Haunted Pacheco Pass
Blood Alley seems to have several spirits on it's stretch of road. On the old Bolsa Road there's a story of a headless figure wandering aimless off the side of the road. It's said the ghost is that of a man who was in a car accident and was decapitated and now he is searching for his missing head. Another story is as you are driving towards San Juan Baustista, right after you pass the mission you drive through a small grove of trees and on your left you will see an outcropping of rocks. Sometimes late at night it's said the ghostly spectre of a woman can be seen there. Apparently her fiance was killed in an accident on this stretch of road, and despondent, she put on her wedding dress and went to the scene of the accident and climbed the rocks and jumped to her death. Unfortunately for whatever reason she did not join her beloved in the afterlife and she wanders the road looking for him to this day.
Other miscelaneous sightings include a woman searching for her child, but when you approach her for help she disappears. Witnesses have also claimed to hear the sound of a stage coach and the sound of horses but never see the source of the sounds.
There have also been reports by numerous witnesses of seeing a man in a black robe standing on the side of the highway usually between Casa De Fruta and Bell's Station. Written reports of seeing the figure go back at least several decades and the figure was always seen late at night or early in the morning before sunrise. It's theorized that the figure could be that of a Fransican Monk given the type of garb the witnesses describe seeing him in.
Another story I came across is that of young Indian girl that fell in love with one of the local monks who helped find the San Juan Baustista mission. They had a secret meeting place on a hill besides Fremonts Peak. But once the local townspeople found out about this illicit affair, the preist was excommunicated from the church and the girl was banished from her tribe. The priest went to their spot to find his beloved so they could finally be together. But when he arrived there he found her dead. Distraut, he killed himself. It's said you can see them both on the hill to this day. Whether this monk is the same spirit that was mentioned previously is unknown.
And what haunted highway would be complete without a phantom hitchhiker? Claims of a young girl wearing jeans and a plaid shirt asking for a ride from truck drivers have been reported. The girl would approach a truck with a driver in it and ask for a ride. When the driver said yes, she would walk towards the front of the truck as she was heading towards the passenger side. The driver would wait for the passenger door to open, but it never would. When they would get out of the truck to look for her, she was no where to be found. It's said that this woman is the ghost of a hitchhiker that was accidently killed by a semi-truck years ago.
And because ghosts aren't enough apparently for Blood Alley, there have been sightings of a half human half birdlike creature standing in the middle of the road. Strange lights have also been reported along the pass that have no known explanation.
So next time you are taking a trip to the bay area (or maybe Gilroy for the garlic festival) and see a person on the side of the road, double check that they are actually there. Because there's a good chance you just saw one of the many ghosts of Blood Alley.
Comments
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Now, San Juan Bautista is another tale
http://sluggosghoststories.blogspot.com/2009/03/screaming-woman-of-highway-152.html
On pacheco's pass, my then boyfriend and I witnessed enormous wings over my car.
It was around 3 am., we were heading home, on route to SC from Fresno. It was a clear, winter's night of 2008. No other drivers were on the road at all.
I was driving past the water resevoir when we noticed these wings of something flying over my car as we were driving through the pass. They were white and of feathers. The span was as wide as my car.
This is a true story. I am not crazy, or a drug user.
If anyone has heard of any such creatures flying over cars like this I would like to hear about it.
I also saw exactly the same thing back in the early nineties and I believe it was in the same spot, probably around the same time of night. There was only one other car ahead of me and I noticed the 'wings' descend in front of it, then swoop back upwards just before the car went through them. It then did the same to my car. I couldn't think of any logical explanation for what it could be but I know it wasn't actually any kind of bird - it was too large, luminescent and lacking in solid form. I'm sure it wasn't a cloud or fog either - it moved too quickly and with apparent intentionality. It was only after I mentioned this incident to a friend that I heard that Pacheco Pass is renowned for its bloody past and frequent reports of hauntings! I believe you!! Sharon
I grew up in San Jose and later moved to Los Banos to raise my children . At that time I was a tow truck driver in Los Banos, and that required driving on Pacheco Pass daily.
I was coming back Gilroy one night, and coming up the pass I noticed 2 woman and a car on the lshoulder/small dirt pull out. I was trying to decifire if i should keep going or stop and help. Being a tow truck driver we know that we are not aloud to stop for anyone unless we have a call for said vehicle. Granite I had built up some speed to get up that hill, so slamming on my brakes was not an option. Going against my will something didn't seem right, so I turned around and went back to offer assistance. They were still there until I pulled up next to them and the car. Next thing I know......Poof it all disappeared. Gone. I don't know if this is the same woman or who the other woman is, and where the car comes into play. It's weird and scary. But working the fatalities/accidents on that highway I don't doubt any sightings. I believe that spirits are around due to unfinished business,or such as a tragic accident. Simply they are trying to tell us something.
Jeff
My whole family and I were driving back from Fresno and it was getting dark. Out of no where, several cars on the road slam their breaks and we witnessed these lights hovering over us. It was this disk looking object. It was pretty big and it seemed as if time stopped as not only us started at it but the cars around us did too. The object suddenly ZONED so fast toward and disappeared behind a mountain. My mom wanted to make sure she wasn't crazy so she made my siblings and I draw pictures of the lights and object we saw.
My mom has told me stories about a girl she went to school with that committed suicide off of Devil's mountain or some call Lover's Leap. They apparently only found parts of her 3 weeks later.
battle. Grandma called it Indian rock. My family had homesteaded property in the 1800s where the reservoir is now. our family name was Harper and the ranch was in "Harper Valley" I don't really know where Grandma
came up with the history but she had a lot of knowledge of that place.
I blew it off saying it was probably just a huge white owl... But now I'm wondering if it was the half human half bird the article mentions?! Freaky!
We were returning to Salinas from Modesto, probably wee hours of the morning and we both saw thing incredible white wing span almost as of it was going to land on my windshield.. All I saw were the huge white wings.. I thought it must have been an overgrown white owl? But now I wonder if it was this half human half bird the article mentions?! Freaky!
I only saw something ONCE about a year ago. Shortly after passing Casa de Fruta heading east, I saw 3 moving lights above me. Unusual moving patterns. Freaked me the hell out. Not so much under the category of ghosts, but maybe UFOs? Either way, Pacheco Pass is creepy.
Thanks GW Williams
www.gwwilliamsacousticmusicministry.com
The white lady is on the old 101 which used to go down the Main Street of San Juan.
Yes, there are ghosts everywhere. But you have to put them on the roads of the time period, like the Don Pacheco Inn.
The first Blood Alley I knew of was down in King City when 101 curved around and went down the Main Street.
A few minutes later my friend says "That's weird, there's a guy wearing a black cloak in that valley over there."
This sent chills down my spine and I asked him to describe exactly what he just saw. He said it was a "human-like" figure but the limbs were oddly long and lanky and he couldn't make out a face.
My first reaction was laughter, I thought he had been listening to me saying the pass was haunted and was messing with me. When I saw how confused he was I realized that he wasn't kidding at all.
I pulled up some of the stories online and sure enough others have seen the same black hooded figure along the road. We were all very freaked out, especially the guy who saw the figure. He has no interest in anything paranormal and definitely was not on the lookout for mysterious things that evening.
I know that seeing a human shaped figure doesn't seem that out of the ordinary, it could just be a person, right? The thing is there's no explanation as to why a person would be wandering around in the hills and valleys near the pass. There is nothing nearby. No houses, walking trials or anything else that could explain seeing a person in the hills.
So one day my cousin who lived in Los Banos and I lived in prunedale at the time, my cousin would travel to prunedale and salinas back and forth weekly. One day she called me crying and crying sobbing she called me around 2 or 3 am. She was sober btw driving back to Los Banos. I said what happened cousin is everything ok it sounded like something bad happened. Now my cousin has a gift a spiritual gift. She is not a medium or witch. But a believer in Jesus and God blessed her with a Gift you can say. Not always the things youll see are sweet and beautiful. Mind you I dont know any history at this time of that area though i lived in californa all my life. She said I saw what looked like people killing each other on the side of the highway dressed like in the olden days. I saw them fighting and killing each other she then described she what looked a portal, if you dont know what a portal is its a way are circle usually that is pretty much a door to hell, and she saw demons dragging the bodies to hell she saw fire. It was so terrifying hearing that. But it was so detailed and undeniable. It was crazy! She kept crying. And crying we talked about it more. Not to come off as preachy but we went through some crazy things in life and dont want leave any of you in fear. What was nore trippy, because i believed my cousin without a doubt. I am a book reader, so i went to barnes and noble one day and happened to find a book on scary california theres a page there about pacheco pass and it was pretty much what my cousin saw but she saw it way more.
My point is this like i stated of above i dont want to come as preachy in a mean way because jesus loves you all. But we live in a world where the spiritual world is hidden from us. We only see the physical. But theres a whole other world that exists. Youll start to understand that that there are spirits fighting for your soul angels and demons. Angels are fighting for you to know Jesus and demons are fighting for your soul to take you there to that place most dont believe. God only permits to see to an extent. But all of these things people see are not crazy at all. Most people just dont belive in these things. But dont be afraid Christ holds all things together and he has all authority! Now everything makes sense as to why i would feel sad druving through there i would feel like crying. The feelings i would get are so sad. But as soon as you pass you feel different. And thats why theres a portal there
An enormous whitish or pale skinned, animal jumped in front of my windshield, In real life, I should have had an collision as it was inches upon my windshield. I felt nor heard, no impact. It flew from drivers side where I sat, over left. I thought it must have been a very powerful mountain lion, jumping across the roadway. It was huger, then what I know CA Mountain lions to be. More like the size of a Shetland pony, or perhaps a jungle lion.
I was grateful to not have an impact, and really thought that animal could jump. Perhaps it was a gigantic owl. All the same this creature was huge, powerful, fast, and thankfully I didn't hit it.
Perhaps it was an enormous bird. But never have I seen anything that huge, nor fast in the sky, night or day. Thankfully we made no physical contact. It would have been ugly!
I too was told the story of the "Lovers Leap" mountain by my grandmother. Her version had it an Indian woman jumped off the mountain to her death in the 1800's when her fellow Indian lover was killed in some kind of confrontation with men traveling Mr. Firebaughs toll road. (Pacheco Pass)