Haunted Bay Area: Haunted Houses, Ghost Walks and Spooky Sites
10 Bay Area places with famous ghost stories, from haunted mansions to a lakeside ghost walk and a hike to a pioneer cemetery. Each entry links to at least two sources.
These are legends and reported experiences, not proven facts. Check each site for hours and tour availability before you go.
Winchester Mystery House
San Jose
Sarah Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, kept building this sprawling Victorian mansion for decades until her death in 1922. Legend says she built it to confuse the spirits of people killed by Winchester rifles. Staircases lead to ceilings and doors open onto walls. The house runs tours themed on its reported paranormal activity.
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Alcatraz Island
San Francisco
Former guards and visitors to the old federal penitentiary have reported cries, strange noises and sudden chills. The stories focus on D Block, where the solitary-confinement cells were.
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Stow Lake (Blue Heron Lake), Golden Gate Park
San Francisco
This is a ghost walk, not a haunted house. According to the legend, a mother in a white dress walks the lakeside paths at night asking passersby whether they have seen her baby, which was lost in the lake.
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The Presidio and the Presidio Officers' Club
San Francisco
The former Army post has cemeteries and once had a large Army hospital. People report hearing shuffling footsteps and voices. A lady in a black dress has reportedly been seen in the Officers' Club.
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Queen Anne Hotel
San Francisco
This 1890s Victorian hotel began as Miss Mary Lake's School for Girls. Guests say the headmistress still haunts the building, especially the fourth floor and room 410, where her office was.
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Westin St. Francis
San Francisco
Entertainer Al Jolson died in this Union Square hotel during a poker game in 1950. Some say he never left. Stories also tie the ghosts of John Barrymore and Fatty Arbuckle to the hotel.
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Whittier Mansion
San Francisco
Railroad and shipping magnate William Franklin Whittier built this 1896 mansion at 2090 Jackson St. It survived the 1906 earthquake. Residents have described shadowy figures they believe are Whittier, who died in 1917, or members of his household.
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Moss Beach Distillery
Moss Beach
This clifftop restaurant on the San Mateo coast was a Prohibition-era hot spot. It is famous for the "Blue Lady," a ghost said to search for her lover, a piano player at the distillery. The restaurant tells the legend itself.
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Rose Hill Cemetery, Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Antioch
This is a hike to a pioneer cemetery from the area's old coal-mining towns. Children who died in epidemics and miners killed in disasters are buried here. Legend says a "White Witch" floats among the tombstones.
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USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum
Alameda
This World War II aircraft carrier is now a museum. Visitors and crew report objects moving and ghostly sailors walking the decks. The museum runs after-hours "History Mystery" tours of its paranormal hot spots.
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