One of the best things I love about writing this Cryptid series is learning something new every time. I love the unknown, reading stories and articles about the phantoms that haunt our land. 

This week in California, I expected to discover another Bigfoot-like creature. Instead, I uncover strange and mysterious figures called ‘Dark Watcher’s.’ Mysterious figures haunting the Santa Lucia Mountains.

The Dark Watchers lurk in the ancient Santa Lucia Mountains. These mountains start at Avila Beach and run through San Luis Obispo. Sightings of the elusive Dark Watchers continue to Monterey Bay.

Giant human-like phantoms are seen only at twilight. They stand silhouetted against the night sky along the ridges and peaks of the mountain range. People say these unusual beings stare off into the mountains’ open air. They were staring at nothing before vanishing into thin air. On occasion, right before the spectators’ eyes.

When you hear the name, Dark Watchers, the first thing that comes to mind is a B-rated horror film. Except these dark-clad mystery people are in stories told by the Chumash Indians. The Chumash even painted pictures of them on granite slabs in valley caverns. Chumash elders re-tell tales of this strange figure to their children.

The Chumash story followed the tribe when they settled near the Santa Barbara coast over 13,000 years ago. That’s a long time for a myth to survive. A story that continued with the Spanish settlers’ arrival and is still told into the present today.

Santa Lucia Mountains travels southeast from Carmel Bay to the Cuyama River in Monterey. This stretch of mountains follows this route about 140 miles. Santa Lucia got its name in 1602, by a Spanish explorer named Sebastian Vizcaino. The heavily wooded mountains have a scenic highway that follows the ocean west of Santa Lucia.

Early Spanish settlers reported seeing the baffling Dark Watchers. The sightings are always the same. Strange Black-clad figures in a black hat that stand motionless atop the Santa Lucia Mountains. Statues that were wearing a black cloak and hat, staring off into the distance. Man-like figures silhouetted by the sun’s fading light atop the Santa Lucia Mountains.

Talk about creepy.

Early Spanish settlers to the Central Coast dubbed them “Los Vigilantes Oscuros.” Translating to English is The Dark Watchers.

Dark statues stand stock still, highlighted by the sun’s last brilliant rays. You think it is a mirage, so you take a second look. Only this time, the mysterious, black-cloaked figure has vanished.

What are they looking for in the open sky standing on those ancient mountains?

The Dark Watcher presence is ominous, but they haven’t attacked anyone. In all the reports, they had no interaction with humans. Nature lovers report seeing them right before they disappear. 

What is fascinating is that the Santa Lucia Mountains aren’t the only sighting. Other states like Canada, Texas, and Alabama have reported dark clothed phantoms.

Even more titillating is one of Air Force finest saw seven of them in 2011. He was flying north of Vandenberg Air Force Base when he spotted these creepy guys. So, they are even lurking in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

Rational minds explain the silent vigilant as nothing more than hallucinations. That is their explanation, a centuries-old hallucination.

Others suggested “The Brocken Spectre” as a possibility. According to an article written by EarthSky, the Brocken Spectre is an optical illusion. The illusion happens when you climb a mountain while the sun is low and behind you. If you climb high enough to look down into a mist below you, you will see your own shadow. It will look as if your shadow is on the mist’s surface below, surrounded by a halo-like ring of light.

For the optical illusion to work, the sun must be behind you. That theory fits, as most of the reports state the sun is behind the mystery figure. 

Every viewer seeing the Dark Watchers while the sun is behind them? The sheer volume of sightings makes that theory suspicious. That many stories happening during sunset? It is impossible to have that many sightings fit the Brocken Spectre illusion.

Plus, your shadow is wearing a black coat and a black hat. That description isn’t part of the Brocken Spectre phenomenon. Every sighting always tells of the phantom figures wearing a black jacket and hat. That one detail never changes.

Whomever, the Dark Watchers, are, they captured the imagination of John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath author used them as inspiration for his short story, Flight. 

Poet, Robinson Jeffers, even wrote about the Dark Watchers in his poem, Such Counsels You Gave to Me. 

The most recent sighting was by a hiker from a Monterey Peninsula. He was also a former High School Principal and was hiking in the Santa Lucia Mountains. He spotted a dark figure in a cape and hat staring off in the distance. Sound familiar?

The startled man yelled out to the other hikers, but our creepy figure disappeared. This hiker had plenty of time to study our caped sculpture and noticed how strange he was acting. It was the unusual behavior that had our hiker calling to his partners. 

Too late, the sentinel vanished into thin air—an irritating habit for sure. 

If one day, you get bored. Drive up to the Santa Lucia Mountains and keep an eye out for the black-garbed sentinel. He will be keeping guard at the top with a blazing sun setting behind him.