There are many reportedly haunted locations in San Francisco, California . According to ghost hunters, over 100 sites in the San Francisco Bay Area are reported to be haunted. [1]
There are many reportedly haunted locations in San Francisco, California . According to ghost hunters, over 100 sites in the San Francisco Bay Area are reported to be haunted. [1]
Manrow’s House, was built in 1851 by J.P. Marrow, a successful civil engineer and also a judge advocate of a vigilance committee with high reputation in the city. He reported paranormal activities at his house in the form of “visitations, table tapping, rapping and so forth”. These accounts were published in newspapers of San Francisco. [2]
The Neptune Society Columbarium, at One Loraine Court, was originally part of the Odd Fellows Cemetery.
Room 410 at the Queen Anne Hotel is said to be haunted by the namesake of the Miss Mary Lake's School for Girls. [3]
Room 207 at the Hotel Union Square is said to be haunted. [4]
Alcatraz Island and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary are rumored to be haunted. The Huffington Post included it in a Halloween article list of "spooky places". [5]
Over 1000 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, resulting in claims of it being haunted. [6]
According to ghost hunters, Greenwood Mansion, between Napa and American Canyon, is reputedly haunted by its former owner John Greenwood and his wife who were murdered there in 1891. [7]
The ground of an old village where the Spanish forces had killed many Patwin is part of Rockville Hills Regional Park. Local people reported seeing a “partial apparition of Chief Solano” [8]
Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce set ghost stories in San Francisco in the 19th century. The ghost incidents narrated are of the 1850s to 1950’s set here are in the genre of stories, journalistic articles or based on investigations into the incidents. Some of the references have been sourced to books in the San Francisco Public Library, books such as “Haunted Houses of California” and the story of San Francisco Art Institute by Antoinette May, the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" by Rose Robinson, and “Foot Steps in the Fog : Alfred Hitchcocks San Francisco” authored by Jeff Craft and Aaron Leventhol. [9]
Alcatraz Island is a small island 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military prison. In 1934, the island was converted into a federal prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The strong currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, and the prison became one of the most notorious in American history. The prison closed in 1963, and the island is now a major tourist attraction.
The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. The house became a tourist attraction nine months after Winchester's death in 1922. The Victorian and Gothic style mansion is renowned for its size and its architectural curiosities.
A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.
A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.
Point Blank is a 1967 American crime film directed by John Boorman, starring Lee Marvin, co-starring Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn and Carroll O'Connor, and adapted from the 1963 crime noir pulp novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark. Boorman directed the film at Marvin's request and Marvin played a central role in the film's development. The film grossed over 9 million dollars at the box-office in 1967, and has since gone on to become a cult classic, eliciting praise from such critics as film historian David Thomson.
Paranormal television is a genre of reality television that purports to document factual investigations of the paranormal rather than fictional representations seen in traditional narrative films and TV. Over the years, the genre has grown to be a staple of television and even changed the programing focus of networks like the History Channel and the Travel Channel. By highlighting beliefs in topics ranging from Bigfoot to aliens, paranormal television continues to elevate popular interest in the paranormal.
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of electronic devices, including EMF meters, digital thermometers, both handheld and static digital video cameras, including thermographic and night vision cameras, night vision goggles, as well as digital audio recorders. Other more traditional techniques are also used, such as conducting interviews and researching the history of allegedly haunted sites. Ghost hunters may also refer to themselves as paranormal investigators.
Alcatraz Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse—the first one built on the U.S. West Coast—located on Alcatraz Island in California's San Francisco Bay. It is located at the southern end of the island near the entrance to the prison. The first light house on the island was completed in 1854, and served the bay during its time as a Citadel and military prison. It was replaced by a taller concrete tower built in 1909 to the south of the original one which was demolished after it was damaged due to earthquake in 1906. The automation of the lighthouse with a modern beacon took place in 1963, the year Alcatraz closed as the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. It is the oldest light station on the island with a modern beacon and is part of the museum on the island. Although when viewed from afar it easily looks the tallest structure on Alcatraz, it is actually shorter than the Alcatraz Water Tower, but as it lies on higher ground it looks much taller.
Jeff Belanger is an American author who focuses on the paranormal. He hosts the Emmy-nominated series New England Legends and co-hosts, with Ray Auger, the New England Legends podcast. He is a writer and researcher for Ghost Adventures and has appeared on several episodes. Paranormal researcher Ben Radford calls Belanger a "ghost storyteller" rather than a "ghost investigator." In 2021, Belanger published a book about his experience reaching the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.
The following are reportedly haunted locations in California, in the United States. This list is sorted by county.
Rosemary Ellen Guiley was an American writer on topics related to spirituality, the occult, and the paranormal. She was also a radio show host, a certified hypnotist, a board director of the "National Museum of Mysteries and Research" and the "Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters", and a "Lifetime Achievement Award" winner from the Upper Peninsula Paranormal Research Society, Michigan. She has written more than 49 books, including ten encyclopedias. She is also known as a suspected CIA operative.
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz or The Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The site of a fort since the 1850s, the main prison building was built in 1910–12 as a U.S. Army military prison.
Alcatraz Hospital is a defunct hospital which was located on Alcatraz Island, California, US. It began operations in the 19th century while the United States Army operated Fort Alcatraz and continued to provide services after the transition to the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Though Alcatraz is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the hospital is not included on the general tour.
Alcatraz Wharf is located on the southeast side of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, California, US. Classified as building number 33 of the Alcatraz Island National Historic Landmark, its historic name variants were "Alcatraz Dock" and "Alcatraz Pier". It is the main access point to Alcatraz. Another dock on the island's northwest side was only used for rock loading. The wharf contained many of the islands historic buildings, including Building 64, the Bombproof Barracks, Chinatown, Ranger Office, Garage, Dock Tower, Storage Vault, and Firebox #3.
The Vollmer House is a historic house built between 1876 and 1885, and located in the Japantown area in San Francisco, California. The house is known for its outstanding decorative details on the exterior.