BEN LOMOND — Don’t let your ears deceive you, San Lorenzo Valley hasn’t been infiltrated by wolves or seen an absurdly large resurgence in its coyote population in recent weeks. The nightly howls piercing through the fog and giant redwoods, and reverberating off the Santa Cruz Mountains to nearby towns aren’t just your neighborhood dogs, but their owners, too.

Each night at 8 p.m. since March 26 — six days before Santa Cruz County extended its shelter in place orders due to the spread of the deadly coronavirus — valley residents have emerged from their homes to let off steam. In doing so, they’re also bonding as a community, though others have ulterior motives, like supporting the frontline workers during this pandemic.

Aaoooooo, werewolves of Lomond. Aaoooooo, werewolves of Ben Lomond. The howls are equally loud in Felton and Boulder Creek, according to participants, and can be heard miles away. They’re doing it in Scotts Valley, too.

“It feels good,” said Nanci Ryker-Judd, a Felton resident who handles insurance for nonprofits. “It clears the lungs. It’s so cool. In the San Lorenzo Valley, the noise really bounces around. You can hear it in Bonny Doon, Ben Lomond, Lompico. You can hear it from all directions.”

Old and young alike are taking to their yards and letting their voice be heard.

As reported cases for COVID-19 continue to rise, and with the death total on the rise, the news had been one heavy storm to weather with no end in sight. But there have been several heart-warming stories of communal unity along the way: From the numerous windowsill singalongs, to New Yorkers banging pots and pans, to Louisiana trombone players jamming on neighboring porches. And now the howling. Americans are reminding each other that we’re in this battle together.

“The first time I did it and someone howled back, I started crying,” Ryker-Judd said. “It was emotional. It feels like this is bringing us all together.”

Ryker-Judd’s said her neighbor, a senior citizen, also gets in the act.

“It’s absolutely perfect,” Ryker-Judd said. “People have reported the coyotes have howled back. It’s really something.”

Coloradans Shelsea Ochoa and Brice Maiurro started the Facebook group “Go Outside and Howl at 8 p.m.” on March 27. As of midnight Thursday, it had accumulated 492,080 members — and the valley can attest, plenty of participants.

“We can’t necessarily see the people we want to see or hug the people we want to hug, but we can reach out to people through this,” Ochoa told The Denver Post.

Some of the Facebook page members have posted that they’re howling as a tribute to those who’ve lost their lives.

“It’s a shout-out to essential workers,” Ryker-Judd said, “but everyone seems to have their own agenda.”

Kristi Walters, a hair stylist in Felton, said she checks all the boxes when it comes to reasons for howling. Among them, it’s fun. She is often joined by husband, who yells, and their two daughters, Kaila and Kenedi.

“We’re doing this to reach out and let people know we can do this together,” she said. “It gives us something to look forward to. We go out, howl, listen, giggle, do it again, then you hear your neighbors, you howl a couple more times and then go back in.”

Some nights the participation is greater and howling is louder. Several valley residents said nothing topped the showing on Tuesday, when a pink supermoon played peek-a-boo from behind a thin layer of clouds.

But even the bad nights are pretty entertaining.

“It’s loud,” Kristi Walters said. “It’s getting to be well known. It’s pretty cool.”

Not everyone is on Facebook though. Former San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney, who lives in the hills in Ben Lomond, said he first heard it Monday while taking out trash.

“A lot of my neighbors are doing the 8 p.m. howl-a-thon,” he said. “It’s a mixture of home owners and dogs. Some of them have a good set of lungs.”

Nedney couldn’t tell if he could hear howling from other towns, but vowed to pay closer attention.

“I have three or four neighbors who are all pretty loud,” he said. “I couldn’t hear beyond them.”

Doug Morris, a English teacher at San Lorenzo Valley High, has been howling with his wife, their son and his girlfriend and their daughter and her boyfriend each night.

“It’s really a beautiful communal thing,” Morris said. “I can’t think of anything as relevant, in terms of community, as this howling. It’s like, ‘I’m here!’ And I love that it starts at 8.”

Morris said the significance of COVID-19 and shelter in place may be lost on many young children, but they’ll always remember going outside with their family and barking at the moon for a few minutes.

“We’re all cooped up and just letting it out for a little bit,” Morris said. “How cool is that?”

GET INVOLVED

Go Outside and Howl at 8 p.m.

What: Let your neighbors know you still have a pulse, you’re doing well, and support the frontline of healthcare workers during COVID-19

When: Each night, 8 p.m.