight.
Be careful out there and I will see youhere again on The InBetween.
If you see tall figures watching youfrom the ridge
at sunset in the Santa Lucia mountains,don't approach them.
Don't try to photograph them.
And whatever you do, don'tstare at them for too long.
These warnings have been passed downfor generations.
But what exactly are people seeingthat is so dangerous?
And why do pilots, hikers,and even respected scientists
(00:52):
continue to report encounterswith these mysterious watchers?
I'm Carol Ann.
Welcome to The InBetween.
don't.
The Santa Lucia Mountains stretch
along California's Central Coastlike a dragon's spine,
(01:13):
cutting between the crashing waves of BigSur and the fertile valleys beyond.
This isn't just another pretty postcardlandscape.
It's a place where reality itselfseems a little thinner.
The fog here doesn't just roll in.
It creeps.
It swallows. It transforms.
One minute you're enjoyinga spectacular sunset, and the next
(01:35):
you're involved in a cloud so thickyou can barely see your hiking boots.
Perfect conditionsfor playing tricks on the eyes
or for somethingto watch you without being seen.
And that's exactly what peoplehave been reporting for centuries.
They call them the Dark Watchers.
Humanoid figures often describedas reaching 7 to 10ft tall,
(01:57):
usually wearing dark cloaks and widebrimmed hat, sometimes carrying walking
sticks, sometimes having glowing eyes,
and have one particular hobby - standing
silently on ridgelines at twilight,watching hikers below.
Try to approach them,they vanish without a trace.
No footprints, no evidence.
(02:18):
Just that spine tingling certaintythat something was there.
So grab your hiking boots and stay close.
We're about to venture into territory
where not everything that watches fromthe ridgelines is human.
The Santa Lucia Mountainsaren’t your average range of hills.
Rising anywhere from 1000 to 3000ftright off the beach,
(02:40):
they create their own weather systems,where sunshine can transform into pea soup
fog faster than you can say,“What's on that ridge?” The earliest
whispers of these mysterious figures traceback to the indigenous Chumash people.
While they never nameshadowy beings called Dark Watchers
in their oral history,their spiritual traditions
(03:01):
include their ancestral spiritswho linger in this world in human form
and watch over the tribefrom the mountaintops.
They also have somethingcalled mountain spirits, who are described
as tall and cloaked and said to watch oversacred sites or guide lost travelers.
Either one of those could passfor our Dark Watchers.
(03:23):
And thanks to Jeremy at BeliefHole Podcast for looking over
all the Chumash cave paintingsto find this little guy,
which to me looks a lot like a darklittle guy with a wide brimmed hat.
But we also have this painting
that looks like a tall, slenderman standing behind another man.
(03:43):
Two completely different depictions,but they are both
certainly depicting somethingout of the ordinary.
And while the meaning of boththose paintings
is certainly subjective,this next part is not.
As time rolls on into the 1700s.
The Spanish hit the shores of Big Surand, according to local tradition,
(04:04):
it doesn't take long beforeSpanish explorers and missionaries
start telling tales of tall, dark figuressilently observing from ridgelines.
The “LosVigilantes Oscuros”, the Dark Watchers.
And while these mountains are carefullycultivating their ominous reputation
over the years,we get to 1937, when poet Robinson Jeffers
(04:28):
publishes a collection of poemscalled “Such Counsels You Gave to Me”,
which includes a poem of the same namedescribing the watchers as “...forms
that look human to human eyes,but certainly are not human.”
His poem mentions a
watcher that seems to dissolve into shadowwhen approached.
(04:48):
A year later, John Steinbeck referencedthem in his short story “Flight.”
When the character Pepe fleesinto the Santa Lucia mountains.
His mother warns him, “Whenthou comest to the high mountains,
if thou seest any of the darkwatching men, Go not near them, nor
try to speak to them.” Later, Pepe spotsa black figure, but quickly looks away.
(05:11):
Smart kid.
And as it turns out, John Steinbeck knew
a little something,something about the watchers.
According to John’sson, Thomas Steinbeck, his grandmother -
so John's mom, Olive Hamilton - wasn'tjust familiar with the Dark Watchers.
She actively interacted with them.
Olive, a practical womanwho only believed in things she could see,
(05:35):
was a schoolteacher in Big Sur
and would see the watchersas she passed through Mule Deer Canyon.
So she left offerings of fruitand nuts and flowers in a shaded alcove.
And sometimes there'd be flowersin that same spot, on her way back home.
In 2014, Thomas Steinbeck and artistBenjamin Brode
published “In Search of the DarkWatchers,” interviewing locals
(05:58):
who claimed firsthand encountersdocumenting this ongoing phenomena.
And to say they're ongoingdoesn't even quite cover it.
Probably the mostwell known account comes from the 1960s.
A former high school principalfrom Monterey Peninsula is hiking
in the Santa Lucia mountains when he spotsa dark figure in a hat and cape
(06:21):
standing motionless on a rock, surveyingthe wilderness in front of him.
When the guy calls out to who he thinksare his fellow hikers,
the figure vanishes without a trace.
Reddit user Jbouser shares a storyfrom the 1980s, when they’re camping in
Big Sur and sees figures wrapped in blackwith unusual pointed ears.
(06:42):
On January24th, 2015, around 2:00 in the afternoon,
Joey from Sylmar, California,
is running along a trailwhen he happens to look up into an area
that can only be reachedwith climbing gear to see
a figure that he describesas darker than dark.
The best part of this encounter?
Exactly one year to the day later,
(07:04):
he's running the same trailand sees the same figure.
One posterby the name of Kick Boy Face, of
Moreno Valley, talksabout how many years ago he's out
with a friend around Alessandrochecking out some abandoned barns.
His friend's car, an oldbeat up VW bug, breaks down.
It's getting dark,so the two have no choice
(07:26):
but to hang out in the car until morning,when they can go and get a tow.
As the two guys kill time in the darkwith stupid conversation and cigarettes,
they notice motionless, dark shadowsall the way around the car.
The figures look like they'rehunched over, maybe kneeling,
and look to be about as big as the car.
(07:48):
The two guys get in and out of the carand walk around a little, trying
to figure out if what they are seeingis an optical illusion or something.
But the shadows never move untilthey fade away in the morning daylight.
Then there's Lee Brennan of Ramona.
He's flying south in his twinengine Beechcraft about 20 miles
(08:08):
north of Vandenberg Air Force Base,just after sunset.
He glances toward the Santa Lucia range
and sees seven large, dark figures,
spaced evenlyabout a quarter of a mile apart.
And the list goes on and on.
If you want to read moreof these encounters,
check outDarkWatching.com and WeirdCA.com.
(08:30):
I'll put links to both in the description.
And unlike many paranormal reports, DarkWatcher sightings often involve
multiple witnesses, including peoplewho had no prior knowledge of the legend.
These aren't just wide eyed believersseeing what they want to see.
They're ordinary people who walk awayfrom these encounters profoundly
(08:52):
unsettled, convinced they've experienced
something beyond conventional explanation.
So what exactly are people seeingwhen they report encounters
with the Dark Watchers?
Well, the theories range all the wayfrom the science lab to the seance table.
So let's start with what I thinkis a very plausible solution
(09:14):
to at least some of these sightings.
The Brocken spectre- an optical phenomenon
named after Brocken Mountain in Germany,where it was first documented.
Basically, when the sun is low,your shadow gets projected onto mist
or fog, creating a giant silhouettethat appears to loom on distant fog banks.
(09:34):
The Santa Lucia mountainsare like a Brocken spectre factory
- coastal fog,dramatic elevations, gorgeous sunsets.
Perfect for creating giant shadow peoplethat vanish
as the sun sets or the fog moves on.
However,there's a little hole in this theory.
Brocken spectres typically comewith a rainbow like halo called a glory,
(09:58):
which I've never seen mentionedin one single Dark Watcher encounter.
Plus,many sightings happen when conditions
aren't rightfor this particular phenomena.
Not to mention, it's your shadow.
So it moves when you move.
I saw one encounterwhere the witness talked about the watcher
mimicking his movements.
(10:19):
It's a perfect example of wherethe Brocken spectre might be the answer.
But usually the witness is in motion,like hiking or something.
Unlike the often motionless Dark Watchers.
Then there's good old pareidolia,
our brains tendency to see faces in humanforms, in random objects.
That's why we see Elvis in a potato chipor a face on Mars.
(10:43):
Throw in some spooky folklore, mistyconditions, and the power of suggestion.
And suddenly that weirdly shapedtree in the ridge becomes a cloak figure,
watching your every move.
Another theory is infrasound.
The geography of the SantaLucia mountains, with wind tunneling
through canyons and waves crashingbelow, could be the right conditions
(11:05):
for generating infrasound, which are soundwaves below our hearing range.
Studiesshow infrasound can trigger anxiety,
unease, and possibly visual distortions.
Your brain literally startsplaying tricks on you.
It's not necessarily prevalentin the encounters I highlighted,
but most dark watcher experiencesdo come with a heavy sense of dread.
(11:31):
Also, I feel I would be remiss
if I didn't mention the theory of hypoxia,or altitude sickness.
Some people mentionthat this is a possible reason
that people are seeing strange thingswhen they are climbing the Santa Lucia's.
But hypoxia usually doesn'tbecome an issue
until you start climbing above the 8000ftrange.
The tallest peak in the SantaLucia range is only 5000ft.
(11:55):
While it's possiblethat some people could be affected
at lower altitudes,the majority of people are not.
And many of these sightingstake place at or near sea level.
Taking a slightly less scientific path.
Some local cultural interpretations viewthe watchers as spiritual guardians
of the land.
Ancient protectors observingthose who pass through their territory.
(12:18):
The Spanish settlers viewed themas pretty much the same way, as either
benevolent sentinelsor ominous harbingers.
And while the watcherscertainly look the part,
my question is…guarding what?
they're guarding the land, you would thinkthat at some point we would have
an encounter story where the watcherbecame actively menacing in some way.
(12:40):
But we don't.
Now, there is a rumorthat says that the reason you should not
even look at them is because if you do,you will never be seen again.
So that leads me to believethat if the watchers are guardians
and no one has ever been outwardlythreatened by them, that those they catch
doing bad things must be in the groupof people who are never heard from again.
(13:04):
Except that according to David Paulides’sMissing 411 cluster map, the Santa
Lucia mountains are not even a blipon the missing persons radar.
So if they're guardians,maybe they're not very good at it.
Kevin.
But then again, maybe they're notguardians as much as just observers.
Okay. But where do they come from?
(13:25):
The interdimensional theory suggeststhese entities exist alongside
our reality, but only become visibleat certain times, like twilight,
when the boundary between worldssupposedly thins.
This would explain their tendencyto appear at dawn
and duskand their ability to vanish instantly.
But following that logic,we would be seeing them in more places.
(13:50):
The Santa Lucia mountains are certainlynot the only place in the world
where the veil between dimensionsseems thin.
Maybe we are.
Newsflash.
The Dark Watchers of California aren'tthe only mountain top jockeys on the
planet.
Across the globe, mountain rangeshave spawned eerily similar legends.
The Irish have their fae folkguarding their sacred sites.
(14:11):
And the Norwegians have their trolls.
The Himalayas have Yakshas,which are nature
spirits guarding the sacredpeaks of the mountains.
But the one I think isthe most interesting
is hanging out in Scotland's Cairngorms.
The Am Fear Liath Mòr,
or “Big Grey Man” of Ben Macdui.
Just like our Californian shadow specters.
(14:34):
This entity is described as an unnaturallytall humanoid with a knack for appearing
in fog and creating overwhelming dreadin those who encounter it.
In 1925, J.
Norman Collie, a respected professor andmember of the Royal Geographical Society,
stood up at a meetingand dropped a bombshell
(14:55):
about his experienceon Ben Macdui in 1891.
I began to think I heard something else
than merely the noise of my own footsteps.
Every few steps I took, I heard a crunch.
Then another crunch,as if someone was walking after me.
But taking steps 3 or 4 timesthe length of my own.
(15:17):
As I walked on and the eerie crunch crunchsounded behind me.
I was seized with terrorand I took to my heels,
staggering blindlyamong the boulders for 4 or 5 miles.
And this guy was no schlub.
After laying the groundworkfor the modern neon light
as an organic chemistry professorat University College London,
(15:40):
he was part of the first Himalayanexpedition to even attempt
to summit an 8,000 meter mountain,which is over 26,000ft.
They didn't make it and losthalf their party to an avalanche.
Now, this happenedafter his experience at Ben Macdui,
but I think it showsthe guy has fortitude.
(16:01):
After Collie’s confessionabout his Ben Macdui encounter,
other climbers came forwardwith similar stories.
Hugh D.
Welsh admitted thatwhile hiking with his brother in 1904,
they heard “slurring footsteps” and felt“frequently conscious of something
near us.” Alexander Tewnionhad probably the most dramatic encounter
in 1943, claiming “a strange shapeloomed up” and charged at him.
(16:27):
He fired three shotsfrom his revolver at the figure.
And when that didn't stop it,he fled down the mountain in terror.
Sounds familiar?
Both the Dark Watchersand the Grey Man are tall, shadowy figures
that appear in misty conditionsat high elevations.
Both createintense feelings of being watched,
both often vanish or evadewhen confronted, and both
(16:50):
have been reportedby credible witnesses for generations.
But wait, there's more.
In Welsh mythology lurksthe Brenin Llwyd, The Grey King
who haunts the misty peaks of Snowdoniain northern Wales.
But while the Scottish and Californiaversions generally keep their distance,
the Brenin Llwyd is said to, in certainversions of the folklore,
(17:13):
actively try to lead travelers astray.
So just a public service announcementto watch yourself
on any future Snowdonia expeditions.
Some researcherssuggest these mountain entities represent
a universal human responseto the combination of isolation,
reduced visibilityand imposing landscapes.
(17:35):
Perhaps our ancestral survival instinctstrigger
false positives when we're alonein potentially dangerous terrain,
causing us to sense watchful presenceseven when none exist.
Others favora more spiritual interpretation.
That mountains, as boundariesbetween earth and sky,
(17:55):
naturally attract or generate phenomenathat exist at the edges of perception.
In this view, the DarkWatchers, the Grey Man, and the Grey King
might all be called interpretationsof the same underlying reality.
Different namesfor the same mysterious sentinels.
The scientific explanations for all threephenomena are nearly identical:
(18:18):
Brocken spectres, pareidolia,
infrasound,and psychological responses to isolation.
Call me crazy, but
I just don't think these explanationsquite cover everything that is going on
in all these witness accountsacross continents and centuries.
Now, you might think that in our ageof Instagram filters and TikTok
(18:42):
challenges, mysterious
mountain sentinels would be relegatedto dusty folklore books.
Think again.
The Dark Watchers are having quitethe cultural renaissance.
In recent years, local tours of Big
Sur often highlight Dark Watcher lore.
Guides take eager visitorsto spots known for sightings, particularly
(19:02):
during twilight hours when encountersare supposedly most likely.
The warnings from Steinbeck's “Flight”still circulate.
Don't stare too long.
Don't approach.
Don't attempt communication.
And some locals continue Olive Hamilton'spractice of leaving small offerings.
Modern sightings continue to followthe same patterns reported for centuries
(19:25):
- tall figures, range tops,twilight hours, disappearing in a flash.
Meanwhile, scientists haven't given upon trying to crack the case.
Researchersstudying meteorology, optical physics
and environmental psychologyhave been examining the specific
atmospheric conditionsof the Santa Lucia range.
(19:46):
But what keeps this mystery aliveis precisely
its resistance to definitive explanation.
When satellitescan map every inch of the planet,
and your smartphone can instantly answeralmost any question.
These elusive figuresremain refreshingly analog.
Experienced rather than explained.
(20:06):
Felt rather than photographed.
So we're left with a delicious mystery,one that bridges centuries and continents.
Science and folklore.
Psychology and the supernatural.
The dark monsters challengeour certainty about reality itself.
Maybe we don't know as much as we thinkwe do.
These Dark Watchers remind usthat no matter how far our technology
(20:30):
has come, there remain cornersof our world that stubbornly
and brazenly defy the experts.
And now for the question that's probablybeen nagging at you since we started.
If you visit the Santa Lucia mountains,will you see them?
There's only one way to find out.
Just remember,if you glimpse a tall figure
(20:53):
watching from a distant ridge,as the light fades, don't stare too long.
And maybe leave asmall offering before you go.
It's nice to know thateven in our high tech world of satellites
and smartphones, we've still gota few good mysteries kicking around.
I mean, who doesn't get that thrillwhen fog rolls in
(21:16):
and suddenly familiar landscapesturn disturbingly unfamiliar?
Now, if I actually saw a Dark Watcher, I'dprobably set
a new trail speed recordgetting back to my car.
If you're in the mood for more shadowyentities that have haunted humans
for centuries,check out this video on Shadow People.
(21:38):
But warning,you may not be able to sleep tonight.
Be careful out there and I will see youhere again on The InBetween.
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