Mysterious, Human-Shaped Dark ‘Dark Watchers’ Have Been Scaring People for Centuries Now at California’s Big Sur
Some mysteries in our environment remain unsolved for hundreds of years. One such enchanting mystery is of the 'Dark Watchers,' stated Medium. As per accounts shared by people who have traveled through the Central Coast of California region over the last few centuries, these mysterious figures originate from a rough mountain range.
'Dark Watchers' are supposedly human-shaped silhouettes who reportedly stare at the hikers passing through these ranges. As per accounts, these creatures are around 10 feet in size, and typically appear during the afternoon, just when the day is transitioning into night. It seems as if these creatures sport big cloaks along with wide-brimmed hats. The clothing makes these supposed creatures appear taller to the spectators. Some have claimed that these beings rest their body weight on an item like a walking stick.
To date, there have been no reports of these figures injuring anybody in the Santa Lucia Mountains, stated Atlas Obscura. "They don’t really do anything," said Jason Offutt, author of Chasing American Monsters: 250 Creatures, Cryptids, and Hairy Beasts. "They just stand and watch, and if people stare at them long enough or try to approach them, they will fade out of existence." There have been claims that these figures appear only to those hikers traveling with low-tech gear.
'Dark Watchers' have not only captured the imagination of local people, but also some famous ones. The most prominent one being the author John Steinbeck who having grown up in nearby Salinas, was possibly aware of the lore behind these creatures. He mentioned these figures in a short story titled Flight. Later, his own son went on to write a full-fledged book about Dark Watchers. Another fictional appearance happened in Robinson Jeffers' Such Counsels You Gave To Me and Other Poems.
Accounts regarding these creatures date back 300 years, stated Live Science. In the 1700s, when the Spanish arrived in the region they labelled these figures Vigilantes Oscuros, meaning dark watchers. Later, when Anglo-Americans arrived, they also mentioned seeing such figures. Several speculations have been made regarding these Dark Watchers. Some think that they could be a consequence of pareidolia. It is a psychological condition where people imagine meaningful patterns in random images.
People seeing muppet faces on moon, is an example of it. In reality, the moon is in its normal state, but people are imagining the muppet face on it, out of expectation or some other factors. People supporting this theory believe that long shadows gracing the region during late afternoon, possibly give the mind the fodder it needs to conjure up the Dark Watchers.
Another theory is that the hikers in the spot are essentially watching their own shadows, stated Atlas Obscura. Meteorologist Jan Null at the Bay Area’s Golden Gate Weather Services explained that when the sun sets behind an individual, and if mist is present in the environment, it will distort their shadow. The distorted shadows could be huge and would disappear even with slight changes. These kinds of shadows align with what has been shared about Dark Watchers.