Beneath the charm of cable cars and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge lies a darker side of San Francisco—a city brimming with ghostly tales and haunted landmarks. Indeed, San Francisco is a city of contrasts. Steeped in rich history yet teeming with stories of the supernatural, it is the paranormal hunter’s playground.
In this guide, we will be showing you the most haunted places to visit in San Francisco on a San Francisco ghost tour. Whether you’re planning a Halloween trip to the Baghdad of the Bay or just want a slight thrill at any time of the year, here are the best places to visit to see ghostly spirits.
Donaldina Cameron House
To understand the Donaldina Cameron House, now called simply the Cameron House, it’s imperative to understand the broader history of Chinatown in San Francisco.
San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in the nation. It was born out of the 1849 Gold Rush, when many Chinese immigrants flocked to San Francisco from across the ocean, seeking gold or better economic opportunities.
However, the Chinese immigrants in San Francisco were often treated quite poorly. They typically worked menial, hard labor jobs on the railroads or in the mines. There weren’t many opportunities for women, so Chinese males were overrepresented by a large margin among the total population of Chinese immigrants. Yet, they were excluded from society, which didn’t intermingle much with them.
This gave room for illegal sex trafficking of women, controlled by the Tongs – Chinese mafia gangs. Many Chinese women were trafficked to work in brothels or as sex slaves. Others were sold as brides and house slaves.
And that’s where the house comes into the picture. In 1876, the Presbyterian Women’s Occidental Board of Foreign Missions formed a safe house to provide shelter for women who were trafficked into abusive situations. In 1895, Donaldina Cameron joined the safe house, offering sewing lessons to the girls and eventually becoming the house director.
The home (rebuilt in 1908 after a fire two years prior) is considered haunted due to its unsettling history. Once a safe haven for girls fleeing sexual abuse and imprisonment, the house later became one where minors were preyed on by an infamous religious leader, Reverend “Dick” Wichman.
After the house ceased to be a safe house for ladies around 1930 due to the decrease in trafficking, it was turned into a language school and later a community center that offered many youth programs for Chinese-Americans, led by Grandpa Dick, as he was later called, from 1947 until 1977. Unfortunately, Grandpa Dick was a predator who preyed on young boys. By one count, there were over 40 victims; some say the number of victims was in the hundreds.
The abuse came to light in the 90s, and unfortunately, Papa Dick, as many in the community knew him by, was never prosecuted due to the statute of limitations having expired.
To this day, the house is shrouded in a dark, sinister, baleful energy, which is palpable from the moment you enter. It feels like a haunted motel, with a former victim comparing it to the Bates Motel in Psycho. It’s also believed that several women died in the basement during the fire that destroyed it in 1906 and that their ghosts continue to haunt the place.
The Pacific Union Club
The Pacific Union Club is a secretive gentleman’s club shrouded in mystery. Its members only talk about it positively but never give any details, always speaking on the condition of anonymity to the media.
The waiting list to be accepted as a member is years long—even decades. Club fees cost an insane amount of money (think $200,000 a year or something of that sort).
What exactly goes on in the club? Is it a secret society? Who are its members? What do they do? Who is allowed to be a member?
While a San Francisco ghost tour won’t be able to gain you access to the building, you will still learn a lot more about it and get to see the hideous mansion that houses the club.
Nob Hill Inn
The Nob Hill Inn is located on Nob Hill, which was inhabited after the Gold Rush. The iconic San Francisco cable car allowed residents to get up the hill. Many wealthy individuals settled there, but their grandiose mansions were devastated in the 1906 earthquake, during which an unascertained number of people died in the area.
Many believe that the ghosts that haunt the Nob Hill Inn belong to those unfortunates who perished in the deadly 1906 earthquake. Others, though, have posed the theory that the spirits are connected to the antiques in the building – the inn is full of unique, strange antiques, and it is believed that some of them are possessed by the souls of their former owners.
Twenty-two ghosts reside in this hotel, which has 21 rooms. Perhaps there are more ghosts now, as not all of them may have been accounted for.
According to San Francisco Ghosts, which runs ghost tours in the area, the ghosts are harmless. They’ve never hurt a soul, but they do sometimes irk visitors when making their presence known.
For example, they like to knock on doors, play with electrical devices, cause the lights to flicker on and off, and play with the showers. Some people have reported breezes in locked rooms.
The Curran Theatre
The Curran Theatre, which opened in 1922, is named after its first owner, Homer Curran. In its over 100 years of existence, hundreds of thousands of people have entered through its doors. None will be remembered as much as 25-year-old Hewlett Tarr, whose ghost haunts the Curran Theatre to this very day.
In the early 1930s, a love-smitten gangster known as “Eddie” wanted to impress his newest love obsession, but he was short on cash. Eddie decided to do what he always did when he was low on cash – hold up a few local shops and “borrow” some money from the cash registers.
Something went wrong when Eddie paid a “friendly visit” to the Curran Theatre, where Hewlett Tarr was working at the register. Perhaps Hewlett tried to fight Eddie, or perhaps the gun went off by accident, but one thing is certain: Hewlett got shot and died on the spot.
But the show must go on! The ghost of Hewlett is sometimes seen smiling in the theater’s mirrors, tipping his cap.
Of course, San Francisco isn’t the only haunted city in California. San Diego is another super haunted city, and I highly recommend going on a San Diego ghost tour to discover haunted places like the Horton Grand Hotel, the William Heath Davis House, and the Yuma Building.
Read More:
9 Best San Francisco Ghost Tours For The Bravest
The San Francisco to Big Sur Drive: 12 Stops You Can’t Miss!
7 Best San Francisco Boat Tours
Top 3 Big Sur Tours From San Francisco
180+ San Francisco Quotes & Captions For Your IG
12 Road Trips From San Francisco For Nature Escapes
