Mass murder and shadowy figures along the road — SLO County has its own ghostly history

Reports of shadowy figures alongside rural roads on a foggy night, moaning or flashing lights inside or outside an old building, moving chairs and cold spots in the 200-year-old sala at Mission San Miguel are all a part of what I call the “Ghostly History of the Central Coast.”

Liz and I had just moved into our first home here in 1971 when I heard about the mysterious figure that tries to flag down drivers on foggy nights just below the cemetery on Los Osos Valley Road. The story was popular with coffee drinkers at Carlock’s Bakery. I was there for the pastry and missed an opportunity to get the real story.

A few weeks later, we attended a dinner at This Old House Steakhouse and Barbecue. During the Second World War, the one-time-home became a house of prostitution catering to the needs of the troops from Camp San Luis on Foothill near the O’Connor Road entrance to the camp. One of the managers told us about the ghost of Utah-born John Vittey who was trapped in a fire on the second floor.

The wait staff blamed Vittey’s ethereal presence for all manner of accidents. Some even claimed to hear a rendition of “The Days of Wine and Roses” emitting from spaces where there were no speakers to be found.

Some of those stories even found their way onto the backside of the menus during the 1980s and 90s.

Gene Johe, whose family has lived near This Old House for four generations knows of only one person who died in the house, Attilio Guerra. Johe told The Tribune in 2006 that “My great-grandfather Eugene Johe built the house as a wedding present for Attilio, his son — I think that would make him my great uncle.”

Attilio may have died of a fever shortly after his marriage.

But Johe acknowledges that as early as the 1940s, “Things would move around, candles would blow out, that sort of thing.”

The “most atrocious of murders” in the history of San Luis Obispo County took place at Mission San Miguel. William Reed, an Englishman, purchased the mission in 1845 along with his partner, Petronilo Rios.

Reed, his wife and infant son, along with the wife, daughter and grandson of Martin Olivera, Reed’s infant brother-in-law, a young Native American, an older Native American and a servant, were brutally murdered at Mission San Miguel in December 1848.

Reed had asked for trouble. He had just delivered sheep to his father-in-law, General Mariano Vallejo, for resale to the miners. He boasted of having a large quantity of merchandise and money. He may even have suggested that he had either found or traded for a vast amount of gold.

Peter Raymond and Joseph Lynch and a multinational gang of brigands stopped by the mission. They had stolen gold in the Mother Lode and wanted to convert it into less identifiable currency. They sold 30 ounces of this gold to Reed for 30 dollars an ounce. According to a confession made by the murderers before they were executed in Santa Barbara, Reed boasted that “he had more gold than his boy could lift.”

Raymond struck Reed from behind with an ax. The gang killed the others with an ax, an old cutlass and a knife. One small child escaped by hiding.

The child later ran out into the high mustard weed and was found several days later, living only long enough to tell his rescuers what had occurred.

If ever there was a clear case for a ghostly presence, it’s at Mission San Miguel. During the 1980s, I went through the mission with a clairvoyant after getting permission from the Franciscan Guardian, my friend Father Reginald Gardiner.

Next week, I’ll tell you more about that adventure along with some stories by my late friends, San Miguel historian Wally Ohles and Paso Robles/La Panza historian Angus McLean.

▪ ▪ ▪

I’ll be speaking about “Ghosts of the Central Coast” at the Morro Bay Public Library at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20. Admission is free.

You should also save Saturday, Oct. 27, for a wondrously timeless event at Mission San Antonio, a Salinan Day Of the Dead ceremony and memorial mass at 1 p.m. presided over by Monterey Bishop Gerald Wilkerson with music by the St. Rose of Lima Choir conducted by the legendary John Warren.

My annual tour of the Old Mission Cemetery in San Luis Obispo will be at 4 p.m. at the Bridge Street gate to the cemetery on Halloween, Wednesday, Oct. 31. It lasts about 90 minutes and is free to the public.

This story was originally published October 13, 2018 at 11:09 AM.