The Phantom Border Patrol Agent
Probably the most famous alleged haunting in Southern San Diego County took place on Otay Mountain, where border patrol agents reported seeing the ghost of Luis Santiago, an agent who fell to his death on patrol. After a smuggler died at the same spot where Santiago had fallen, Santiago's ghost was never seen again. Agents on patrol there believe that his spirit was at rest, having taken revenge on the man who murdered him.
These incidents were recorded by Rocky Elmore, a retired border patrol agent, in his book, Out on Foot: Nightly Patrols and Ghostly Tales of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent.
It's worth noting that the Kumeyaay people regard Otay Mountain as a forbidden place, and avoid setting foot on it.
These incidents were recorded by Rocky Elmore, a retired border patrol agent, in his book, Out on Foot: Nightly Patrols and Ghostly Tales of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent.
It's worth noting that the Kumeyaay people regard Otay Mountain as a forbidden place, and avoid setting foot on it.
Haunted High
I've received several inquiries about the claim that local charter school High Tech High Chula Vista is built on a Kumeyaay burial ground.
Before I go any further, a point of clarification: the precolumbian Kumeyaay people did not normally bury their dead, they cremated them. You can read about this in more detail on the website of the San Diego Archeological Center, here.
Having said that, the original high school is built on top of an Archaic-era Kumayaay cremation site. In order to minimize disruption to this sacred place, the building was constructed in modular sections off-site and assembled with minimal disruption to the land and its ecological systems. You can read more about this process from the American Institute of Architects, here.
Despite this sensitivity, some students and staff have experienced paranormal activity including unexplained reflections in windows, strange sounds at night (most commonly a "knocking" on the trap doors in certain offices) and, most disturbingly, a tendency for sacred Kumeyaay symbols to appear in artwork created by students at the school (for more on Kumeyaay symbols, see the work of Don Liponi). It is unclear whether the symbols are appearing spontaneously, or if they are being painted by the students themselves.
If the students themselves are inadvertantly adding these symbols to their work, it raises serious questions about how else the unquiet spirits of the Kumeyaay may be exerting unseen influence on them.
Before I go any further, a point of clarification: the precolumbian Kumeyaay people did not normally bury their dead, they cremated them. You can read about this in more detail on the website of the San Diego Archeological Center, here.
Having said that, the original high school is built on top of an Archaic-era Kumayaay cremation site. In order to minimize disruption to this sacred place, the building was constructed in modular sections off-site and assembled with minimal disruption to the land and its ecological systems. You can read more about this process from the American Institute of Architects, here.
Despite this sensitivity, some students and staff have experienced paranormal activity including unexplained reflections in windows, strange sounds at night (most commonly a "knocking" on the trap doors in certain offices) and, most disturbingly, a tendency for sacred Kumeyaay symbols to appear in artwork created by students at the school (for more on Kumeyaay symbols, see the work of Don Liponi). It is unclear whether the symbols are appearing spontaneously, or if they are being painted by the students themselves.
If the students themselves are inadvertantly adding these symbols to their work, it raises serious questions about how else the unquiet spirits of the Kumeyaay may be exerting unseen influence on them.