Haunted Places

 Tours and Events

          in the

   San Francisco    

      Bay Area

Petaluma Downtown Walking Tours: Offered on Saturdays and the 1^st and 3^rd Sunday, May through October, this tour includes historic buildings, gardens, streets, and bridges. Led by costumed docents, this is an entertaining and efficient way for ghost hunters, with limited time in town, to learn of local history, legends and lore that points to where ghosts may be found. Adults $20.00. Contact: Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, 707-778-4398. www.petalumamuseum.com.

Annual Petaluma Cemetery Walk: Petaluma’s early history and some of its ghosts are revealed in this annual October event. Established in 1871, Calvary Cemetery has all the elements for a chilling brush with spirits. Costumed re-enactors, representing the town’s pioneers, will tell you about local history and where the bodies are buried. This is a good orientation for ghost hunters who want to return to this location later for a serious investigation of paranormal phenomena. No fee. Contact: Petaluma Historical Museum, 707-778-4398. www.petalumamuseum.com.

Annual Ghost Walk in Clayton: Held only once a year on Halloween, this entertaining walk is hosted by historian Richard Taylor. He points out the best spots for seeing ghosts and tells some fascinating stories about in this historic village.Tours starts at8:00 PM at Endeavor Hall in Clayton. Contact: Richard Taylor,925-672-6171.

Vampire Tour of San Francisco: If you are into the macabre history ofSan Francisco, this tour is for you. Mina Harker guides visitors on a two-hour nighttime adventure that combines Nob Hill history of the rich, famous, and infamous, with vampire fantasy. Friday and Saturday nights at8:00 PM. Meet at the corner ofCalifornia and Taylor Streets,San Francisco. Adults $19.00. Contact: 650-279-1840 or 866-4-BITTEN.   

Benicia Ghost Walk: Staged on Fridays during the months of October, this tour takes visitors to several nineteenth century buildings in this historic town.Benicia.707-745-9791.

Haunted Haight: This award-winning, two-hour walking tour takes visitors to the core of the Hippie Movement of the 1960s. The tour passes more than 150 Victorian homes, where ghostly activity and macabre history have been recorded, and ends at a haunted pub. $20.00 includes guideline book and map. Meet at1206 Masonic Avenue (Coffee to the People café),San Francisco. 415-863-1416.

San Francisco Ghost Hunt: This is foremost ghost tour in the San Francisco Bay Area. Led by the incomparable Jim Fassbinder, the haunted history of the City by the Bay is described by a master story teller and magician. The tour starts at the famous Queen Anne Hotel and winds through the spooky back streets still haunted by Flora Sommerton and Mary Ellen Pleasant. San Francisco. Adults $20.00.  Meet at the Queen Anne Hotel, 1590 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Every night except Tuesday at 7:00 PM. 415-922-5590 . E-mail sfghost@yahoo.com. www.sfghosthunt.com.

Ghost Walk at San Francisco City Hall: Offered only in October, this tour reveals the bizarre history and sites of ghostly activity in and around the city hall and civic center. Stories about disinterred remains from the former cemetery now covered by the civic center and assignations and told by knowledgeable tour guides. Meets at South Light Court (Polk Street) entrance to San Francisco City Hall. Free for groups of 9 or less. 415-557-4266 or e-mail: tours@sfcityguides.org.

Stories from a Silent City: A Cemetery History Walk: From 1852 to the 1940s, San Francisco’s largest cemeteries once occupied ground now covered by modern structures in the Laurel Hill, Jordan Park, and Lone Mountain areas.  Tours guides will tell fascinating stories of grave removal and ghostly activity may be the result of bodies that were left behind as the city grew over undetected burial plots. Meet at the southwest corner of Euclid and Collins Streets in San Francisco. Offered only in May and October. Free for groups of 9 or less. 415-557-4266 or e-mail: tours@sfcityguides.org.

Ghost Walk at the Palace: Focusing on the fabled Palace Hotel, this tour recounts stories of gunshots in the hallways, the deaths of kings and presidents, and tragic romances that contribute to ghostly lore. Meet in the lobby, at the main entrance, of the Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco. Free for groups of 9 or less. 415-557-4266 or e-mail: tours@sfcityguides.org.  

San Francisco Maritime national Park: Take a self-guided tour through seven historic ships including the haunted 1886-vintage square rigger Balclutha and the ferryboat Eureka . Docked at the foot of Hyde Street in San Francisco, this floating museum offer ghost hunters a great opportunity to spend several hours aboard historic vessels that still harbor the ghosts of their crews and passengers. $5.00 fee allows entry for seven days.  415-447-5000.

USS Hornet Tour:  Docked in Alamedas, this historic fighting ship is a popular destination of paranormal enthusiasts and has been featured on several TV shows. Visitors may take a self-guided tour through several areas including the hangar deck, flight deck, officer’s country, crew berthing areas, galley, sick bay, and pilot ready rooms. Guided tours are conducted on the bridge, engine room, and combat information center. Adult, $12.00, children (5-17), $6.00. 707 West Hornet Avenue, Alameda. 4510-521-8448. www.uss-hornet.org.

Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary Tour: Now a U.S. National Park, Alcatraz Island Penitentiary operated from 1934 to 1963. Known as “the rock,” it housed notorious criminals that included Al Capone and the Birdman Robert Stroud. Guided tours take visitors to the cells once occupied by famous inmates, to solitary confine, the laundry, and other buildings that date from the Civil War. Featured on several TV shows as a haunted place, ghost hunters will have opportunities to take photographs and attempt to capture electronic voice phenomena recordings.  Day and night tours are offered.  $26.00 (day), $33.00 (night). Pier 33, Hornblower Alcatraz Landing, San Fransciso. 415-981-7625. www.alcatrazcruises.com.

Winchester Mystery House Tours: Guided tours of the great house built by Sarah Winchester, at the direction of spirits, offer visitors an opportunity to see the famous séance room and sixty other rooms constructed over a period of 39 years. The Behind the Scenes Tour includes the mansion’s basement which is haunted by the ghost of a workman. One Fridays the Thirteenth, lights inside the mansion are extinguished and tours are conducted by flashlight, adding to the mysterious atmosphere of this haunted house. $26.00 for adults; $20.00 for children (6-12). 525 South Wincghester Blvd., San Jose. 408-247-2101. www.winchestermysteryhouse.com.

1906 Earthquake and Fire Tour: Visit the scene of the most devastating earthquake of the twentieth century California. Roam the streets south of Market Street while you hear tales of horror and misery, then escape to the safety of Union Square only to encounter the fire that consumed much of San Francisco. Tours are conducted June through September, on first and third Mondays, at 10:00 AM. Meet at the benches between 555 and 525 Market Street, San Francisco. Guide: Kathy Martin. Free for groups of 9 of less. 415-557-4266. e-mail: tours@sfcityguides.org.

1906: Presidio and Earthquake Tour: This walking tour conducts visitors to several historic, Civil War-era buildings and other venues that played a prominent role in training troops before deployment to the battlefields of WWI and WWII. Included in this tour are locations that served as temporary housing for 200,000 San Franciscan’s displaced by the destructive earthquake of 1906. Offered June through September on Friday and Saturdays at 1:00 PM. Meet at the Officer’s Club at the Presidio, San Francisco. Free for groups of 9 of less. 415-557-4266. e-mail: tours@sfguides.org.

San Francisco’s Barbary Coast Trail Tour: See the plaza where Sam Brannan shouted the news that gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. Walk the streets that over-lay the remains of hundreds of Gold Rush-era ships that were abandoned by their crews. Visit a saloon where sailors were once “shanghaied” into service. Tours by appointment. $22.00. 415-454-2355. e-mail: info@barbarycoasttrail.org.

China Town Ghost Tour: This tour San Francisco’s famous China Town brings to life tales of a supernatural past and present. Chinese legends, myths, and modern-day appearances of ancient spirits make this one of the popular tours in the city. 731 Grant Avenue, San Francisco. $16.00 to $24.00. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM. 415-793-1183, 1-877-887-3373. www.sfchinatownghosttours.com.