For hundreds of years, people have looked at the smoky peaks of the Santa Lucia Mountains in California at sunset and seen tall, crowded figures standing behind them. Then, within moments, the creepy silhouettes disappear.
These twilight devices are referred to as dark watchers – shady, sometimes 10-foot tall (3 m) men laying in sister hats and caps. They appear mainly in the afternoon, and according to a recent article on it Sfgate.com, California visitors have seen them rudely on mountain ranges for more than 300 years.
Katie Dowd, managing editor of SFGate, wrote in the article, “When the Spanish reached the 1700s, they came to be known as Los Vigilantes Oscuros (literally” Dark Watchers “).” “And as Anglo-American immigrants began to make claims in the area, they too felt the sensation of being seen from the mountains.”
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One notable observer who noticed the presence of watchers was the American writer John Steinbeck. In his 1938 short story “Flight”, a character saw a black figure clinging to him from a nearby rajetop, “but he kept looking, as he was a dark observer,” Steinbeck wrote. “No one knew who the observers were, and where they lived, but it was better to ignore them and never show interest in them.” (This was a familial instinct; Steinbeck’s son, Thomas, co-authored a book on charcoal with the painter Benjamin Brode.)
So, who – or what – are the Dark Watchers?
One theory, according to Dowd, is that it is just a figment of the imagination of observers. In other words, it’s a classic case Paradox: A psychological phenomenon in which the observer’s brain detects patterns or significance in a vague or random image.
The phenomenon is what some people see Muppet faces on the moon, Or Visage Jesus burnt toast. In this case, the general shadows on the Santa Lucia hills can be interpreted by the viewer’s brain through tall, crowded figures (viewers appear late in the afternoon, while long shadows grace the hills, after all).
This pattern-finding effect can be amplified by the presence of fog or low-flying clouds, according to Dowd. The castle shadows against the clouds are responsible for another infamous illusion, known as the Broken Specter.
“German locals near Mount Herz have, for centuries, reported seeing obscure figures on the Brock Can peak,” Dover wrote. “In fact, the Broken Specter … occurs when shadows – like those of a hiker – are cast, especially on misty mountain peaks. . “
Spectral figures are usually surrounded by a rainbow-colored halo, created by sunlight cutting water droplets into fog or clouds, According to the BBC. While it is common in the Harz Mountains, where the fog is always at a low altitude, you can see the effect on the sun behind you and any misty mountain with clouds below you. Maybe you saw it yourself from the plane window; Moving between the sun and the clouds, the plane can cast rainbow-rimmed shadows on the clouds below that seem supernaturally large.
After all, it is possible that mountaineers in the mountains of the Santa Lucia Mountains are staring at their own shadows when only onlookers can see them. (Sorry, Steinbeck.)
Published on Original Living Science.
