Ghost Bears of San Luis Obispo

This regional pin is on OK MAP because Visit SLO CAL highlights an unusually early written account from 1812 in which Father Antonio Martinez recorded a local belief that some people who died in the San Luis Obispo area transformed into bears living in nearby mountains. The article presents the account as an early ghost story while noting its historical missionary perspective. It is a cultural-history record, not evidence of supernatural animals.

What ODDKNOWN records

This regional pin is on OK MAP because Visit SLO CAL highlights an unusually early written account from 1812 in which Father Antonio Martinez recorded a local belief that some people who died in the San Luis Obispo area transformed into bears living in nearby mountains. The article presents the account as an early ghost story while noting its historical missionary perspective. It is a cultural-history record, not evidence of supernatural animals.

Source classification: documented · Status: folklore.

Sources & references

1. Visit SLO CAL — The Ghosts of SLO CAL