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"content": "\u003cp>They’ve been part of California mountain lore for centuries: featureless black figures, more than 7 feet tall, often wearing brimmed hats and long cloaks, who appear during dusk and dawn to silently observe the unfortunates who wander into their midst. They are called the Dark Watchers, and believers say they dwell in the Santa Lucia mountain range, unnervingly overlooking human activity in remote areas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Any discussion of the Dark Watchers — be it in books (like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Big-Book-of-California-Ghost-Stories/Janice-Oberding/Big-Book-of-Ghost-Stories/9781493058624\">The Big Book of California Ghost Stories\u003c/a>\u003c/em> by Janice Oberding) or on TV (see: the History Channel’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GxYs1u_ro&t=163s\">\u003cem>MonsterQuest: Origins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) — usually mentions that these mysterious figures were first named by California’s earliest Spanish settlers. Back then, witnesses apparently called the shadow people in the Big Sur wilderness “Los Vigilantes Oscuros.” Despite this frequently given history, source texts remain elusive. Today, it’s unclear where or how the Spaniards documented the vigilantes at all — perhaps the stories were passed down orally. Some sources say California’s Indigenous people believed in them, though there’s no clear record of that either.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the reason the lore of the Dark Watchers has survived to the present day is John Steinbeck. On the very first page of his 1952 classic \u003cem>East of Eden\u003c/em>, the Salinas-born author describes the Santa Lucia mountain range in Monterey County as a place of personal terror. He writes: “The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding — unfriendly and dangerous. I always found in myself a dread of the west.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In this passage, Steinbeck was continuing a narrative he’d begun 14 years earlier, in a grim little short story, \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, found in his 1938 collection \u003cem>The Long Valley\u003c/em>. \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> tells the story of Pepé Torres, a “gentle, affectionate … but very lazy” 19-year-old who flees into the Santa Lucia mountains after killing a man in Monterey. As his mother assists Pepé’s exit, she warns cryptically, “When thou comest to the high mountains, if thou seest any of the dark watching men, go not near to them nor try to speak to them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pepé does, inevitably, encounter those very men along his ill-fated journey. Steinbeck writes: “Pepé looked suspiciously back every minute or so, and his eyes sought the tops of the ridges ahead. Once, on a white barren spur, he saw a black figure for a moment; but he looked quickly away, for it was one of the dark watchers. No one knew who the watchers were, nor where they lived, but it was better to ignore them and never to show interest in them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another Dark Watcher appears in the story shortly afterwards as, “a dark form against the sky, a man’s figure standing on top of a rock … When a moment later [Pepé] looked up again, the figure was gone.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These mysterious figures are, in the course of \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, terrible omens — it doesn’t take long for Pepé to reach a tragic end. But the Dark Watchers were not entirely an invention of Steinbeck’s. A year before \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> was published, poet Robinson Jeffers — a lifelong Carmel resident — wrote in \u003cem>Such Counsels You Gave Me\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He thought it might be one of the watchers, who are often seen in this length of coast-range, forms that look human to human eyes, but certainly are not human. They come from behind ridges to watch.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1438\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book.png\" alt=\"A book cover featuring a painting of a tree-lined hillside at dusk, with a view of water on the horizon.\" class=\"wp-image-13991635\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-160x115.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-768x552.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-1536x1104.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur’ by Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode. (Steinbeck Press)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If John Steinbeck was the main reason the lore of the Dark Watchers stayed alive in the 20th century, it’s his son that has done so in the 21st. After publishing his 2014 book \u003cem>In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur\u003c/em> — a collaboration with fine artist Benjamin Brode — \u003ca href=\"https://www.studiobrode.com/news-and-reviews\">Thomas Steinbeck appeared on \u003cem>Simple Life\u003c/em> \u003cem>Radio\u003c/em>\u003c/a> with Cynthia Fernandes. In that 2015 interview, he stated:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They live in the misty hillsides of Big Sur … migratory beings, possessed of incredible hearing and impeccable eyesight. Like crows, they can sense the presence of gun oil and the smell of plastics and weatherproof coatings, therefore they are immune to high-tech detection and only reveal themselves to trekkers simply equipped with sticks and hats.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The younger Steinbeck continued: “I’ve gotten this from some of my father’s relatives, that since the time of the conquistadors, people just talked about being in the Big Sur and being watched by these creatures that they can’t quite see. My grandmother … swore that she traded with them. She’d leave them fruit and nuts in a very specific place and when she came back a couple of weeks later, there would be shells with holes drilled in them, decorated feathers, other things … They didn’t use fire, you could never find their camps, they were constantly on the move, and they’ve been there forever. And everybody talks about them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the oddest thing about Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode’s take on the Dark Watchers is that they both believe the forest-dwellers are actually small and gnome-like, not the towering creatures most commonly referenced when \u003ca href=\"https://www.darkwatching.com/stories\">reported sightings do occur\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brode added, “The thing about Big Sur is, you can get away from humans really, really easily. The habitat for the Dark Watchers is better than it was maybe 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And perhaps that’s at the core of all of this. Big Sur is intimidating, otherworldy, and awesome in the most traditional sense of the word. Because of that, it hasn’t just conjured stories of Dark Watchers over the years. Reports of \u003ca href=\"https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2022-03-11-hiker-thinks-they-found-proof-of-bigfoot-in-california/\">Bigfoot footprints\u003c/a> have been reported by \u003ca href=\"https://campchimp.com/blog/california/pfeiffer-big-sur-campgroundbigfoot-map\">multiple sources\u003c/a> as recently as November 2025. Reddit users have shared multiple Bigfoot sightings they said happened at Big Sur, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bigfoot/comments/l4k9zf/our_up_close_sighting_in_big_sur_california_1978/\">from 1978\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sasquatchchronicles.com/sc-ep515-i-shouldnt-be-alive/\">the late ’80s\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/31/trekking-californias-mysterious-bigfoot-trail/\">beyond\u003c/a>. Big Sur is also, infamously, the location where two air force employees claimed a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur_UFO\">UFO shot down a test missile\u003c/a>, using beams of light, in 1964.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could it be possible that these misty mountains just play tricks on the minds of humans? Might this legend have died without the Steinbecks? It’s impossible to know. But if you catch sight of a Dark Watcher on your next hike, rest assured that they won’t bother you. If they were willing to have such interactions, we might be more sure of their existence. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’ve been part of California mountain lore for centuries: featureless black figures, more than 7 feet tall, often wearing brimmed hats and long cloaks, who appear during dusk and dawn to silently observe the unfortunates who wander into their midst. They are called the Dark Watchers, and believers say they dwell in the Santa Lucia mountain range, unnervingly overlooking human activity in remote areas.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Any discussion of the Dark Watchers — be it in books (like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Big-Book-of-California-Ghost-Stories/Janice-Oberding/Big-Book-of-Ghost-Stories/9781493058624\">The Big Book of California Ghost Stories\u003c/a>\u003c/em> by Janice Oberding) or on TV (see: the History Channel’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GxYs1u_ro&t=163s\">\u003cem>MonsterQuest: Origins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) — usually mentions that these mysterious figures were first named by California’s earliest Spanish settlers. Back then, witnesses apparently called the shadow people in the Big Sur wilderness “Los Vigilantes Oscuros.” Despite this frequently given history, source texts remain elusive. Today, it’s unclear where or how the Spaniards documented the vigilantes at all — perhaps the stories were passed down orally. Some sources say California’s Indigenous people believed in them, though there’s no clear record of that either.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Any discussion of the Dark Watchers — be it in books (like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Big-Book-of-California-Ghost-Stories/Janice-Oberding/Big-Book-of-Ghost-Stories/9781493058624\">The Big Book of California Ghost Stories\u003c/a>\u003c/em> by Janice Oberding) or on TV (see: the History Channel’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GxYs1u_ro&t=163s\">\u003cem>MonsterQuest: Origins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) — usually mentions that these mysterious figures were first named by California’s earliest Spanish settlers. Back then, witnesses apparently called the shadow people in the Big Sur wilderness “Los Vigilantes Oscuros.” Despite this frequently given history, source texts remain elusive. Today, it’s unclear where or how the Spaniards documented the vigilantes at all — perhaps the stories were passed down orally. Some sources say California’s Indigenous people believed in them, though there’s no clear record of that either.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of the reason the lore of the Dark Watchers has survived to the present day is John Steinbeck. On the very first page of his 1952 classic \u003cem>East of Eden\u003c/em>, the Salinas-born author describes the Santa Lucia mountain range in Monterey County as a place of personal terror. He writes: “The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding — unfriendly and dangerous. I always found in myself a dread of the west.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Much of the reason the lore of the Dark Watchers has survived to the present day is John Steinbeck. On the very first page of his 1952 classic \u003cem>East of Eden\u003c/em>, the Salinas-born author describes the Santa Lucia mountain range in Monterey County as a place of personal terror. He writes: “The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding — unfriendly and dangerous. I always found in myself a dread of the west.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In this passage, Steinbeck was continuing a narrative he’d begun 14 years earlier, in a grim little short story, \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, found in his 1938 collection \u003cem>The Long Valley\u003c/em>. \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> tells the story of Pepé Torres, a “gentle, affectionate … but very lazy” 19-year-old who flees into the Santa Lucia mountains after killing a man in Monterey. As his mother assists Pepé’s exit, she warns cryptically, “When thou comest to the high mountains, if thou seest any of the dark watching men, go not near to them nor try to speak to them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pepé does, inevitably, encounter those very men along his ill-fated journey. Steinbeck writes: “Pepé looked suspiciously back every minute or so, and his eyes sought the tops of the ridges ahead. Once, on a white barren spur, he saw a black figure for a moment; but he looked quickly away, for it was one of the dark watchers. No one knew who the watchers were, nor where they lived, but it was better to ignore them and never to show interest in them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Pepé does, inevitably, encounter those very men along his ill-fated journey. Steinbeck writes: “Pepé looked suspiciously back every minute or so, and his eyes sought the tops of the ridges ahead. Once, on a white barren spur, he saw a black figure for a moment; but he looked quickly away, for it was one of the dark watchers. No one knew who the watchers were, nor where they lived, but it was better to ignore them and never to show interest in them.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another Dark Watcher appears in the story shortly afterwards as, “a dark form against the sky, a man’s figure standing on top of a rock … When a moment later [Pepé] looked up again, the figure was gone.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another Dark Watcher appears in the story shortly afterwards as, “a dark form against the sky, a man’s figure standing on top of a rock … When a moment later [Pepé] looked up again, the figure was gone.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These mysterious figures are, in the course of \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, terrible omens — it doesn’t take long for Pepé to reach a tragic end. But the Dark Watchers were not entirely an invention of Steinbeck’s. A year before \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> was published, poet Robinson Jeffers — a lifelong Carmel resident — wrote in \u003cem>Such Counsels You Gave Me\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These mysterious figures are, in the course of \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, terrible omens — it doesn’t take long for Pepé to reach a tragic end. But the Dark Watchers were not entirely an invention of Steinbeck’s. A year before \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> was published, poet Robinson Jeffers — a lifelong Carmel resident — wrote in \u003cem>Such Counsels You Gave Me\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He thought it might be one of the watchers, who are often seen in this length of coast-range, forms that look human to human eyes, but certainly are not human. They come from behind ridges to watch.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He thought it might be one of the watchers, who are often seen in this length of coast-range, forms that look human to human eyes, but certainly are not human. They come from behind ridges to watch.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book.png\" alt=\"A book cover featuring a painting of a tree-lined hillside at dusk, with a view of water on the horizon.\" class=\"wp-image-13991635\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-160x115.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-768x552.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-1536x1104.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur’ by Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If John Steinbeck was the main reason the lore of the Dark Watchers stayed alive in the 20th century, it’s his son that has done so in the 21st. After publishing his 2014 book \u003cem>In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur\u003c/em> — a collaboration with fine artist Benjamin Brode — \u003ca href=\"https://www.studiobrode.com/news-and-reviews\">Thomas Steinbeck appeared on \u003cem>Simple Life\u003c/em> \u003cem>Radio\u003c/em>\u003c/a> with Cynthia Fernandes. In that 2015 interview, he stated:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If John Steinbeck was the main reason the lore of the Dark Watchers stayed alive in the 20th century, it’s his son that has done so in the 21st. After publishing his 2014 book \u003cem>In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur\u003c/em> — a collaboration with fine artist Benjamin Brode — \u003ca href=\"https://www.studiobrode.com/news-and-reviews\">Thomas Steinbeck appeared on \u003cem>Simple Life\u003c/em> \u003cem>Radio\u003c/em>\u003c/a> with Cynthia Fernandes. In that 2015 interview, he stated:\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They live in the misty hillsides of Big Sur … migratory beings, possessed of incredible hearing and impeccable eyesight. Like crows, they can sense the presence of gun oil and the smell of plastics and weatherproof coatings, therefore they are immune to high-tech detection and only reveal themselves to trekkers simply equipped with sticks and hats.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They live in the misty hillsides of Big Sur … migratory beings, possessed of incredible hearing and impeccable eyesight. Like crows, they can sense the presence of gun oil and the smell of plastics and weatherproof coatings, therefore they are immune to high-tech detection and only reveal themselves to trekkers simply equipped with sticks and hats.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The younger Steinbeck continued: “I’ve gotten this from some of my father’s relatives, that since the time of the conquistadors, people just talked about being in the Big Sur and being watched by these creatures that they can’t quite see. My grandmother … swore that she traded with them. She’d leave them fruit and nuts in a very specific place and when she came back a couple of weeks later, there would be shells with holes drilled in them, decorated feathers, other things … They didn’t use fire, you could never find their camps, they were constantly on the move, and they’ve been there forever. And everybody talks about them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The younger Steinbeck continued: “I’ve gotten this from some of my father’s relatives, that since the time of the conquistadors, people just talked about being in the Big Sur and being watched by these creatures that they can’t quite see. My grandmother … swore that she traded with them. She’d leave them fruit and nuts in a very specific place and when she came back a couple of weeks later, there would be shells with holes drilled in them, decorated feathers, other things … They didn’t use fire, you could never find their camps, they were constantly on the move, and they’ve been there forever. And everybody talks about them.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps the oddest thing about Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode’s take on the Dark Watchers is that they both believe the forest-dwellers are actually small and gnome-like, not the towering creatures most commonly referenced when \u003ca href=\"https://www.darkwatching.com/stories\">reported sightings do occur\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Perhaps the oddest thing about Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode’s take on the Dark Watchers is that they both believe the forest-dwellers are actually small and gnome-like, not the towering creatures most commonly referenced when \u003ca href=\"https://www.darkwatching.com/stories\">reported sightings do occur\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brode added, “The thing about Big Sur is, you can get away from humans really, really easily. The habitat for the Dark Watchers is better than it was maybe 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brode added, “The thing about Big Sur is, you can get away from humans really, really easily. The habitat for the Dark Watchers is better than it was maybe 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And perhaps that’s at the core of all of this. Big Sur is intimidating, otherworldy, and awesome in the most traditional sense of the word. Because of that, it hasn’t just conjured stories of Dark Watchers over the years. Reports of \u003ca href=\"https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2022-03-11-hiker-thinks-they-found-proof-of-bigfoot-in-california/\">Bigfoot footprints\u003c/a> have been reported by \u003ca href=\"https://campchimp.com/blog/california/pfeiffer-big-sur-campgroundbigfoot-map\">multiple sources\u003c/a> as recently as November 2025. Reddit users have shared multiple Bigfoot sightings they said happened at Big Sur, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bigfoot/comments/l4k9zf/our_up_close_sighting_in_big_sur_california_1978/\">from 1978\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sasquatchchronicles.com/sc-ep515-i-shouldnt-be-alive/\">the late ’80s\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/31/trekking-californias-mysterious-bigfoot-trail/\">beyond\u003c/a>. Big Sur is also, infamously, the location where two air force employees claimed a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur_UFO\">UFO shot down a test missile\u003c/a>, using beams of light, in 1964.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And perhaps that’s at the core of all of this. Big Sur is intimidating, otherworldy, and awesome in the most traditional sense of the word. Because of that, it hasn’t just conjured stories of Dark Watchers over the years. Reports of \u003ca href=\"https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2022-03-11-hiker-thinks-they-found-proof-of-bigfoot-in-california/\">Bigfoot footprints\u003c/a> have been reported by \u003ca href=\"https://campchimp.com/blog/california/pfeiffer-big-sur-campgroundbigfoot-map\">multiple sources\u003c/a> as recently as November 2025. Reddit users have shared multiple Bigfoot sightings they said happened at Big Sur, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bigfoot/comments/l4k9zf/our_up_close_sighting_in_big_sur_california_1978/\">from 1978\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sasquatchchronicles.com/sc-ep515-i-shouldnt-be-alive/\">the late ’80s\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/31/trekking-californias-mysterious-bigfoot-trail/\">beyond\u003c/a>. Big Sur is also, infamously, the location where two air force employees claimed a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur_UFO\">UFO shot down a test missile\u003c/a>, using beams of light, in 1964.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Could it be possible that these misty mountains just play tricks on the minds of humans? Might this legend have died without the Steinbecks? It’s impossible to know. But if you catch sight of a Dark Watcher on your next hike, rest assured that they won’t bother you. If they were willing to have such interactions, we might be more sure of their existence. \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>They’ve been part of California mountain lore for centuries: featureless black figures, more than 7 feet tall, often wearing brimmed hats and long cloaks, who appear during dusk and dawn to silently observe the unfortunates who wander into their midst. They are called the Dark Watchers, and believers say they dwell in the Santa Lucia mountain range, unnervingly overlooking human activity in remote areas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Any discussion of the Dark Watchers — be it in books (like \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Big-Book-of-California-Ghost-Stories/Janice-Oberding/Big-Book-of-Ghost-Stories/9781493058624\">The Big Book of California Ghost Stories\u003c/a>\u003c/em> by Janice Oberding) or on TV (see: the History Channel’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GxYs1u_ro&t=163s\">\u003cem>MonsterQuest: Origins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) — usually mentions that these mysterious figures were first named by California’s earliest Spanish settlers. Back then, witnesses apparently called the shadow people in the Big Sur wilderness “Los Vigilantes Oscuros.” Despite this frequently given history, source texts remain elusive. Today, it’s unclear where or how the Spaniards documented the vigilantes at all — perhaps the stories were passed down orally. Some sources say California’s Indigenous people believed in them, though there’s no clear record of that either.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the reason the lore of the Dark Watchers has survived to the present day is John Steinbeck. On the very first page of his 1952 classic \u003cem>East of Eden\u003c/em>, the Salinas-born author describes the Santa Lucia mountain range in Monterey County as a place of personal terror. He writes: “The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding — unfriendly and dangerous. I always found in myself a dread of the west.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In this passage, Steinbeck was continuing a narrative he’d begun 14 years earlier, in a grim little short story, \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, found in his 1938 collection \u003cem>The Long Valley\u003c/em>. \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> tells the story of Pepé Torres, a “gentle, affectionate … but very lazy” 19-year-old who flees into the Santa Lucia mountains after killing a man in Monterey. As his mother assists Pepé’s exit, she warns cryptically, “When thou comest to the high mountains, if thou seest any of the dark watching men, go not near to them nor try to speak to them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pepé does, inevitably, encounter those very men along his ill-fated journey. Steinbeck writes: “Pepé looked suspiciously back every minute or so, and his eyes sought the tops of the ridges ahead. Once, on a white barren spur, he saw a black figure for a moment; but he looked quickly away, for it was one of the dark watchers. No one knew who the watchers were, nor where they lived, but it was better to ignore them and never to show interest in them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another Dark Watcher appears in the story shortly afterwards as, “a dark form against the sky, a man’s figure standing on top of a rock … When a moment later [Pepé] looked up again, the figure was gone.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These mysterious figures are, in the course of \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em>, terrible omens — it doesn’t take long for Pepé to reach a tragic end. But the Dark Watchers were not entirely an invention of Steinbeck’s. A year before \u003cem>Flight\u003c/em> was published, poet Robinson Jeffers — a lifelong Carmel resident — wrote in \u003cem>Such Counsels You Gave Me\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He thought it might be one of the watchers, who are often seen in this length of coast-range, forms that look human to human eyes, but certainly are not human. They come from behind ridges to watch.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1438\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book.png\" alt=\"A book cover featuring a painting of a tree-lined hillside at dusk, with a view of water on the horizon.\" class=\"wp-image-13991635\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-160x115.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-768x552.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/dark-watchers-book-1536x1104.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur’ by Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode. (Steinbeck Press)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If John Steinbeck was the main reason the lore of the Dark Watchers stayed alive in the 20th century, it’s his son that has done so in the 21st. After publishing his 2014 book \u003cem>In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur\u003c/em> — a collaboration with fine artist Benjamin Brode — \u003ca href=\"https://www.studiobrode.com/news-and-reviews\">Thomas Steinbeck appeared on \u003cem>Simple Life\u003c/em> \u003cem>Radio\u003c/em>\u003c/a> with Cynthia Fernandes. In that 2015 interview, he stated:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They live in the misty hillsides of Big Sur … migratory beings, possessed of incredible hearing and impeccable eyesight. Like crows, they can sense the presence of gun oil and the smell of plastics and weatherproof coatings, therefore they are immune to high-tech detection and only reveal themselves to trekkers simply equipped with sticks and hats.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The younger Steinbeck continued: “I’ve gotten this from some of my father’s relatives, that since the time of the conquistadors, people just talked about being in the Big Sur and being watched by these creatures that they can’t quite see. My grandmother … swore that she traded with them. She’d leave them fruit and nuts in a very specific place and when she came back a couple of weeks later, there would be shells with holes drilled in them, decorated feathers, other things … They didn’t use fire, you could never find their camps, they were constantly on the move, and they’ve been there forever. And everybody talks about them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the oddest thing about Thomas Steinbeck and Benjamin Brode’s take on the Dark Watchers is that they both believe the forest-dwellers are actually small and gnome-like, not the towering creatures most commonly referenced when \u003ca href=\"https://www.darkwatching.com/stories\">reported sightings do occur\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brode added, “The thing about Big Sur is, you can get away from humans really, really easily. The habitat for the Dark Watchers is better than it was maybe 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And perhaps that’s at the core of all of this. Big Sur is intimidating, otherworldy, and awesome in the most traditional sense of the word. Because of that, it hasn’t just conjured stories of Dark Watchers over the years. Reports of \u003ca href=\"https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2022-03-11-hiker-thinks-they-found-proof-of-bigfoot-in-california/\">Bigfoot footprints\u003c/a> have been reported by \u003ca href=\"https://campchimp.com/blog/california/pfeiffer-big-sur-campgroundbigfoot-map\">multiple sources\u003c/a> as recently as November 2025. Reddit users have shared multiple Bigfoot sightings they said happened at Big Sur, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bigfoot/comments/l4k9zf/our_up_close_sighting_in_big_sur_california_1978/\">from 1978\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sasquatchchronicles.com/sc-ep515-i-shouldnt-be-alive/\">the late ’80s\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/31/trekking-californias-mysterious-bigfoot-trail/\">beyond\u003c/a>. Big Sur is also, infamously, the location where two air force employees claimed a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur_UFO\">UFO shot down a test missile\u003c/a>, using beams of light, in 1964.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could it be possible that these misty mountains just play tricks on the minds of humans? Might this legend have died without the Steinbecks? It’s impossible to know. But if you catch sight of a Dark Watcher on your next hike, rest assured that they won’t bother you. If they were willing to have such interactions, we might be more sure of their existence. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>I can’t imagine.\u003c/em> I say these words, out loud, nearly every time I speak with a new mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a dad, I have a daughter who I did not carry for nine months, who I nurtured but did not nurse. I worried over her as a newborn, but it was usually an ambient worry and not one consuming every single cell in my body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experiencing joy untold from this baby, a joy whose intensity borders on the celestial? \u003cem>I can’t imagine\u003c/em>. Struggling to balance everything and sometimes losing your sense of self around this newborn? \u003cem>I can’t imagine\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After reading \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em>, a harrowing and realistic story of a new mother besieged by a postpartum depression exacerbated by a silent trauma from her Caribbean ancestry, I can say that I can at least \u003cem>start\u003c/em> to imagine. That’s because, across the novel’s 304 pages, author Eirinie Carson writes with razor-sharp emotional detail and frighteningly authentic inner monologue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13985338']In \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em>, Sofia is a new mother whose Blackness is never too far from her mind — or those of her white neighbors in her wealthy enclave of the North Bay. She has escaped her own mother’s Jehovah’s Witness zealotry, found love in New York with an earnest and well-intentioned young white man, Emil, and dove headfirst into a Bay Area life of wedded and maternal bliss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except, as any mother can tell you, it’s not all bliss. Even before Emil, an assistant film director, leaves for a three-week shoot, Sofia is filled with worry and distrust. After he’s gone, Sofia eyes even her closest friend with suspicion, begins to venomously detest her condescending mother-in-law, and descends slowly into psychosis — alone, unkempt and unsure of her surroundings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her estranged mother keeps calling. Sofia keeps ignoring the calls. And the shadowy figures that loom in the periphery of the house don’t help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real-life source of Carson’s stunning descriptions of motherhood may not be hard to pinpoint; Carson wrote the book shortly after giving birth to her firstborn. Like Sofia, Carson is also the eldest daughter in a long lineage of eldest daughters, lives as a Black mother in a North Bay city whose Black population is almost nonexistent, and has a husband whose work takes him out of town for weeks or months at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13985631']Beyond that, I won’t guess how much of the book is autobiographical. What I can tell you is that it \u003cem>feels\u003c/em> very alive and real, just as much as Carson’s previous work, \u003cem>The Dead Are Gods\u003c/em> — an engrossing, award-winning memoir about a chaotic-in-the-best-way friend who copilots Carson in and around the London club scene of the 2000s, and of the consuming grief after her unexpected death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One more thing: do not miss the book’s final climax. If, like me, you read it while dizzy and delirious on a few hours’ sleep, it hits even harder. (Upon finishing the final sentence, I literally laughed out loud.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I expect \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em> to be marketed to mothers, as catharsis, as a book that skillfully puts into words what most new mothers don’t have the language for. But it should be prescribed to new fathers, too. As hard as rearing a newborn was for me — my wife and I worked opposite shifts, each of us alone with the baby for 8 hours — I knew it had to be harder for her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With compelling precision, \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em> makes me feel even more certain of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Bloodfire, Baby’ is \u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/778164/bloodfire-baby-by-eirinie-carson/\">out now through Dutton\u003c/a>. Eirinie Carson appears at several book readings in the Bay Area, including Feb. 17 at Marcus Books in Oakland, Feb. 20 at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma, and Feb. 24 at the Writer’s Grotto in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUBey6rgbX9/?hl=en\">Details on events here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>I can’t imagine.\u003c/em> I say these words, out loud, nearly every time I speak with a new mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a dad, I have a daughter who I did not carry for nine months, who I nurtured but did not nurse. I worried over her as a newborn, but it was usually an ambient worry and not one consuming every single cell in my body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experiencing joy untold from this baby, a joy whose intensity borders on the celestial? \u003cem>I can’t imagine\u003c/em>. Struggling to balance everything and sometimes losing your sense of self around this newborn? \u003cem>I can’t imagine\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After reading \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em>, a harrowing and realistic story of a new mother besieged by a postpartum depression exacerbated by a silent trauma from her Caribbean ancestry, I can say that I can at least \u003cem>start\u003c/em> to imagine. That’s because, across the novel’s 304 pages, author Eirinie Carson writes with razor-sharp emotional detail and frighteningly authentic inner monologue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except, as any mother can tell you, it’s not all bliss. Even before Emil, an assistant film director, leaves for a three-week shoot, Sofia is filled with worry and distrust. After he’s gone, Sofia eyes even her closest friend with suspicion, begins to venomously detest her condescending mother-in-law, and descends slowly into psychosis — alone, unkempt and unsure of her surroundings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her estranged mother keeps calling. Sofia keeps ignoring the calls. And the shadowy figures that loom in the periphery of the house don’t help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real-life source of Carson’s stunning descriptions of motherhood may not be hard to pinpoint; Carson wrote the book shortly after giving birth to her firstborn. Like Sofia, Carson is also the eldest daughter in a long lineage of eldest daughters, lives as a Black mother in a North Bay city whose Black population is almost nonexistent, and has a husband whose work takes him out of town for weeks or months at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Beyond that, I won’t guess how much of the book is autobiographical. What I can tell you is that it \u003cem>feels\u003c/em> very alive and real, just as much as Carson’s previous work, \u003cem>The Dead Are Gods\u003c/em> — an engrossing, award-winning memoir about a chaotic-in-the-best-way friend who copilots Carson in and around the London club scene of the 2000s, and of the consuming grief after her unexpected death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One more thing: do not miss the book’s final climax. If, like me, you read it while dizzy and delirious on a few hours’ sleep, it hits even harder. (Upon finishing the final sentence, I literally laughed out loud.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I expect \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em> to be marketed to mothers, as catharsis, as a book that skillfully puts into words what most new mothers don’t have the language for. But it should be prescribed to new fathers, too. As hard as rearing a newborn was for me — my wife and I worked opposite shifts, each of us alone with the baby for 8 hours — I knew it had to be harder for her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With compelling precision, \u003cem>Bloodfire, Baby\u003c/em> makes me feel even more certain of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Bloodfire, Baby’ is \u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/778164/bloodfire-baby-by-eirinie-carson/\">out now through Dutton\u003c/a>. Eirinie Carson appears at several book readings in the Bay Area, including Feb. 17 at Marcus Books in Oakland, Feb. 20 at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma, and Feb. 24 at the Writer’s Grotto in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUBey6rgbX9/?hl=en\">Details on events here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>This week, yet another restaurant boldly moved into 598 Guerrero St. in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, despite the Mission District location’s many years of proving how cursed it is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The owners of \u003ca href=\"https://www.handrollproject.com/\">Handroll Project\u003c/a>, the location’s most recent tenant, will reopen the restaurant as Hamburger Project Two — a second location for \u003ca href=\"https://www.hamburgerproject.com/\">the burger spot at 808 Divisadero\u003c/a>. Handroll Project took over the high-ceilinged space on the corner of 18th Street in 2022 and survived just over three years, having taken over from \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/als-deli-san-francisco\">AL’s Deli\u003c/a>, which soldiered on there for just eight months until March 2020. (At the time of that departure, owner \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/3/10/21173569/als-deli-aaron-london-mission-closed\">Aaron London told Eater\u003c/a>, “It just never really hit the mass appeal to make that model make sense.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13976828']Remarkably, AL’s Deli wasn’t even the shortest-lived restaurant to occupy 598 Guerrero. That honor belongs to \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/ebb-and-flow-san-francisco\">Ebb & Flow\u003c/a>, which lasted just six months in 2010. Before that, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/craigs-place-san-francisco\">Craig’s Place\u003c/a> served diner food between 2007 and 2008. The location’s longest restaurant success story was \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swCTYmTmq2U\">Izakaya Yuzuki\u003c/a>, which endured from 2011 to 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheer number of restaurants that have tried and failed to make this spot work belies good sense. Situated opposite \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/tartine\">Tartine\u003c/a>’s always bustling original location, and a short walk from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/delfina\">Delfina\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/bi-rite-market\">Bi-Rite\u003c/a> and other popular neighborhood spots, the repeated failures at 598 Guerrero have been perplexing. (Just a few doors down, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/fayes-san-francisco\">Faye’s\u003c/a> has been going strong since 1998.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Handroll Project was a usually busy sushi joint that I believed would break the spell. I wasn’t the first to think a restaurant could actually survive there. Writing about Izakaya Yuzuki for the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> in 2017, Chris Ying remained idealistic: “It turns out there are no cursed restaurants. It comes down to the right idea taking root, and, when something great begins to grow from it, diners nurturing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Izakaya Yuzuki was gone two years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what exactly \u003cem>is\u003c/em> wrong with 598 Guerrero? While claims of a curse have long been pooh-poohed by skeptics (and optimistic new tenants), the answer might be just as strange as rumored.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A paranormal property\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It turns out that, all the way back in 1889, 598 Guerrero was occupied by a “trance medium” and fortune teller by the name of Mrs. C. Mayo-Steers. Mayo-Steers held healing circles (“skeptics invited”), “psychometric readings,” “psychic delineations,” and claimed to provide “diagnosis of diseases.” For at least 15 years, Mayo-Steers operated out of locations all over San Francisco — Turk, Market, Oak, Grove, 24th and 17th Streets included — but 598 Guerrero was where she communed with spirits in daily “sittings,” at least for a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a member of the Progressive Mediums’ Society, Mayo-Steers was well known in Victorian San Francisco’s spookier society corners, once speaking at a meeting for Progressive Spiritualists in 1889 and appearing at the State Spiritualist Convention of 1896. In a 1903 edition of \u003cem>Now\u003c/em> — a journal “devoted to the science and art of soul culture” — the editor wrote that “among the Spiritualists, our friend … Mrs. C. Mayo-Steers [has] resumed work in the city. In work along New Thought and psychic lines, our city is wide awake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13919589']If in fact Mayo-Steers turned 598 Guerrero into a psychic hotspot, that could explain what happened there in 2022, shortly after Handroll Project moved in. At the time, Eater reported that staff members \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2022/10/17/23403425/handroll-project-san-francisco-haunted\">believed there was paranormal activity\u003c/a> at the restaurant. Lights were said to inexplicably flicker on and off, and containers seemed to fly across the room on their own volition. One employee even claimed to see a long-haired apparition in the basement break room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just too crazy,” restaurant partner Geoffrey Lee said at the time. “Customers have been saying the veil between the living and the dead is very thin right now because of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos and I’m like, ‘I’m not trying to hear that stuff.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some observers at the time attributed the paranormal activity to an incident in 2003, just three months after Central American bistro \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/platanos-san-francisco\">Platanos\u003c/a> had moved into 598 Guerrero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After leaving work late one night, Platanos’ executive chef Carlos Perez got into an altercation and died on Valencia near 22nd. The fight reportedly started over the volume of Perez’s car stereo. According to a report in the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> that February, police considered the death a result of self-defense. However, Platanos’ co-owner Lisa Lazarus told the newspaper, “I just saw him in the casket [and] this was not a guy hit with a couple of blows and then stopped breathing … He was beaten to death.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lazarus sold Platanos to a new owner, Pascal Rigo, in September 2005. Nine months later, the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em>’s Michael Bauer wrote: “The food has now taken an even more delectable turn, and customers are returning.” Within a year, Platanos was gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980643\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980643\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white photograph of a 1930s-era streetcar traveling along a residential street in San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1176\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero-160x94.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero-1536x903.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The corner of Guerrero and 18th in December 1939. On the left, out of frame, would be 958 Guerrero. The photographer probably left it out lest their camera burst into flames. \u003ccite>(OpenSFHistory/wnp14.1438)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Raided by federal agents\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So what was at 598 Guerrero between the psychic lady and the failed restaurants? Well, a speakeasy, for one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The building’s post-1906 earthquake iteration arrived in about 1909, when it appeared for sale in the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em>’s “City Real Estate” classifieds as a “clean, level lot 25 x 80” complete with “gas, water, sewer.” By 1920, the address was an entertainment venue under the proprietorship of a J. Hoegeman. That year, Hoegeman advertised the availability of a beverage at his joint called New Crow, marketed as “the California drink that makes YOU FORGET prohibition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13881990']Clearly, New Crow did not achieve its stated goal. On Sept. 29, 1922, 598 Guerrero was raided by federal prohibition agents who hit venues all over the Mission that night. The speakeasy was forcibly closed for violating alcohol laws, and its operators at the time, Peter Jacobs and Jack Warren — as well as building owner Ellen Boardman — were charged in abatement suits by Assistant United States Attorney Garton D. Keystone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after prohibition hammered 598 Guerrero’s doors closed, the building transformed into a pharmacy — Dunnigan’s in the ’20s and ’30s, and Mission Prescription Pharmacy in the ’50s and ’60s. In the 1970s, the location became a produce store that wound up listed for sale in the \u003cem>Examiner\u003c/em>’s “Business Offers” in 1982. It was, the ad noted, “priced to sell.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever happens to Hamburger Project Two, you have to admire the devil-may-care confidence to stay at 598 Guerrero. May the ghost of Mrs. C. Mayo-Steers enjoy smash burgers and loaded fries as much as the rest of us.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This week, yet another restaurant boldly moved into 598 Guerrero St. in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, despite the Mission District location’s many years of proving how cursed it is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The owners of \u003ca href=\"https://www.handrollproject.com/\">Handroll Project\u003c/a>, the location’s most recent tenant, will reopen the restaurant as Hamburger Project Two — a second location for \u003ca href=\"https://www.hamburgerproject.com/\">the burger spot at 808 Divisadero\u003c/a>. Handroll Project took over the high-ceilinged space on the corner of 18th Street in 2022 and survived just over three years, having taken over from \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/als-deli-san-francisco\">AL’s Deli\u003c/a>, which soldiered on there for just eight months until March 2020. (At the time of that departure, owner \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/3/10/21173569/als-deli-aaron-london-mission-closed\">Aaron London told Eater\u003c/a>, “It just never really hit the mass appeal to make that model make sense.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Remarkably, AL’s Deli wasn’t even the shortest-lived restaurant to occupy 598 Guerrero. That honor belongs to \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/ebb-and-flow-san-francisco\">Ebb & Flow\u003c/a>, which lasted just six months in 2010. Before that, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/craigs-place-san-francisco\">Craig’s Place\u003c/a> served diner food between 2007 and 2008. The location’s longest restaurant success story was \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swCTYmTmq2U\">Izakaya Yuzuki\u003c/a>, which endured from 2011 to 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheer number of restaurants that have tried and failed to make this spot work belies good sense. Situated opposite \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/tartine\">Tartine\u003c/a>’s always bustling original location, and a short walk from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/delfina\">Delfina\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/bi-rite-market\">Bi-Rite\u003c/a> and other popular neighborhood spots, the repeated failures at 598 Guerrero have been perplexing. (Just a few doors down, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/fayes-san-francisco\">Faye’s\u003c/a> has been going strong since 1998.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Handroll Project was a usually busy sushi joint that I believed would break the spell. I wasn’t the first to think a restaurant could actually survive there. Writing about Izakaya Yuzuki for the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> in 2017, Chris Ying remained idealistic: “It turns out there are no cursed restaurants. It comes down to the right idea taking root, and, when something great begins to grow from it, diners nurturing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Izakaya Yuzuki was gone two years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what exactly \u003cem>is\u003c/em> wrong with 598 Guerrero? While claims of a curse have long been pooh-poohed by skeptics (and optimistic new tenants), the answer might be just as strange as rumored.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A paranormal property\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It turns out that, all the way back in 1889, 598 Guerrero was occupied by a “trance medium” and fortune teller by the name of Mrs. C. Mayo-Steers. Mayo-Steers held healing circles (“skeptics invited”), “psychometric readings,” “psychic delineations,” and claimed to provide “diagnosis of diseases.” For at least 15 years, Mayo-Steers operated out of locations all over San Francisco — Turk, Market, Oak, Grove, 24th and 17th Streets included — but 598 Guerrero was where she communed with spirits in daily “sittings,” at least for a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a member of the Progressive Mediums’ Society, Mayo-Steers was well known in Victorian San Francisco’s spookier society corners, once speaking at a meeting for Progressive Spiritualists in 1889 and appearing at the State Spiritualist Convention of 1896. In a 1903 edition of \u003cem>Now\u003c/em> — a journal “devoted to the science and art of soul culture” — the editor wrote that “among the Spiritualists, our friend … Mrs. C. Mayo-Steers [has] resumed work in the city. In work along New Thought and psychic lines, our city is wide awake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If in fact Mayo-Steers turned 598 Guerrero into a psychic hotspot, that could explain what happened there in 2022, shortly after Handroll Project moved in. At the time, Eater reported that staff members \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2022/10/17/23403425/handroll-project-san-francisco-haunted\">believed there was paranormal activity\u003c/a> at the restaurant. Lights were said to inexplicably flicker on and off, and containers seemed to fly across the room on their own volition. One employee even claimed to see a long-haired apparition in the basement break room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just too crazy,” restaurant partner Geoffrey Lee said at the time. “Customers have been saying the veil between the living and the dead is very thin right now because of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos and I’m like, ‘I’m not trying to hear that stuff.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some observers at the time attributed the paranormal activity to an incident in 2003, just three months after Central American bistro \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/platanos-san-francisco\">Platanos\u003c/a> had moved into 598 Guerrero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After leaving work late one night, Platanos’ executive chef Carlos Perez got into an altercation and died on Valencia near 22nd. The fight reportedly started over the volume of Perez’s car stereo. According to a report in the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> that February, police considered the death a result of self-defense. However, Platanos’ co-owner Lisa Lazarus told the newspaper, “I just saw him in the casket [and] this was not a guy hit with a couple of blows and then stopped breathing … He was beaten to death.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lazarus sold Platanos to a new owner, Pascal Rigo, in September 2005. Nine months later, the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em>’s Michael Bauer wrote: “The food has now taken an even more delectable turn, and customers are returning.” Within a year, Platanos was gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980643\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980643\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white photograph of a 1930s-era streetcar traveling along a residential street in San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1176\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero-160x94.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/18th-and-guerrero-1536x903.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The corner of Guerrero and 18th in December 1939. On the left, out of frame, would be 958 Guerrero. The photographer probably left it out lest their camera burst into flames. \u003ccite>(OpenSFHistory/wnp14.1438)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Raided by federal agents\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So what was at 598 Guerrero between the psychic lady and the failed restaurants? Well, a speakeasy, for one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The building’s post-1906 earthquake iteration arrived in about 1909, when it appeared for sale in the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em>’s “City Real Estate” classifieds as a “clean, level lot 25 x 80” complete with “gas, water, sewer.” By 1920, the address was an entertainment venue under the proprietorship of a J. Hoegeman. That year, Hoegeman advertised the availability of a beverage at his joint called New Crow, marketed as “the California drink that makes YOU FORGET prohibition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Clearly, New Crow did not achieve its stated goal. On Sept. 29, 1922, 598 Guerrero was raided by federal prohibition agents who hit venues all over the Mission that night. The speakeasy was forcibly closed for violating alcohol laws, and its operators at the time, Peter Jacobs and Jack Warren — as well as building owner Ellen Boardman — were charged in abatement suits by Assistant United States Attorney Garton D. Keystone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after prohibition hammered 598 Guerrero’s doors closed, the building transformed into a pharmacy — Dunnigan’s in the ’20s and ’30s, and Mission Prescription Pharmacy in the ’50s and ’60s. In the 1970s, the location became a produce store that wound up listed for sale in the \u003cem>Examiner\u003c/em>’s “Business Offers” in 1982. It was, the ad noted, “priced to sell.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever happens to Hamburger Project Two, you have to admire the devil-may-care confidence to stay at 598 Guerrero. May the ghost of Mrs. C. Mayo-Steers enjoy smash burgers and loaded fries as much as the rest of us.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bay-area-halloween-events-guide-2022-sf-oakland-san-jose-sausalito",
"title": "Things That Go Bump in the Bay: 9 Halloween Events for 2022",
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"headTitle": "Things That Go Bump in the Bay: 9 Halloween Events for 2022 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>We know, we know. There’s too much to be done already. There’s a hay maze on the horizon and pumpkins to spend four hours picking out, only to carve them up into oblivion. There are costumes to plan and candy to buy and decorations to hang and your local neighborhood Spirit store to run amok in. But once all of that’s done, you have to actually pick some events to go to. Which is where this handy guide comes in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is something for everyone this year, whether you’re a screaming (drag) queen, a movie buff, a rock ’n’ roller, or a pet with a wardrobe. Altogether now! \u003cem>It’s creepy and it’s kooky / Mysterious and spooky / It’s all together ooky / Bay Area Halloween!\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918559\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-800x485.png\" alt=\"A woman wearing a corset, knee high socks and rat-like face paint sits next to a figure in a black cloak and rat mask, holding a scythe.\" width=\"800\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-800x485.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-1020x619.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-160x97.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-768x466.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-1536x931.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM.png 1814w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This year’s Halloween Meltdown will include a haunted house and a costume contest. Contestants—like these two from last year—are encouraged to get as weird as possible. \u003ccite>(Grant Kerber/ Halloween Meltdown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://halloweenmeltdown.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Halloween Meltdown\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Mosswood Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 8 and 9, 12–10pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people will come to the Halloween Meltdown for the music: sets from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916142/halloween-meltdown-line-up-mosswood-john-waters-amyl-shannon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amyl and the Sniffers, Lydia Lunch, Josie Cotton and many more\u003c/a>. But for a smaller, creepier bunch, the weekend will be all about the costume contest (there was a $500 prize last year!) and much-anticipated on-site haunted house. Artist and horror enthusiast \u003ca href=\"https://www.robfletcherisneat.com/aboutrobfletcherart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rob Fletcher\u003c/a> has been meticulously designing the tented attraction for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Haunt is going to be a throwback to 1960s and ’70s-style dark carnival rides, but very much centered around trash culture,” Fletcher tells KQED Arts. “There will be gore. There will be vulgarity. There will be lobsters! If all goes according to plan, it should be total chaos.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918547\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918547\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-11.13.17-AM-800x536.png\" alt=\"A beautiful woman with long dark hair points at something on the horizon. To her side, a hunched over man with distorted features and bulging eyes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patsy Ruth Miller and Lon Chaney star as Esmeralda and Quasimodo in 1923’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Grace Cathedral, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 31, 7:30pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be hard pressed to find a better venue than Grace Cathedral for a screening of 1923’s \u003cem>Hunchback of Notre Dame\u003c/em>—save for the real life Parisian cathedral, of course. Everything about Wallace Worsley’s silent masterpiece is epic: its detailed replica of the real-life Notre-Dame, the thousands of extras used on set and, best of all, Lon Chaney bringing pathos (and not a little athleticism) to a monstrous visage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfjazz.org/smartseat/?performanceNumber=15609#/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SFJazz presentation\u003c/a>, organist and composer \u003ca href=\"https://www.dorothypapadakos.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dorothy Papadakos\u003c/a> will live score the horror classic. Papadakos has been passionate about using her musical prowess to bring old classics to life for years now, with previous presentations of \u003cem>Phantom of the Opera\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Nosferatu\u003c/em>. Papadakos will even provide a brief history of the film before she takes her seat behind the 7,500-pipes of Grace’s 88-year-old Aeolian-Skinner organ.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918776\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918776\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"An artist's rendering of the Winchester Mystery House is depicted from above, with green light streaming from its many windows. A woman's green eyes hover above its roof. A clawed hand reaches up from underneath.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Winchester Mystery House’s ‘Unhinged: Nightshades Curse’ event will blur the lines between fiction and reality within the wall’s of San Jose’s weirdest house. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Winchester Mystery House)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/unhinged/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Winchester Mystery House—Unhinged: Nightshades Curse\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Winchester Mystery House, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Sept. 13—Oct. 31 (16 select dates)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s plenty to be creeped out by in the Winchester Mystery House on any given day. The seance room full of one-way doors. The preponderance of the number 13 in the windows and decorative features. That damn door on the second floor that would send you plummeting to death or serious injury if you walked through it. But for Halloween, the Mystery House is ramping things up even further with 16 immersive evenings that step beyond the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Winchester\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sarah Winchester\u003c/a> legend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Nightshade’s Curse\u003c/em> event is set in 1949. A fictitious carnival owner and paranormal investigator named Madame Nightshade has temporarily taken over the property to ghost hunt within the house. Meanwhile, her small carnival has set up on the grounds to entertain guests with games and tricks, plus food offerings and a bar. There will be self-guided tours of the labyrinthian home throughout the evening, and not all routes will be the same. A word of warning before you go: Guests shouldn’t be surprised to run into a ghost or two…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918563\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-1049883642-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two dogs sit side-by-side on an outdoor step. They are draped in sheets with eyes and nose holes cut out so they look like cartoon ghosts. They are surrounded by pumpkins.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is what Halloween is all about, people. Dogs dressed as ghosts. \u003ccite>(Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sausalito.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/events/halloween-sausalito\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Howl’O’Ween Dog Costume Contest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Robin Sweeny Park, Sausalito\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 31, 6:30pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two things that we all absolutely, fundamentally deserve on Halloween. The first is candy. The second is dogs wearing costumes. That’s it. Everything else is incidental. (I said what I said.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a lot going on in Sausalito this Halloween for kids, grown-ups and pets. A parade starts at 6pm at the Station 1 Firehouse and ends at a special Trick or Treat Lane. The City Hall Game Room hosts a haunted house. But the most important thing of all is that the Howl’O’Ween Dog Costume Contest is happening. It’s free to enter and there are three prize categories: best little dog (under 35 lbs.), best big dog (over 35 lbs.) and best couple (human and dog). In all, perfect for those who like their Halloween to be more heartwarming than bone-chilling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(And if you can’t wait that long to see dogs in outfits, you might also want to stop by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paws-for-a-cause-dog-festival-halloween-costume-contest-tickets-349013196867\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paws For a Cause Dog Festival and Halloween Costume Contest\u003c/a> at San Francisco’s Marina Green, Oct. 15, 11am–4pm.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A stalking cap, handcuffs, magnifying glass, pipe, key and piece of rolled up paper lie on top of an old sepia-toned map.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Camron-Stanford House needs your assistance in solving a murder mystery… \u003ccite>(Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cshouse.org/visit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Murder in Old Oakland: A Victorian Whodunit Game\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Camron-Stanford House, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 21, 7pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>October is always a good time to visit the Camron-Stanford House. Every year, this Lake Merritt gem puts on its creepiest finery and gets into the Halloween spirit, Victorian-style. (Which, as we all know, is the scariest kind, on account of the Victorian obsession with trying to conjure dead people every five minutes.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year is no different. Camron-Stanford is offering a new exhibit, \u003cem>Ghoulish & Ghastly: 19th Century Monsters in Popular Culture\u003c/em> starting Oct. 2, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.cshouse.org/events/the-haunted-garden-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Haunted Garden\u003c/a>, an annual, family-friendly Halloween party on Oct. 30. In addition this year, amateur sleuths are invited to come to the house and help solve a murder in a \u003cem>Clue\u003c/em>-style game that encourages Victorian cosplay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This Oct. 21 whodunit will begin in 1890 at a memorial reception for a recently murdered wealthy Oakland man. The evening’s hosts, Franklina and William will offer clues to help you catch the killer before they get the chance to strike again. Adding to the fun? The game includes characters based on real people from Oakland history, so everyone will learn a little something too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918983\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918983\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-800x561.png\" alt=\"A conductor in action, arm flexed out before him, before a black background. He is wearing a casual black t-shirt, rather than a suit.\" width=\"800\" height=\"561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-800x561.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-1020x715.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-160x112.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-768x538.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-1536x1077.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-1920x1346.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM.png 1994w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Symphony’s music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, in action. \u003ccite>(Minna Hatinen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The SF Symphony Explores Myth, Magic and Horror\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley and Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco \u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 21–29, times vary\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SF Symphony’s Music Director \u003ca href=\"https://www.esapekkasalonen.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Esa-Pekka Salonen\u003c/a> is conducting special programs scattered throughout October that lean into themes of magic, myth and horror—and there are three distinct Halloween highlights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first is Modest Mussorgsky’s “\u003ca href=\"https://secure.calperformances.org/17600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Night on Bald Mountain\u003c/a>” (Oct. 21) performed at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. The plot includes witches, demons, serpents, dark spirits and even Satan himself. Then, back in San Francisco, Salonen leads three nights (Oct. 27–29) combining \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/Frankenstein-Psycho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">H.K. Gruber’s \u003cem>Frankenstein!!\u003c/em> and Bernard Herrmann’s suite from \u003cem>Psycho\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. Finally, and for those who need something a little more kid-friendly, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/Hocus-Pocus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a special presentation of \u003cem>Hocus Pocus\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on Oct. 25, with the symphony live scoring the proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who says orchestras have to be stuffy?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13917779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13917779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-800x534.png\" alt=\"A drag queen with exaggerated facial features stands in a cave-like setting wearing a black lace high-collared gown. Behind her are multiple mannequin torsos, one of which is wearing tassled pasties.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-800x534.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-1020x680.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-1536x1025.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM.png 1838w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From the twisted brain of Peaches Christ (and friends): ‘Into the Dark: The Summoning.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of: 'The Summoning')\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.intothedarksf.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cb data-stringify-type=\"bold\">Into the Dark: The Summoning\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The San Francisco Mint, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 7–Nov. 5\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The official description for this drag-fueled, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLSQUyXWlkE&t=142s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peaches Christ\u003c/a>-starring haunted house experience is so magnificent, it bears repeating in its original form:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Guests will participate in a real live seance that rips a hole into the supernatural world and takes them on a terrifying adventure! Prepare to come face-to-face with demonic spirits while you attempt to retrieve the severed head of an unethical vampire queen.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>(Because presumably, unethical vampire queens are the worst kinds of vampire queens…)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everything about \u003cem>The Summoning\u003c/em> promises to be extra-extra. Groups of 11 guests at a time will be guided through the experience, which will include (*deep breath*): nudity, gore, “4-D effects,” mazes, theatrical segments and a cast of 78. (\u003cem>Seventy-eight!\u003c/em>) Peaches and friends ask that you leave your high heels and Halloween masks at home, but feel free to grab a drink at the on-site ’80s goth pop-up bar afterwards. It’s called (*checks notes*) Fang Bang. Like I said: \u003cem>extra\u003c/em>-extra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918788\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918788\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-06-at-5.42.03-PM-800x435.png\" alt=\"The side view of a hunched over vulture perching ominously. Behind the bird, a cartoon rendition of a glowing yellow moon, orange sky and flying bats.\" width=\"800\" height=\"435\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boo at the Zoo is coming for you… \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Oakland Zoo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Boo at the Zoo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandzoo.org/centennial/events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland Zoo\u003c/a> / \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfzoo.org/boo-at-the-zoo-featuring-sloth-oween/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Zoo\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 22–31 / Oct. 23–30\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Oakland and San Francisco are holding kid-thrilling Boo at the Zoo events this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland Zoo is offering a fun-filled animal-themed scavenger hunt across its grounds. Costumes are encouraged; choosing to use the zoo’s collection of snakes, scorpions, spiders and other delightful creepy crawlies as inspiration is optional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Zoo is holding a costume parade and contest at noon on event days, and is also offering a self-guided, sloth-themed jaunt around a variety of haunted houses on the zoo’s grounds. Houses include “Count Dracu-sloth’s Fortress” and the “House of Franken-sloth.” Get ready to squee!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A heads up: Both of these events usually sell out fast, so families are encouraged to book in advance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13919010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13919010\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl, green light glowing across her eyes, looks at something off in the distance with great horror.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Winona Ryder in ‘Beetlejuice’.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Horror at the Alamo\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Alamo Drafthouse, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 1–31\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13904911']Truth be told, the Alamo is never \u003cem>not\u003c/em> doing Halloween, thanks to Terror Tuesdays, Weird Wednesdays and a general commitment to digging up old horror movies and putting them back on the big screen. But while the Mission movie theater is always a reliable source of jump scares, it’s ramping up the horror content for the entire month of October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can expect classics, including \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/psycho-1960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Psycho\u003c/em> on Oct. 24\u003c/a> and Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake of \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/terror-tuesday-nosferatu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Nosferatu\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on Oct. 18. (The 1922 vampire original is showing \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/nosferatu-with-invincible-czars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with a live score by Invincible Czars\u003c/a> on Sept. 21.) There is kitsch, including Andy Warhol’s \u003cem>Flesh For Frankenstein\u003c/em> on Oct. 5, \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/bride-of-chucky1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Bride of Chucky\u003c/em> on Oct. 10\u003c/a>, and a special Halloween-night screening of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/graveyard-shift-trick-r-treat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trick ’r Treat\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if parents need something that younger eyeballs can feast upon, look for \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/movie-party-ghostbusters-1984\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Ghostbusters\u003c/em> on Oct. 4\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/movie-party-beetlejuice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Beetlejuice \u003c/em>on Oct. 12\u003c/a>—both of which will be full-blown parties. The \u003cem>Ghostbusters\u003c/em> one will include Slimer slime, Stay Puft marshmallows, and glow necklaces “you can wave around anytime the Ghostbusters use their proton packs.” May “\u003cem>I ain’t ’fraid o’ no ghost\u003c/em>” be your mantra for the evening.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Your 2022 Guide to Halloween in the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>We know, we know. There’s too much to be done already. There’s a hay maze on the horizon and pumpkins to spend four hours picking out, only to carve them up into oblivion. There are costumes to plan and candy to buy and decorations to hang and your local neighborhood Spirit store to run amok in. But once all of that’s done, you have to actually pick some events to go to. Which is where this handy guide comes in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is something for everyone this year, whether you’re a screaming (drag) queen, a movie buff, a rock ’n’ roller, or a pet with a wardrobe. Altogether now! \u003cem>It’s creepy and it’s kooky / Mysterious and spooky / It’s all together ooky / Bay Area Halloween!\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918559\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-800x485.png\" alt=\"A woman wearing a corset, knee high socks and rat-like face paint sits next to a figure in a black cloak and rat mask, holding a scythe.\" width=\"800\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-800x485.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-1020x619.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-160x97.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-768x466.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM-1536x931.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-1.16.43-PM.png 1814w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This year’s Halloween Meltdown will include a haunted house and a costume contest. Contestants—like these two from last year—are encouraged to get as weird as possible. \u003ccite>(Grant Kerber/ Halloween Meltdown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://halloweenmeltdown.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Halloween Meltdown\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Mosswood Park, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 8 and 9, 12–10pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people will come to the Halloween Meltdown for the music: sets from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916142/halloween-meltdown-line-up-mosswood-john-waters-amyl-shannon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amyl and the Sniffers, Lydia Lunch, Josie Cotton and many more\u003c/a>. But for a smaller, creepier bunch, the weekend will be all about the costume contest (there was a $500 prize last year!) and much-anticipated on-site haunted house. Artist and horror enthusiast \u003ca href=\"https://www.robfletcherisneat.com/aboutrobfletcherart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rob Fletcher\u003c/a> has been meticulously designing the tented attraction for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Haunt is going to be a throwback to 1960s and ’70s-style dark carnival rides, but very much centered around trash culture,” Fletcher tells KQED Arts. “There will be gore. There will be vulgarity. There will be lobsters! If all goes according to plan, it should be total chaos.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918547\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918547\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-01-at-11.13.17-AM-800x536.png\" alt=\"A beautiful woman with long dark hair points at something on the horizon. To her side, a hunched over man with distorted features and bulging eyes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patsy Ruth Miller and Lon Chaney star as Esmeralda and Quasimodo in 1923’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Grace Cathedral, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 31, 7:30pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be hard pressed to find a better venue than Grace Cathedral for a screening of 1923’s \u003cem>Hunchback of Notre Dame\u003c/em>—save for the real life Parisian cathedral, of course. Everything about Wallace Worsley’s silent masterpiece is epic: its detailed replica of the real-life Notre-Dame, the thousands of extras used on set and, best of all, Lon Chaney bringing pathos (and not a little athleticism) to a monstrous visage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfjazz.org/smartseat/?performanceNumber=15609#/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SFJazz presentation\u003c/a>, organist and composer \u003ca href=\"https://www.dorothypapadakos.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dorothy Papadakos\u003c/a> will live score the horror classic. Papadakos has been passionate about using her musical prowess to bring old classics to life for years now, with previous presentations of \u003cem>Phantom of the Opera\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Nosferatu\u003c/em>. Papadakos will even provide a brief history of the film before she takes her seat behind the 7,500-pipes of Grace’s 88-year-old Aeolian-Skinner organ.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918776\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918776\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"An artist's rendering of the Winchester Mystery House is depicted from above, with green light streaming from its many windows. A woman's green eyes hover above its roof. A clawed hand reaches up from underneath.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Unhinged_1280x960_2022.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Winchester Mystery House’s ‘Unhinged: Nightshades Curse’ event will blur the lines between fiction and reality within the wall’s of San Jose’s weirdest house. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Winchester Mystery House)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/unhinged/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Winchester Mystery House—Unhinged: Nightshades Curse\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Winchester Mystery House, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Sept. 13—Oct. 31 (16 select dates)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s plenty to be creeped out by in the Winchester Mystery House on any given day. The seance room full of one-way doors. The preponderance of the number 13 in the windows and decorative features. That damn door on the second floor that would send you plummeting to death or serious injury if you walked through it. But for Halloween, the Mystery House is ramping things up even further with 16 immersive evenings that step beyond the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Winchester\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sarah Winchester\u003c/a> legend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Nightshade’s Curse\u003c/em> event is set in 1949. A fictitious carnival owner and paranormal investigator named Madame Nightshade has temporarily taken over the property to ghost hunt within the house. Meanwhile, her small carnival has set up on the grounds to entertain guests with games and tricks, plus food offerings and a bar. There will be self-guided tours of the labyrinthian home throughout the evening, and not all routes will be the same. A word of warning before you go: Guests shouldn’t be surprised to run into a ghost or two…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918563\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-1049883642-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two dogs sit side-by-side on an outdoor step. They are draped in sheets with eyes and nose holes cut out so they look like cartoon ghosts. They are surrounded by pumpkins.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is what Halloween is all about, people. Dogs dressed as ghosts. \u003ccite>(Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sausalito.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/events/halloween-sausalito\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Howl’O’Ween Dog Costume Contest\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Robin Sweeny Park, Sausalito\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 31, 6:30pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two things that we all absolutely, fundamentally deserve on Halloween. The first is candy. The second is dogs wearing costumes. That’s it. Everything else is incidental. (I said what I said.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a lot going on in Sausalito this Halloween for kids, grown-ups and pets. A parade starts at 6pm at the Station 1 Firehouse and ends at a special Trick or Treat Lane. The City Hall Game Room hosts a haunted house. But the most important thing of all is that the Howl’O’Ween Dog Costume Contest is happening. It’s free to enter and there are three prize categories: best little dog (under 35 lbs.), best big dog (over 35 lbs.) and best couple (human and dog). In all, perfect for those who like their Halloween to be more heartwarming than bone-chilling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(And if you can’t wait that long to see dogs in outfits, you might also want to stop by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paws-for-a-cause-dog-festival-halloween-costume-contest-tickets-349013196867\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paws For a Cause Dog Festival and Halloween Costume Contest\u003c/a> at San Francisco’s Marina Green, Oct. 15, 11am–4pm.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A stalking cap, handcuffs, magnifying glass, pipe, key and piece of rolled up paper lie on top of an old sepia-toned map.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/GettyImages-511722458-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Camron-Stanford House needs your assistance in solving a murder mystery… \u003ccite>(Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cshouse.org/visit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Murder in Old Oakland: A Victorian Whodunit Game\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Camron-Stanford House, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 21, 7pm\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>October is always a good time to visit the Camron-Stanford House. Every year, this Lake Merritt gem puts on its creepiest finery and gets into the Halloween spirit, Victorian-style. (Which, as we all know, is the scariest kind, on account of the Victorian obsession with trying to conjure dead people every five minutes.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year is no different. Camron-Stanford is offering a new exhibit, \u003cem>Ghoulish & Ghastly: 19th Century Monsters in Popular Culture\u003c/em> starting Oct. 2, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.cshouse.org/events/the-haunted-garden-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Haunted Garden\u003c/a>, an annual, family-friendly Halloween party on Oct. 30. In addition this year, amateur sleuths are invited to come to the house and help solve a murder in a \u003cem>Clue\u003c/em>-style game that encourages Victorian cosplay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This Oct. 21 whodunit will begin in 1890 at a memorial reception for a recently murdered wealthy Oakland man. The evening’s hosts, Franklina and William will offer clues to help you catch the killer before they get the chance to strike again. Adding to the fun? The game includes characters based on real people from Oakland history, so everyone will learn a little something too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918983\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918983\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-800x561.png\" alt=\"A conductor in action, arm flexed out before him, before a black background. He is wearing a casual black t-shirt, rather than a suit.\" width=\"800\" height=\"561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-800x561.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-1020x715.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-160x112.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-768x538.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-1536x1077.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM-1920x1346.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-1.54.12-PM.png 1994w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Symphony’s music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, in action. \u003ccite>(Minna Hatinen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The SF Symphony Explores Myth, Magic and Horror\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley and Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco \u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 21–29, times vary\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SF Symphony’s Music Director \u003ca href=\"https://www.esapekkasalonen.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Esa-Pekka Salonen\u003c/a> is conducting special programs scattered throughout October that lean into themes of magic, myth and horror—and there are three distinct Halloween highlights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first is Modest Mussorgsky’s “\u003ca href=\"https://secure.calperformances.org/17600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Night on Bald Mountain\u003c/a>” (Oct. 21) performed at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. The plot includes witches, demons, serpents, dark spirits and even Satan himself. Then, back in San Francisco, Salonen leads three nights (Oct. 27–29) combining \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/Frankenstein-Psycho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">H.K. Gruber’s \u003cem>Frankenstein!!\u003c/em> and Bernard Herrmann’s suite from \u003cem>Psycho\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. Finally, and for those who need something a little more kid-friendly, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/Hocus-Pocus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a special presentation of \u003cem>Hocus Pocus\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on Oct. 25, with the symphony live scoring the proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who says orchestras have to be stuffy?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13917779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13917779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-800x534.png\" alt=\"A drag queen with exaggerated facial features stands in a cave-like setting wearing a black lace high-collared gown. Behind her are multiple mannequin torsos, one of which is wearing tassled pasties.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-800x534.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-1020x680.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM-1536x1025.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-17-at-5.15.41-PM.png 1838w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From the twisted brain of Peaches Christ (and friends): ‘Into the Dark: The Summoning.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of: 'The Summoning')\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.intothedarksf.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cb data-stringify-type=\"bold\">Into the Dark: The Summoning\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The San Francisco Mint, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 7–Nov. 5\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The official description for this drag-fueled, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLSQUyXWlkE&t=142s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peaches Christ\u003c/a>-starring haunted house experience is so magnificent, it bears repeating in its original form:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Guests will participate in a real live seance that rips a hole into the supernatural world and takes them on a terrifying adventure! Prepare to come face-to-face with demonic spirits while you attempt to retrieve the severed head of an unethical vampire queen.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>(Because presumably, unethical vampire queens are the worst kinds of vampire queens…)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everything about \u003cem>The Summoning\u003c/em> promises to be extra-extra. Groups of 11 guests at a time will be guided through the experience, which will include (*deep breath*): nudity, gore, “4-D effects,” mazes, theatrical segments and a cast of 78. (\u003cem>Seventy-eight!\u003c/em>) Peaches and friends ask that you leave your high heels and Halloween masks at home, but feel free to grab a drink at the on-site ’80s goth pop-up bar afterwards. It’s called (*checks notes*) Fang Bang. Like I said: \u003cem>extra\u003c/em>-extra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13918788\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13918788\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-06-at-5.42.03-PM-800x435.png\" alt=\"The side view of a hunched over vulture perching ominously. Behind the bird, a cartoon rendition of a glowing yellow moon, orange sky and flying bats.\" width=\"800\" height=\"435\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boo at the Zoo is coming for you… \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Oakland Zoo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Boo at the Zoo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandzoo.org/centennial/events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland Zoo\u003c/a> / \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfzoo.org/boo-at-the-zoo-featuring-sloth-oween/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Zoo\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 22–31 / Oct. 23–30\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Oakland and San Francisco are holding kid-thrilling Boo at the Zoo events this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland Zoo is offering a fun-filled animal-themed scavenger hunt across its grounds. Costumes are encouraged; choosing to use the zoo’s collection of snakes, scorpions, spiders and other delightful creepy crawlies as inspiration is optional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Zoo is holding a costume parade and contest at noon on event days, and is also offering a self-guided, sloth-themed jaunt around a variety of haunted houses on the zoo’s grounds. Houses include “Count Dracu-sloth’s Fortress” and the “House of Franken-sloth.” Get ready to squee!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A heads up: Both of these events usually sell out fast, so families are encouraged to book in advance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13919010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13919010\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl, green light glowing across her eyes, looks at something off in the distance with great horror.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/19-130.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Winona Ryder in ‘Beetlejuice’.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Horror at the Alamo\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Alamo Drafthouse, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 1–31\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Truth be told, the Alamo is never \u003cem>not\u003c/em> doing Halloween, thanks to Terror Tuesdays, Weird Wednesdays and a general commitment to digging up old horror movies and putting them back on the big screen. But while the Mission movie theater is always a reliable source of jump scares, it’s ramping up the horror content for the entire month of October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can expect classics, including \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/psycho-1960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Psycho\u003c/em> on Oct. 24\u003c/a> and Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake of \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/terror-tuesday-nosferatu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Nosferatu\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on Oct. 18. (The 1922 vampire original is showing \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/nosferatu-with-invincible-czars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with a live score by Invincible Czars\u003c/a> on Sept. 21.) There is kitsch, including Andy Warhol’s \u003cem>Flesh For Frankenstein\u003c/em> on Oct. 5, \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/bride-of-chucky1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Bride of Chucky\u003c/em> on Oct. 10\u003c/a>, and a special Halloween-night screening of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/graveyard-shift-trick-r-treat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trick ’r Treat\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if parents need something that younger eyeballs can feast upon, look for \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/movie-party-ghostbusters-1984\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Ghostbusters\u003c/em> on Oct. 4\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://drafthouse.com/sf/event/movie-party-beetlejuice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Beetlejuice \u003c/em>on Oct. 12\u003c/a>—both of which will be full-blown parties. The \u003cem>Ghostbusters\u003c/em> one will include Slimer slime, Stay Puft marshmallows, and glow necklaces “you can wave around anytime the Ghostbusters use their proton packs.” May “\u003cem>I ain’t ’fraid o’ no ghost\u003c/em>” be your mantra for the evening.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "halloween-bedsheet-ghost-history-spirits-burial-shroud",
"title": "Why Ghosts Wear White Sheets (And Other Spectral Silliness)",
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"headTitle": "Why Ghosts Wear White Sheets (And Other Spectral Silliness) | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ask anyone in your life to draw you a quick doodle of a ghost, and they’ll more than likely present you with some variation of the bedsheet ghost. Round on top, wiggly on the bottom, with a couple of eyeballs/eye holes. If they’re feeling extra cute, there may be a mouth too. (Or even a tongue if the ghost emoji has served as a recent inspiration.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13892672']This specific image of ghosts-as-white-sheets has been engrained in our culture for centuries and, until fairly recently, it was considered genuinely terrifying. The root of it lies in the fact that, up until the 19th century, the dead were almost always wrapped in burial shrouds, rather than placed in coffins. In poorer families, the recently deceased were simply wrapped up in the sheet from their death bed, and secured inside by a knot tied at either end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 1300s, ghosts were often presented as skeletons draped in their shrouds, as this depiction from \u003cem>The Psalter of Robert de Lisle\u003c/em> (created some time between 1308 and 1340) demonstrates. In the story of “The Three Living and the Three Dead,” three spirits/corpses warn three noblemen to live virtuous lives or be damned. (The maggots are a nice touch, don’t you think?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904930\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 592px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904930\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-7.09.42-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"592\" height=\"732\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-7.09.42-PM.png 592w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-7.09.42-PM-160x198.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Depiction of the ghosts from ‘The Three Living and the Three Dead.’ \u003ccite>('The Psalter of Robert de Lisle' )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By the 1400s, people reporting supernatural phenomena almost always \u003ca href=\"https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/10/27/why-are-ghosts-depicted-wearing-bedsheets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">described apparitions as being clad in their death shrouds\u003c/a>. This depiction was, by then, so widely accepted that, an entire subset of English thieves began donning white sheets and pretending to be ghosts. These undead disguises had the dual benefit of hiding the thieves’ true appearances, while also scaring their targets into handing over money. Even after multiple ghost impersonators were exposed by the authorities over many years, the public continued to believe that unhappy spirits roamed the Earth clad in their burial shrouds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1804 London, a bricklayer named Thomas Millwood was mistaken for a malevolent ghost, and shot and killed by a man named Francis Smith. Smith had seen Millwood’s pristine white work uniform, complete with white apron, and assumed he was a ghost. (Local residents and a night watchman had recently reported being terrorized by some such spirit.) At \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammersmith_Ghost_murder_case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smith’s subsequent murder trial\u003c/a>, Millwood’s wife said her husband had been mistaken as a ghost by three other people before the shooting, and that she had asked him to start wearing an overcoat, to no avail. Smith was found guilty of murder and sentenced to one year of hard labor. The “ghost” haunting the neighborhood was later exposed as a local man exercising some personal revenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904925\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 730px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904925\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-5.54.15-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"1154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-5.54.15-PM.png 730w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-5.54.15-PM-160x253.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration by Andreas Bloch (1860-1917) of ‘Gudrun and the Ghost’—characters from ‘The Laxdale (Laxdæla) Saga.’ In the Icelandic story, a woman is visited in a church courtyard by the ghost of her husband who has just died at sea that day. He is depicted as being wrapped in a white sheet despite the fact that the character was not buried in one.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Millwood’s tragic death by no means shifted the general public’s ideas about be-sheeted ghosts (or shooting at them). In 1889, one Missouri newspaper conducted a poll of its readers, asking if they believed in spirits. A reader, J.W. Wills, wrote in to say that he had seen two ghosts in his life. One of them, he claimed, was a large white object with long horns that he would have shot if he’d had his pistol with him. Another reader, Professor B. F. Heaton wrote in to say that ghosts “are nearly always white, although some of the authorities admit there are dark ones. I should say, however, that the genuine ghost is always white and always makes its first appearance at the haunted spot at precisely 12 o’clock midnight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These ideas were compounded by theatrical presentations of spirits and hauntings throughout the 19th and into the early 20th century. On-stage ghosts varied enormously, from simple depictions of actors in white face paint or armor, to tricks involving mirrors and trapdoors. Theater scholars argued that \u003ca href=\"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2096&context=gc_etds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unadorned actors playing ghosts\u003c/a> were able to elicit greater sympathy from audiences. It followed that ghosts in white sheets were scarier. And that imagery carried into the depictions of ghosts in Victorian spirit photography—a trend that didn’t disappear entirely until the 1930s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904971\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904971\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-800x691.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"691\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-800x691.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-160x138.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-768x663.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM.png 996w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spirit photograph made by ‘Melander & Bro’, 1889.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If bedsheet ghosts had become something of a casual amusement by the end of spirit photography’s heyday, it was children’s cartoons that took that element of fun and ran away with it. In 1937, Disney released \u003cem>The Lonesome Ghosts\u003c/em>, an eight-minute cartoon in which Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are a ghost extermination team assigned to clear a house of spirits. The cartoon ghosts were transparent, with hats and expressive faces. But their loose outfits, including capes, were clearly fashioned out of sheets. It was a creative element that added a cute twist to the ghosts of old. When \u003ca href=\"https://www.decades.com/lists/7-friendly-facts-about-casper-the-ghost#:~:text=Casper%20dates%20back%20to%201939&text=His%20first%20appearance%20as%20a,copyright%20a%20few%20years%20later.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Casper the Friendly Ghost\u003c/a> arrived in 1939, it was the first major indicator that culturally, ghosts had become figures of fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1957, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ9ZbskorrQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one \u003cem>Popeye\u003c/em> cartoon\u003c/a> depicted the sailor eating his spinach to annihilate a bunch of ghosts on a haunted ship. The episode ended with Olive Oyl sewing the ghosts’ shrouds together to make a giant sail. By 1969, Scooby Doo and the gang had begun exposing ghosts and ghouls as human frauds. And, of course, the opening credits of that show featured a bedsheet ghost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTq6nwO4oJU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scooby Doo’s tone fit the times: there was an overwhelming sense that bedsheet ghosts, along with other superstitions, should be relegated to the realms of old-fashioned tomfoolery. On Nov. 8, 1964, North Carolina’s \u003cem>News and Observer\u003c/em> declared: “Styles in ghosting are changing. Dwindling into obscurity are the old fashioned groaning, flapping, bedsheet ghosts and the simple white objects which jump out of dark places and say ‘Boo!’ These are fading along with simple haunted houses, graveyard ghosts and headless horsemen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bedsheet ghost had one last moment of chilling repugnance, it was in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063381/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Whistle and I’ll Come to You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a 1968 horror produced by the BBC. In it, a seemingly \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTkvzOuYvTM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sentient sheet\u003c/a> was presented in several scenes in a manner that was \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXgDRvFUenU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">truly unsettling\u003c/a>. The closest we’ve come to that since was in 2013’s \u003cem>The Conjuring\u003c/em> which managed to deliver a genuine scare via a single sheet hitting an anonymous, invisible body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-WwcPCIdg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These days, bedsheet ghosts are more likely to be found cutely adorning \u003ca href=\"https://www.etsy.com/search?q=ghosts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clothes, decorations and candles on Etsy\u003c/a>, than they are giving anyone an actual fright. But, at this time of year, it’s worth remembering who the bedsheet ghosts once were and who they represented. After all, you never know when the scary ones might come back.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Up until the 20th century, bedsheet ghosts were considered genuinely terrifying—and for good reason. ",
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"title": "Why Ghosts Wear White Sheets (And Other Spectral Silliness) | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ask anyone in your life to draw you a quick doodle of a ghost, and they’ll more than likely present you with some variation of the bedsheet ghost. Round on top, wiggly on the bottom, with a couple of eyeballs/eye holes. If they’re feeling extra cute, there may be a mouth too. (Or even a tongue if the ghost emoji has served as a recent inspiration.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This specific image of ghosts-as-white-sheets has been engrained in our culture for centuries and, until fairly recently, it was considered genuinely terrifying. The root of it lies in the fact that, up until the 19th century, the dead were almost always wrapped in burial shrouds, rather than placed in coffins. In poorer families, the recently deceased were simply wrapped up in the sheet from their death bed, and secured inside by a knot tied at either end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 1300s, ghosts were often presented as skeletons draped in their shrouds, as this depiction from \u003cem>The Psalter of Robert de Lisle\u003c/em> (created some time between 1308 and 1340) demonstrates. In the story of “The Three Living and the Three Dead,” three spirits/corpses warn three noblemen to live virtuous lives or be damned. (The maggots are a nice touch, don’t you think?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904930\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 592px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904930\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-7.09.42-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"592\" height=\"732\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-7.09.42-PM.png 592w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-7.09.42-PM-160x198.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Depiction of the ghosts from ‘The Three Living and the Three Dead.’ \u003ccite>('The Psalter of Robert de Lisle' )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By the 1400s, people reporting supernatural phenomena almost always \u003ca href=\"https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/10/27/why-are-ghosts-depicted-wearing-bedsheets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">described apparitions as being clad in their death shrouds\u003c/a>. This depiction was, by then, so widely accepted that, an entire subset of English thieves began donning white sheets and pretending to be ghosts. These undead disguises had the dual benefit of hiding the thieves’ true appearances, while also scaring their targets into handing over money. Even after multiple ghost impersonators were exposed by the authorities over many years, the public continued to believe that unhappy spirits roamed the Earth clad in their burial shrouds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1804 London, a bricklayer named Thomas Millwood was mistaken for a malevolent ghost, and shot and killed by a man named Francis Smith. Smith had seen Millwood’s pristine white work uniform, complete with white apron, and assumed he was a ghost. (Local residents and a night watchman had recently reported being terrorized by some such spirit.) At \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammersmith_Ghost_murder_case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smith’s subsequent murder trial\u003c/a>, Millwood’s wife said her husband had been mistaken as a ghost by three other people before the shooting, and that she had asked him to start wearing an overcoat, to no avail. Smith was found guilty of murder and sentenced to one year of hard labor. The “ghost” haunting the neighborhood was later exposed as a local man exercising some personal revenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904925\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 730px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904925\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-5.54.15-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"1154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-5.54.15-PM.png 730w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-20-at-5.54.15-PM-160x253.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration by Andreas Bloch (1860-1917) of ‘Gudrun and the Ghost’—characters from ‘The Laxdale (Laxdæla) Saga.’ In the Icelandic story, a woman is visited in a church courtyard by the ghost of her husband who has just died at sea that day. He is depicted as being wrapped in a white sheet despite the fact that the character was not buried in one.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Millwood’s tragic death by no means shifted the general public’s ideas about be-sheeted ghosts (or shooting at them). In 1889, one Missouri newspaper conducted a poll of its readers, asking if they believed in spirits. A reader, J.W. Wills, wrote in to say that he had seen two ghosts in his life. One of them, he claimed, was a large white object with long horns that he would have shot if he’d had his pistol with him. Another reader, Professor B. F. Heaton wrote in to say that ghosts “are nearly always white, although some of the authorities admit there are dark ones. I should say, however, that the genuine ghost is always white and always makes its first appearance at the haunted spot at precisely 12 o’clock midnight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These ideas were compounded by theatrical presentations of spirits and hauntings throughout the 19th and into the early 20th century. On-stage ghosts varied enormously, from simple depictions of actors in white face paint or armor, to tricks involving mirrors and trapdoors. Theater scholars argued that \u003ca href=\"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2096&context=gc_etds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unadorned actors playing ghosts\u003c/a> were able to elicit greater sympathy from audiences. It followed that ghosts in white sheets were scarier. And that imagery carried into the depictions of ghosts in Victorian spirit photography—a trend that didn’t disappear entirely until the 1930s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904971\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904971\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-800x691.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"691\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-800x691.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-160x138.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM-768x663.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-11.43.59-AM.png 996w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spirit photograph made by ‘Melander & Bro’, 1889.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If bedsheet ghosts had become something of a casual amusement by the end of spirit photography’s heyday, it was children’s cartoons that took that element of fun and ran away with it. In 1937, Disney released \u003cem>The Lonesome Ghosts\u003c/em>, an eight-minute cartoon in which Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are a ghost extermination team assigned to clear a house of spirits. The cartoon ghosts were transparent, with hats and expressive faces. But their loose outfits, including capes, were clearly fashioned out of sheets. It was a creative element that added a cute twist to the ghosts of old. When \u003ca href=\"https://www.decades.com/lists/7-friendly-facts-about-casper-the-ghost#:~:text=Casper%20dates%20back%20to%201939&text=His%20first%20appearance%20as%20a,copyright%20a%20few%20years%20later.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Casper the Friendly Ghost\u003c/a> arrived in 1939, it was the first major indicator that culturally, ghosts had become figures of fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1957, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ9ZbskorrQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one \u003cem>Popeye\u003c/em> cartoon\u003c/a> depicted the sailor eating his spinach to annihilate a bunch of ghosts on a haunted ship. The episode ended with Olive Oyl sewing the ghosts’ shrouds together to make a giant sail. By 1969, Scooby Doo and the gang had begun exposing ghosts and ghouls as human frauds. And, of course, the opening credits of that show featured a bedsheet ghost.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/hTq6nwO4oJU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/hTq6nwO4oJU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Scooby Doo’s tone fit the times: there was an overwhelming sense that bedsheet ghosts, along with other superstitions, should be relegated to the realms of old-fashioned tomfoolery. On Nov. 8, 1964, North Carolina’s \u003cem>News and Observer\u003c/em> declared: “Styles in ghosting are changing. Dwindling into obscurity are the old fashioned groaning, flapping, bedsheet ghosts and the simple white objects which jump out of dark places and say ‘Boo!’ These are fading along with simple haunted houses, graveyard ghosts and headless horsemen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bedsheet ghost had one last moment of chilling repugnance, it was in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063381/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Whistle and I’ll Come to You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a 1968 horror produced by the BBC. In it, a seemingly \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTkvzOuYvTM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sentient sheet\u003c/a> was presented in several scenes in a manner that was \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXgDRvFUenU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">truly unsettling\u003c/a>. The closest we’ve come to that since was in 2013’s \u003cem>The Conjuring\u003c/em> which managed to deliver a genuine scare via a single sheet hitting an anonymous, invisible body.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/-v-WwcPCIdg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-v-WwcPCIdg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These days, bedsheet ghosts are more likely to be found cutely adorning \u003ca href=\"https://www.etsy.com/search?q=ghosts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clothes, decorations and candles on Etsy\u003c/a>, than they are giving anyone an actual fright. But, at this time of year, it’s worth remembering who the bedsheet ghosts once were and who they represented. After all, you never know when the scary ones might come back.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Exploring the Many Mysteries of Petaluma's Lan Mart Building",
"headTitle": "Exploring the Many Mysteries of Petaluma’s Lan Mart Building | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>hen you’re stuck in the tiny, old-fashioned elevator of the Lan Mart building, no one can hear you scream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895978\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 328px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13895978\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-19-at-10.59.39-AM.png\" alt=\"Upstairs at the Lan Mart: A long, narrow corridor of closed doors, beyond the elevator.\" width=\"328\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-19-at-10.59.39-AM.png 328w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-19-at-10.59.39-AM-160x175.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Upstairs at the Lan Mart. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anne Bishop—the owner of \u003ca href=\"https://downtownpetalumapilates.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pilates With Anne\u003c/a> on the second floor—discovered this a few years ago, on her way to teach a class. Because her pilates studio wraps around the elevator shaft, and she knew she had a room full of students waiting for her, Bishop, on realizing the elevator was jammed, called out for assistance. Despite being separated by only a single door, not one person on the other side heard her. “I couldn’t believe they couldn’t hear me yelling!” she recalls now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re wondering why a pilates studio would have an elevator shaft running through the middle of it, then you’ve probably never been to the Lan Mart. The historic building harbors an endless number of discombobulating quirks: miniature doors built into random corners, odd crawl spaces, a row of locked doors where there should probably be businesses, and at least one—the staff informs me—secret corridor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lan Mart also contains a confusing number of staircases; a fact highlighted in December 2010, after the dead body of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/sister-of-charles-pollock-who-was-found-dead-dec-23-says-he-wasnt-homel/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">52-year-old local man was discovered\u003c/a> beneath one by a PG&E employee. Not all of the stairs, however, are accessible to the public. One of the most obvious examples of this are the basement stairs barricaded behind a locked gate, in the middle of a major walkway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895957\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Stairs to the basement from the Lan Mart's ground floor.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stairs to the basement from the Lan Mart’s ground floor. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Somewhat predictably, rumors of the Lan Mart being haunted are rife in Petaluma. During my first visit there, two employees from two separate businesses casually mentioned ghostly activity, entirely unprompted, within the first 15 minutes. One, who asked not to be named for fear that it might impact business, told me they often open up and find objects in their shop have moved during the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>t was rumors like these that prompted \u003ca href=\"https://www.yogarenewteachertraining.com/courses/200-hour/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgtWDBhDZARIsADEKwgNiZW0VHgDDUlW_YWCXDq0RcTaJtjEARr0Xps38JxygOUVnw62MbxcaAurjEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Renew Yoga\u003c/a> owner, Pamela Maldonado, to take action before she opened her business upstairs. “We were told that the Lan Mart was probably haunted,” Maldonado explains, “so I asked four of my reiki friends to help me smudge the studio. Smudging is a clearing ritual that removes negative energy. I am very sensitive to energy and in all the years I have worked here I’ve felt no negative energy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite being directly next door to Maldonado’s yoga studio, Anne Bishop is convinced that strange things \u003cem>are\u003c/em> afoot in the Lan Mart. She says the most common indication is her ceiling fans turning on and off of their own afford. “I’m always like, ‘Well, that’s the ghost!'” Bishop laughs. “I do feel a presence sometimes. A couple of times, I’ve hung something up in my studio and just immediately received this mass of energy of ‘No, don’t put that there.’ And then it ends up falling out of the wall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joanne Hansen, co-owner of the Lan Mart’s popular Old Chicago Pizza, believes that one strong presence upstairs may be her husband, who died in 2016 after running the restaurant for 38 years. “Michael was a man with a big personality and his presence is still to be felt, especially after closing,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895962\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895962\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Hansen's picture still adorns the wall of Old Chicago.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Hansen’s picture still adorns the wall of Old Chicago. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The strangest encounter I heard from Lan Mart employees happened to Drew Washer, who owns and runs the ground floor variety store Heebe Jeebe. At the time, she was running a seasonal Halloween store upstairs. “I was always kind of creeped out up there,” she says. “The light switch was on the far door from where I had to walk out. So at night, I would turn it off and just run really fast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One morning before opening,” Washer continues, “I saw this very classic looking apparition. It passed by my door, moved down the hallway and turned right towards the stairs. It was a really strange image.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895953\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895953\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Plants on the ground floor, put in place by Anne Bishop, after a Feng Shui expert advised her that something bad had happened in the area. Drew Washer saw an apparition heading to the area early one morning as she set up her shop.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plants on the ground floor, put in place by Anne Bishop, after a Feng Shui expert advised her that something bad had happened in the area. Drew Washer saw an apparition heading there early one morning as she set up her shop. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bishop tells me that a visiting Feng Shui practitioner was also drawn to those stairs, advising her to put plants around them in an effort to clear “challenging energy.” Bishop has been doing so ever since, though the Feng Shui expert didn’t offer any clues as to what might have happened there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a history as long as the Lan Mart’s, it could be just about anything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>he Lan Mart dates back to 1876, when a man named George Pury built a three-story hotel on a block that had, for years, been part of Petaluma’s burgeoning Chinatown. Its construction began in the middle of a concerted effort to push Chinese workers out of Petaluma, and indeed, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/lebaron-citys-rich-painful-chinese-legacy-gets-its-due/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">all of Sonoma County\u003c/a>. Mass immigration—prompted by both the gold rush and the construction work offered on Charles Crocker’s railroad—was openly talked about at the time as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/petalumas-past-remembering-the-chinese-exclusion-act-of-1882/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Chinese problem\u003c/a>.” At one point, the \u003cem>Petaluma Argus\u003c/em> newspaper proposed a boycott on any business hiring Chinese workers, and town leaders threatened to cut off the water supply to the “Chinese District.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13883118,arts_13892672']As Chinese workers got pushed out, the Cosmopolitan Hotel went up on what is now Petaluma Boulevard, close to the corner of Western Avenue. The hotel had 46 bedrooms along with a barber, cobbler, parlor and dining room, as well as a saloon. There was also a social hall that served as a meeting place for local fraternal club the \u003ca href=\"https://start.cortera.com/company/research/l7s7lzm2k/loyal-order-of-moose-lodges/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Loyal Order of Moose\u003c/a>. (The club, an international organization, still exists in Petaluma today. A 2006 \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/loyal-order-of-moose-rapidly-attracting-members-to-help-liven-things-up-en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Press Democrat\u003c/em> article\u003c/a> reported that “prospective members must pledge that they believe in a supreme being, have not been a member of the Communist party, and have not been convicted of a felony.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Cosmopolitan opened for business, so did the Centennial Livery Stable next door. On its face, the stable provided convenient accommodations for travelers’ horses. But it also happened to house a brothel upstairs that remains infamous among Petaluma locals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>fter the 1906 earthquake, the stables, brothel and hotel were all combined behind a single facade. Bishop believes that Maldonado’s yoga studio once housed the saloon, and that her pilates studio used to be connected brothel bedrooms. “It’s not a very big space but there are three doors in here,” she says. “There used to be four, but one is the elevator shaft now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More change came in 1930 when the Gross Building was constructed behind the Lan Mart, facing out onto what is now Kentucky Street. It served first as a miniature golf course and later as a grocery store. By 1969, after the Lan Mart and the Gross had slipped into disrepair, the buildings were saved from demolition by a couple named Victor and Marisa DeCarli. The DeCarlis restored and combined the two buildings into one big shopping mall—today’s Lan Mart. (The DeCarlis still run two stores there—\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MarisasFantasiaPetaluma/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christmas Fantasia\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MarisasFantasiaPetaluma/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marisa’s Fantasia\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895955\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"The Kentucky Street side of the Lan Mart, which used to be the Gross Building.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kentucky Street side of the Lan Mart, which used to be the Gross Building. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In interviews, across the board, everyone working in the Lan Mart expresses great love for the building, despite the architectural quirks and ongoing rumors of a haunting. “One of the things we joke about in the building is that once you move in, you don’t leave,” Bishop says. “Everyone here is a longterm tenant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bishop has given the matter a lot of thought, and believes she’s figured out why so many business owners feel such a deep attachment to the Lan Mart. “I think a lot about the women who worked in this space when it was a brothel,” she says. “It was probably a really hard life, doing that work back in the day. Being in here, you have a sense of them—I feel a kinship and I’ve always felt defensive of them. But most of the businesses here now are women-owned,” she continues. “And I feel there’s a significance in that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the spirits of those other women to feel like the tide has turned,” Bishop says. “Women succeeding here is a way to reclaim the space for them.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>hen you’re stuck in the tiny, old-fashioned elevator of the Lan Mart building, no one can hear you scream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895978\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 328px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13895978\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-19-at-10.59.39-AM.png\" alt=\"Upstairs at the Lan Mart: A long, narrow corridor of closed doors, beyond the elevator.\" width=\"328\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-19-at-10.59.39-AM.png 328w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-19-at-10.59.39-AM-160x175.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Upstairs at the Lan Mart. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anne Bishop—the owner of \u003ca href=\"https://downtownpetalumapilates.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pilates With Anne\u003c/a> on the second floor—discovered this a few years ago, on her way to teach a class. Because her pilates studio wraps around the elevator shaft, and she knew she had a room full of students waiting for her, Bishop, on realizing the elevator was jammed, called out for assistance. Despite being separated by only a single door, not one person on the other side heard her. “I couldn’t believe they couldn’t hear me yelling!” she recalls now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re wondering why a pilates studio would have an elevator shaft running through the middle of it, then you’ve probably never been to the Lan Mart. The historic building harbors an endless number of discombobulating quirks: miniature doors built into random corners, odd crawl spaces, a row of locked doors where there should probably be businesses, and at least one—the staff informs me—secret corridor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lan Mart also contains a confusing number of staircases; a fact highlighted in December 2010, after the dead body of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/sister-of-charles-pollock-who-was-found-dead-dec-23-says-he-wasnt-homel/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">52-year-old local man was discovered\u003c/a> beneath one by a PG&E employee. Not all of the stairs, however, are accessible to the public. One of the most obvious examples of this are the basement stairs barricaded behind a locked gate, in the middle of a major walkway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895957\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Stairs to the basement from the Lan Mart's ground floor.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-16.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stairs to the basement from the Lan Mart’s ground floor. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Somewhat predictably, rumors of the Lan Mart being haunted are rife in Petaluma. During my first visit there, two employees from two separate businesses casually mentioned ghostly activity, entirely unprompted, within the first 15 minutes. One, who asked not to be named for fear that it might impact business, told me they often open up and find objects in their shop have moved during the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>t was rumors like these that prompted \u003ca href=\"https://www.yogarenewteachertraining.com/courses/200-hour/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgtWDBhDZARIsADEKwgNiZW0VHgDDUlW_YWCXDq0RcTaJtjEARr0Xps38JxygOUVnw62MbxcaAurjEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Renew Yoga\u003c/a> owner, Pamela Maldonado, to take action before she opened her business upstairs. “We were told that the Lan Mart was probably haunted,” Maldonado explains, “so I asked four of my reiki friends to help me smudge the studio. Smudging is a clearing ritual that removes negative energy. I am very sensitive to energy and in all the years I have worked here I’ve felt no negative energy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite being directly next door to Maldonado’s yoga studio, Anne Bishop is convinced that strange things \u003cem>are\u003c/em> afoot in the Lan Mart. She says the most common indication is her ceiling fans turning on and off of their own afford. “I’m always like, ‘Well, that’s the ghost!'” Bishop laughs. “I do feel a presence sometimes. A couple of times, I’ve hung something up in my studio and just immediately received this mass of energy of ‘No, don’t put that there.’ And then it ends up falling out of the wall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joanne Hansen, co-owner of the Lan Mart’s popular Old Chicago Pizza, believes that one strong presence upstairs may be her husband, who died in 2016 after running the restaurant for 38 years. “Michael was a man with a big personality and his presence is still to be felt, especially after closing,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895962\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895962\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Hansen's picture still adorns the wall of Old Chicago.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-9.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Hansen’s picture still adorns the wall of Old Chicago. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The strangest encounter I heard from Lan Mart employees happened to Drew Washer, who owns and runs the ground floor variety store Heebe Jeebe. At the time, she was running a seasonal Halloween store upstairs. “I was always kind of creeped out up there,” she says. “The light switch was on the far door from where I had to walk out. So at night, I would turn it off and just run really fast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One morning before opening,” Washer continues, “I saw this very classic looking apparition. It passed by my door, moved down the hallway and turned right towards the stairs. It was a really strange image.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895953\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895953\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Plants on the ground floor, put in place by Anne Bishop, after a Feng Shui expert advised her that something bad had happened in the area. Drew Washer saw an apparition heading to the area early one morning as she set up her shop.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-24.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plants on the ground floor, put in place by Anne Bishop, after a Feng Shui expert advised her that something bad had happened in the area. Drew Washer saw an apparition heading there early one morning as she set up her shop. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bishop tells me that a visiting Feng Shui practitioner was also drawn to those stairs, advising her to put plants around them in an effort to clear “challenging energy.” Bishop has been doing so ever since, though the Feng Shui expert didn’t offer any clues as to what might have happened there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a history as long as the Lan Mart’s, it could be just about anything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>he Lan Mart dates back to 1876, when a man named George Pury built a three-story hotel on a block that had, for years, been part of Petaluma’s burgeoning Chinatown. Its construction began in the middle of a concerted effort to push Chinese workers out of Petaluma, and indeed, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/lebaron-citys-rich-painful-chinese-legacy-gets-its-due/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">all of Sonoma County\u003c/a>. Mass immigration—prompted by both the gold rush and the construction work offered on Charles Crocker’s railroad—was openly talked about at the time as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/petalumas-past-remembering-the-chinese-exclusion-act-of-1882/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Chinese problem\u003c/a>.” At one point, the \u003cem>Petaluma Argus\u003c/em> newspaper proposed a boycott on any business hiring Chinese workers, and town leaders threatened to cut off the water supply to the “Chinese District.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As Chinese workers got pushed out, the Cosmopolitan Hotel went up on what is now Petaluma Boulevard, close to the corner of Western Avenue. The hotel had 46 bedrooms along with a barber, cobbler, parlor and dining room, as well as a saloon. There was also a social hall that served as a meeting place for local fraternal club the \u003ca href=\"https://start.cortera.com/company/research/l7s7lzm2k/loyal-order-of-moose-lodges/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Loyal Order of Moose\u003c/a>. (The club, an international organization, still exists in Petaluma today. A 2006 \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/loyal-order-of-moose-rapidly-attracting-members-to-help-liven-things-up-en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Press Democrat\u003c/em> article\u003c/a> reported that “prospective members must pledge that they believe in a supreme being, have not been a member of the Communist party, and have not been convicted of a felony.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Cosmopolitan opened for business, so did the Centennial Livery Stable next door. On its face, the stable provided convenient accommodations for travelers’ horses. But it also happened to house a brothel upstairs that remains infamous among Petaluma locals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>fter the 1906 earthquake, the stables, brothel and hotel were all combined behind a single facade. Bishop believes that Maldonado’s yoga studio once housed the saloon, and that her pilates studio used to be connected brothel bedrooms. “It’s not a very big space but there are three doors in here,” she says. “There used to be four, but one is the elevator shaft now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More change came in 1930 when the Gross Building was constructed behind the Lan Mart, facing out onto what is now Kentucky Street. It served first as a miniature golf course and later as a grocery store. By 1969, after the Lan Mart and the Gross had slipped into disrepair, the buildings were saved from demolition by a couple named Victor and Marisa DeCarli. The DeCarlis restored and combined the two buildings into one big shopping mall—today’s Lan Mart. (The DeCarlis still run two stores there—\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MarisasFantasiaPetaluma/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christmas Fantasia\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MarisasFantasiaPetaluma/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marisa’s Fantasia\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13895955\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13895955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"The Kentucky Street side of the Lan Mart, which used to be the Gross Building.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Image-from-iOS-22.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kentucky Street side of the Lan Mart, which used to be the Gross Building. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In interviews, across the board, everyone working in the Lan Mart expresses great love for the building, despite the architectural quirks and ongoing rumors of a haunting. “One of the things we joke about in the building is that once you move in, you don’t leave,” Bishop says. “Everyone here is a longterm tenant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bishop has given the matter a lot of thought, and believes she’s figured out why so many business owners feel such a deep attachment to the Lan Mart. “I think a lot about the women who worked in this space when it was a brothel,” she says. “It was probably a really hard life, doing that work back in the day. Being in here, you have a sense of them—I feel a kinship and I’ve always felt defensive of them. But most of the businesses here now are women-owned,” she continues. “And I feel there’s a significance in that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the spirits of those other women to feel like the tide has turned,” Bishop says. “Women succeeding here is a way to reclaim the space for them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "2020 Not Quite Scary Enough? Try a Haunted Car Wash",
"headTitle": "2020 Not Quite Scary Enough? Try a Haunted Car Wash | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>It’s just a few days until Halloween, and with coronavirus infection rates \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/27/928062773/u-s-cases-surpass-summer-peak-and-are-climbing-higher-fast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">climbing again\u003c/a>, the prospect of trick-or-treating is looking more and more grim for kids with cautious parents, or those taking \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/22/915689646/cdcs-halloween-guidelines-warn-against-typical-trick-or-treating-boo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the old Halloween standby—the haunted house—which is a scary place any year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/15/detroit-area-murder-houses/3622907001/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">doesn’t feel safe to many people this year\u003c/a>, even \u003cem>with\u003c/em> a mask. But there is one type of business providing a frighteningly good good time for everyone: The drive through car wash. [aside postid='arts_13886694']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In cities across the country, car wash owners have embraced the idea. It’s not exactly a new thing, and while no one is officially keeping track, “There are definitely more this year, ” says Rich DiPaolo, associate publisher at \u003cem>Professional Carwashing & Detailing Magazine.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love Halloween,” said Prashant Patel, who owns the Wash Doctor Carwash, in Birmingham, Ala., as hundreds of cars lined up last weekend to get spooked. “We’re gonna give everyone an option for Halloween this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Haunted car wash tunnels are COVID-friendly,” Patel’s wife and co-owner Mittel Patel added. “You know, nobody’s actually coming to touch you, grab you, or anything. You’re in your car, throughout the whole process, you’re sitting in your car.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unless, of course, your window is open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888505\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 777px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13888505\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM.png\" alt=\"The entrance to a red-lit haunted car wash.\" width=\"777\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM.png 777w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM-160x104.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM-768x499.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Enter if you dare. Just put your car in neutral and take your hands off the steering wheel. You’re not afraid to surrender all control as you get sucked into the tunnel, are you? \u003ccite>(Melanie Peeples/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Now our staff, if you roll your windows down, will, you know, try to reach in and grab you, but they won’t pull you out or anything.” [aside postid='arts_13888192']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Patel’s car wash has strobe lights, signs, and creepy clowns and characters walking around and in between cars waiting to go through the tunnel. There is Pennywise, the clown from Stephen King’s book and movie \u003cem>It\u003c/em>, Jason from \u003cem>Friday the 13th\u003c/em>, and, of course Michael Myers, from the movie \u003cem>Halloween. \u003c/em>Not to mention someone in a bunny head wielding a chainsaw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once a driver edges into the tunnel and puts the car in neutral, the car wash mechanism takes over and the driver must surrender all control to the haunted car wash. The red neon lights make the water falling down look like blood, as it mixes with the soap and creates a crimson foam, that slides down the windshield like a scene in a horror movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Patels promise a free shampoo for anyone who wets their seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 774px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13888507\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM.png\" alt=\"A scary clown creeping up on a car at the Wash Doctor Car Wash in Birmingham, Alabama.\" width=\"774\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM.png 774w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM-160x104.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM-768x501.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anyone with coulrophobia would do well to stay away from the Wash Doctor Car Wash in Birmingham, Ala. Creepy clowns at every corner delight in sneaking up on customers as they wait for their turn in the haunted car wash. \u003ccite>(Melanie Peeples/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Becoming scary is a way for car wash businesses to recoup some of the money lost earlier this year when the shutdown began. The Patels say they are lucky. Theirs is a family-run business and they didn’t have to let any employees go. They’re donating some of the proceeds to charity. But just giving Halloween fans a new option for celebrating this year could be considered worthy, in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, customers drive away with a clean car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=2020+Not+Scary+Enough%3F+Try+A+Haunted+Car+Wash&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Haunted car washes (like San Jose's Haunted Tunnel of Terror) are popping up all over America as a safe way to play on Halloween.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s just a few days until Halloween, and with coronavirus infection rates \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/27/928062773/u-s-cases-surpass-summer-peak-and-are-climbing-higher-fast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">climbing again\u003c/a>, the prospect of trick-or-treating is looking more and more grim for kids with cautious parents, or those taking \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/22/915689646/cdcs-halloween-guidelines-warn-against-typical-trick-or-treating-boo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the old Halloween standby—the haunted house—which is a scary place any year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/15/detroit-area-murder-houses/3622907001/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">doesn’t feel safe to many people this year\u003c/a>, even \u003cem>with\u003c/em> a mask. But there is one type of business providing a frighteningly good good time for everyone: The drive through car wash. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In cities across the country, car wash owners have embraced the idea. It’s not exactly a new thing, and while no one is officially keeping track, “There are definitely more this year, ” says Rich DiPaolo, associate publisher at \u003cem>Professional Carwashing & Detailing Magazine.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love Halloween,” said Prashant Patel, who owns the Wash Doctor Carwash, in Birmingham, Ala., as hundreds of cars lined up last weekend to get spooked. “We’re gonna give everyone an option for Halloween this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Haunted car wash tunnels are COVID-friendly,” Patel’s wife and co-owner Mittel Patel added. “You know, nobody’s actually coming to touch you, grab you, or anything. You’re in your car, throughout the whole process, you’re sitting in your car.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unless, of course, your window is open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888505\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 777px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13888505\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM.png\" alt=\"The entrance to a red-lit haunted car wash.\" width=\"777\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM.png 777w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM-160x104.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.20.06-PM-768x499.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Enter if you dare. Just put your car in neutral and take your hands off the steering wheel. You’re not afraid to surrender all control as you get sucked into the tunnel, are you? \u003ccite>(Melanie Peeples/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Now our staff, if you roll your windows down, will, you know, try to reach in and grab you, but they won’t pull you out or anything.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Patel’s car wash has strobe lights, signs, and creepy clowns and characters walking around and in between cars waiting to go through the tunnel. There is Pennywise, the clown from Stephen King’s book and movie \u003cem>It\u003c/em>, Jason from \u003cem>Friday the 13th\u003c/em>, and, of course Michael Myers, from the movie \u003cem>Halloween. \u003c/em>Not to mention someone in a bunny head wielding a chainsaw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once a driver edges into the tunnel and puts the car in neutral, the car wash mechanism takes over and the driver must surrender all control to the haunted car wash. The red neon lights make the water falling down look like blood, as it mixes with the soap and creates a crimson foam, that slides down the windshield like a scene in a horror movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Patels promise a free shampoo for anyone who wets their seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 774px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13888507\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM.png\" alt=\"A scary clown creeping up on a car at the Wash Doctor Car Wash in Birmingham, Alabama.\" width=\"774\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM.png 774w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM-160x104.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-12.22.22-PM-768x501.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anyone with coulrophobia would do well to stay away from the Wash Doctor Car Wash in Birmingham, Ala. Creepy clowns at every corner delight in sneaking up on customers as they wait for their turn in the haunted car wash. \u003ccite>(Melanie Peeples/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Becoming scary is a way for car wash businesses to recoup some of the money lost earlier this year when the shutdown began. The Patels say they are lucky. Theirs is a family-run business and they didn’t have to let any employees go. They’re donating some of the proceeds to charity. But just giving Halloween fans a new option for celebrating this year could be considered worthy, in and of itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, customers drive away with a clean car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=2020+Not+Scary+Enough%3F+Try+A+Haunted+Car+Wash&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In any other year, mini golf would definitely rank pretty low on the list of fright-fueled Halloween activities. But 2020 isn’t a normal year. In the absence of costume parties, movie theater horror marathons, and trick or treating, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stagecoach Greens\u003c/a> in San Francisco has stepped up and put together a surprisingly perfect way to celebrate the season at a safe social distance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 18-hole, outdoor attraction in Mission Bay has combined mini golf with Bay Area history ever since it opened in 2018. Ordinarily, the course takes you on a journey from stagecoach to gold rush graveyard, then on through quaking Victorian houses up to modern city landmarks. (Including, brilliantly, the Transamerica Pyramid playing Rock ’Em Sock ’Em with the Salesforce Tower.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, inspired by the season, not only has the mini golf course been decked out in Halloween finery (think: witches, ghouls, gravestones and skeletons), it’s sharing \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/cms/boom-and-bust-18-real-sf-ghost-stories/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">real-life horror stories from Bay Area history\u003c/a>. Each tale corresponds with a specific hole on the course—and the attention to detail is magnificent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13888195\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"The Barbary Coast Saloon, Hole 2 at San Francisco's Stagecoach Greens.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Barbary Coast Saloon, Hole 2 at San Francisco’s Stagecoach Greens. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rachel Rapaport, Stagecoach Greens)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For example, at the Barbary Coast Saloon (Hole 2), there’s the tale of Miss Piggott. Legend has it, the gold rush saloon owner would drug young men, hit them over the head, send them through a trap door and then out to sea. At the Sutro Tower (Hole 12), you can read about the suicides that haunted the Sutro Forest early in the 1900s. At the Ocean Beach Bonfire (Hole 15), learn about the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/103040/are-the-cliff-house-and-the-sutro-baths-cursed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ghostly figures\u003c/a> seen within the remains of the Sutro Baths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since reopening after shelter-in-place restrictions, Stagecoach Greens has been operating at limited capacity and by \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/purchase/index/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reservation\u003c/a> only, in order to ensure safe, socially distant play. This means booking in advance if you want to partake in the ghostly golf. Handily, this also gives you plenty of time to come up with a costume that corresponds with the course. Think: ghostly gold miners, tricky tavern keepers, or perhaps the White Lady of Stow Lake, currently residing at Hole 13—the Golden Gate Park windmill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stagecoach Greens resumes normal (non-haunted) activity on Nov. 2. \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In any other year, mini golf would definitely rank pretty low on the list of fright-fueled Halloween activities. But 2020 isn’t a normal year. In the absence of costume parties, movie theater horror marathons, and trick or treating, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stagecoach Greens\u003c/a> in San Francisco has stepped up and put together a surprisingly perfect way to celebrate the season at a safe social distance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 18-hole, outdoor attraction in Mission Bay has combined mini golf with Bay Area history ever since it opened in 2018. Ordinarily, the course takes you on a journey from stagecoach to gold rush graveyard, then on through quaking Victorian houses up to modern city landmarks. (Including, brilliantly, the Transamerica Pyramid playing Rock ’Em Sock ’Em with the Salesforce Tower.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, inspired by the season, not only has the mini golf course been decked out in Halloween finery (think: witches, ghouls, gravestones and skeletons), it’s sharing \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/cms/boom-and-bust-18-real-sf-ghost-stories/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">real-life horror stories from Bay Area history\u003c/a>. Each tale corresponds with a specific hole on the course—and the attention to detail is magnificent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13888195\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"The Barbary Coast Saloon, Hole 2 at San Francisco's Stagecoach Greens.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/Stagecoach-Tavern-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Barbary Coast Saloon, Hole 2 at San Francisco’s Stagecoach Greens. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rachel Rapaport, Stagecoach Greens)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For example, at the Barbary Coast Saloon (Hole 2), there’s the tale of Miss Piggott. Legend has it, the gold rush saloon owner would drug young men, hit them over the head, send them through a trap door and then out to sea. At the Sutro Tower (Hole 12), you can read about the suicides that haunted the Sutro Forest early in the 1900s. At the Ocean Beach Bonfire (Hole 15), learn about the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/103040/are-the-cliff-house-and-the-sutro-baths-cursed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ghostly figures\u003c/a> seen within the remains of the Sutro Baths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since reopening after shelter-in-place restrictions, Stagecoach Greens has been operating at limited capacity and by \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/purchase/index/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reservation\u003c/a> only, in order to ensure safe, socially distant play. This means booking in advance if you want to partake in the ghostly golf. Handily, this also gives you plenty of time to come up with a costume that corresponds with the course. Think: ghostly gold miners, tricky tavern keepers, or perhaps the White Lady of Stow Lake, currently residing at Hole 13—the Golden Gate Park windmill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stagecoach Greens resumes normal (non-haunted) activity on Nov. 2. \u003ca href=\"https://www.stagecoachgreens.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In “Smartening Up,” the first story in Aoko Matsuda’s collection \u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are\u003c/em>, the narrator reflects on her dissatisfaction with the way she looks. She has too much body hair, she thinks, and that’s why her boyfriend left her. In her estimation, the breakup “happened because my arms, my legs, and other parts of my body were not perfectly hairless—because I was an unkempt person who went about life as if there was nothing wrong with being hairy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After she comes home from a hair removal clinic, she’s visited by an unlikely guest: the ghost of her late aunt, who chides her for “weakening the power of your hair.” The narrator is skeptical at first, but when her body becomes entirely covered with thick, dark hair, she feels liberated, finally at home: “As to the question of what kind of creature I am,” she thinks, “I really couldn’t care less. It doesn’t bother me if I stay a nameless monster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like all the stories in Matsuda’s book, “Smartening Up” takes odd turn after odd turn, and still manages to surprise the reader by ending up somewhere completely unexpected. \u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are \u003c/em>is an audacious book, a collection of ghost stories that’s spooky, original and defiantly feminist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of the stories in Matsuda’s collection are based, loosely, on traditional Japanese stories of yōkai, ghosts and monsters that figure prominently in the country’s folklore. But Matsuda puts her own clever spin on them, and each of her stories feels original and contemporary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the title story, a young man named Shigeru finds himself at loose ends after the suicide of his mother. He’s looking for work, but finds himself unequipped to search for a job while in an enervated state: “Shigeru felt barely capable of surviving a gentle wave lapping up on shore, let alone a turbulent sea. Between him and a sandcastle built by a kid with a plastic spade, Shigeru suspected he’d be the first to collapse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he eventually lands a gig on an assembly line at a mysterious company that manufactures incense. And then weird things start happening. When he visits his mother’s grave, he’s greeted with her disembodied voice singing, “I’m not in there, you hear!” Then he discovers that some of his women co-workers might not be exactly human. The story perfectly demonstrates Matsuda’s gift for creating an understated, but still eerie atmosphere—the stories in her book are ghostly, to be sure, but there are no jump scares, no cheap tricks; it’s Matsuda’s writing that makes her fiction so unsettling and unearthly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the standout stories in \u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are \u003c/em>is “A Fox’s Life,” which follows Kuzuha, a girl who’s something of a child prodigy. She’s uncomfortable with her intelligence, though, thinking, “People resented girls and women who stood out, both in her class and in the world outside it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So she decides not to go to college, to the horror of her teachers, instead opting for a job in administration, and a marriage to a kind, if unexceptional, man. In her middle age, she takes up mountain climbing, and after falling off a cliff, finds—just in time—that she has the ability to shapeshift into a fox: “Throughout her life, Kuzuha had always had the feeling that she was just pretending to be a regular woman,” Matsuda writes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the story, Matsuda offers a twist: Kuzuha is one of the mysterious co-workers of Shigeru, from the title story. Sensing that the young man is frustrated with a job he suspects might be dead-end, she contemplates telling him, “It’s different from how you were told it would be, right? … As women, we’ve grown up with that ceiling since we were tiny. There was never a time we couldn’t see it.” Matsuda seamlessly blends otherworldliness with a feminist message, a technique she uses in all of the book’s stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what remarkable stories they are. Like the subject matter of the book, Matsuda’s writing, and Polly Barton’s masterful translation, seems to exist on a higher plane—the author seems to see things the rest of us can’t (or won’t), and writes with a subtle self-assuredness mixed with a sly, unexpected sense of humor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are \u003c/em>would make for great Halloween reading, although these aren’t the same old horror stories you’ve encountered before—they’re novel, shimmering masterworks from a writer who seems incapable of being anything less than original. Towards the end of the book, one of Matsuda’s characters observes of her friends with dedicated fixations, “Somewhere inside, these people are all quietly on fire.” Matsuda’s book is on fire, too, but there’s nothing quiet about her maverick brilliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Where+The+Wild+Ladies+Are%27+Is+Perfect+Halloween+Reading&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In “Smartening Up,” the first story in Aoko Matsuda’s collection \u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are\u003c/em>, the narrator reflects on her dissatisfaction with the way she looks. She has too much body hair, she thinks, and that’s why her boyfriend left her. In her estimation, the breakup “happened because my arms, my legs, and other parts of my body were not perfectly hairless—because I was an unkempt person who went about life as if there was nothing wrong with being hairy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After she comes home from a hair removal clinic, she’s visited by an unlikely guest: the ghost of her late aunt, who chides her for “weakening the power of your hair.” The narrator is skeptical at first, but when her body becomes entirely covered with thick, dark hair, she feels liberated, finally at home: “As to the question of what kind of creature I am,” she thinks, “I really couldn’t care less. It doesn’t bother me if I stay a nameless monster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like all the stories in Matsuda’s book, “Smartening Up” takes odd turn after odd turn, and still manages to surprise the reader by ending up somewhere completely unexpected. \u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are \u003c/em>is an audacious book, a collection of ghost stories that’s spooky, original and defiantly feminist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of the stories in Matsuda’s collection are based, loosely, on traditional Japanese stories of yōkai, ghosts and monsters that figure prominently in the country’s folklore. But Matsuda puts her own clever spin on them, and each of her stories feels original and contemporary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the title story, a young man named Shigeru finds himself at loose ends after the suicide of his mother. He’s looking for work, but finds himself unequipped to search for a job while in an enervated state: “Shigeru felt barely capable of surviving a gentle wave lapping up on shore, let alone a turbulent sea. Between him and a sandcastle built by a kid with a plastic spade, Shigeru suspected he’d be the first to collapse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he eventually lands a gig on an assembly line at a mysterious company that manufactures incense. And then weird things start happening. When he visits his mother’s grave, he’s greeted with her disembodied voice singing, “I’m not in there, you hear!” Then he discovers that some of his women co-workers might not be exactly human. The story perfectly demonstrates Matsuda’s gift for creating an understated, but still eerie atmosphere—the stories in her book are ghostly, to be sure, but there are no jump scares, no cheap tricks; it’s Matsuda’s writing that makes her fiction so unsettling and unearthly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the standout stories in \u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are \u003c/em>is “A Fox’s Life,” which follows Kuzuha, a girl who’s something of a child prodigy. She’s uncomfortable with her intelligence, though, thinking, “People resented girls and women who stood out, both in her class and in the world outside it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So she decides not to go to college, to the horror of her teachers, instead opting for a job in administration, and a marriage to a kind, if unexceptional, man. In her middle age, she takes up mountain climbing, and after falling off a cliff, finds—just in time—that she has the ability to shapeshift into a fox: “Throughout her life, Kuzuha had always had the feeling that she was just pretending to be a regular woman,” Matsuda writes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the story, Matsuda offers a twist: Kuzuha is one of the mysterious co-workers of Shigeru, from the title story. Sensing that the young man is frustrated with a job he suspects might be dead-end, she contemplates telling him, “It’s different from how you were told it would be, right? … As women, we’ve grown up with that ceiling since we were tiny. There was never a time we couldn’t see it.” Matsuda seamlessly blends otherworldliness with a feminist message, a technique she uses in all of the book’s stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what remarkable stories they are. Like the subject matter of the book, Matsuda’s writing, and Polly Barton’s masterful translation, seems to exist on a higher plane—the author seems to see things the rest of us can’t (or won’t), and writes with a subtle self-assuredness mixed with a sly, unexpected sense of humor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Where the Wild Ladies Are \u003c/em>would make for great Halloween reading, although these aren’t the same old horror stories you’ve encountered before—they’re novel, shimmering masterworks from a writer who seems incapable of being anything less than original. Towards the end of the book, one of Matsuda’s characters observes of her friends with dedicated fixations, “Somewhere inside, these people are all quietly on fire.” Matsuda’s book is on fire, too, but there’s nothing quiet about her maverick brilliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Where+The+Wild+Ladies+Are%27+Is+Perfect+Halloween+Reading&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "For One Week in 1871, San Francisco Went Loopy Over ‘Haunted’ Windows",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Dec. 9, 1871, the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> ran a story about a “specter” that had appeared in the upstairs window of a house on Mason Street. The ghostly face had been scaring neighbors for five days at that point, and as word spread, hundreds of people from all over the city flocked to see it, gridlocking an entire stretch of North Beach.[aside postid='arts_13883118']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was children who first noticed the face in the window at 2119 Mason Street. When they pointed it out to the occupant, a Swedish widow named Mrs. Jorgenson, she investigated the room and found nothing out of place. The \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em> later noted: “The room in which the specter-bearing window stands is small and contains a picture and a looking-glass among the rest of the articles of furniture. Therefore, there is no object which might produce on the window the reflection of a human face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As gossip spread throughout North Beach that her dead husband had come home to haunt her, Mrs. Jorgenson was forced to repeatedly point out that the man in the window didn’t even look like him. Which may have been a bit of a shame for her, given that in its front page follow-up report on Dec. 10, the\u003cem> Chronicle\u003c/em> described the window ghost as “rather handsome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The paper provided both an artist’s rendering of the apparition and a detailed description. “The image is of life-size,” it reported, “with mustache and goatee; well-defined hair parted in the middle, and waving off the forehead.” The paper also said: “The eyes are quite distinct and, from a circular rim beneath each, seem to be spectacled. The head is pensively cast on the left shoulder,” with an expression that appeared “thoughtful and rather sad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13884416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13884416\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-800x1207.jpg\" alt=\"The artist's rendering of the window apparition, as seen in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10 1871.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-800x1207.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-1020x1539.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-1018x1536.jpg 1018w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-1358x2048.jpg 1358w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-scaled.jpg 1697w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The artist’s rendering of the window apparition, as seen in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10 1871.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The same day the\u003cem> Chronicle’\u003c/em>s first report came out, the window was purchased for $250 by Robert B. Woodward, the owner of \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodward%27s_Gardens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Woodward’s Gardens\u003c/a>. “The Gardens,” as it was commonly referred to at the time, was a popular amusement park that was open between 1866 and 1891. It occupied the block bounded by Mission, Duboce, Valencia and 14th Streets, and it squeezed a lot into that space—including a museum, art gallery, zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens and—as of 1871—a haunted window section.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward got the glass in the nick of time—the Superintendent of the North Beach and Mission Railroad arrived later that day in the hopes of also buying it.[aside postid='arts_13881990']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Woodward was busy removing Mrs. Jorgenson’s window on Mason, half a block away at 708 Lombard Street, another window was causing a furor. And the ghost face in this one, the\u003cem> Chronicle\u003c/em> was careful to detail, wasn’t nearly as dashing as the first. “The apparition is of an elderly gentleman with very grotesque features,” it reported. “He presents a profile view, and is looking contemplatively upward. The pane of glass is rather small, and the old gentleman’s head seems to be squeezed in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13884419\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13884419\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-800x863.jpg\" alt=\"Ghost window number two, as presented in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10, 1871.\" width=\"800\" height=\"863\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-800x863.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-1020x1100.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-160x173.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-768x828.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-1424x1536.jpg 1424w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531.jpg 1626w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ghost window number two, as presented in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10, 1871.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the homeowner John J. Hucks, noticed the commotion gathering in front of his house, he rushed outside and told them, in no uncertain terms, to scram. “Mr. Hucks was terribly wrothy,” \u003cem>The Chronicle\u003c/em> noted. “He asked us of who and what we were and on hearing our business, broke out violently, declaring that he ‘wanted no such damned thing as that put in the \u003cem>Chronicle’ \u003c/em>about his house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hucks’ mood probably lifted after Robert B. Woodward arrived later that afternoon and handed over $250 for the window.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, attention had shifted to yet another house on Mason Street. Spotted in the window of number 2109 was a—wait for it!—spectral butterfly. Based on his text, this appears to have been the breaking point for the\u003cem> Chronicle\u003c/em> reporter. “What the object of any spirit may be in assuming the shape of a butterfly, we can’t see,” he wrote, “unless it is to make a poor reporter overhaul numerous huge volumes of entomology, for the purpose of finding out the particular caterpillar he comes from.”[aside postid='pop_103040']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after the butterfly image “faded away and gradually disappeared,” the reporter and his sketch artist were informed by a frantic man running up the street “with one boot off” of a fourth ghost window—this one at Mason and Green. “But we had our fill of specters,” the newspaper reported. “It was getting rather monotonous, this ghost business. So we determined not to interview this fourth abomination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the article’s conclusion, it was suggested that the “ghosts” were, in all likelihood, merely “iridescent formations” resulting from a combination of “dust and moisture.” By that stage, it didn’t much matter. Robert B. Woodward was already proudly displaying the “Ghost Sensation!” attraction at his amusement park and the city was filled with enough believers to go and visit it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1893, 14 years after his death, Woodward’s collection of 75,000 curios and \u003cem>objet d’art\u003c/em> were auctioned off. Adolph Sutro snapped up a lot of items that would later be displayed at the Sutro Baths—but it’s unclear exactly where the windows ended up. If not for the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em>’s willingness to report on such a strange episode, the ghostly windows—and the wacky behavior they inspired—would likely have been lost to the ravages of time. Now they may just live on forever, as all good window ghosts should.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was children who first noticed the face in the window at 2119 Mason Street. When they pointed it out to the occupant, a Swedish widow named Mrs. Jorgenson, she investigated the room and found nothing out of place. The \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em> later noted: “The room in which the specter-bearing window stands is small and contains a picture and a looking-glass among the rest of the articles of furniture. Therefore, there is no object which might produce on the window the reflection of a human face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As gossip spread throughout North Beach that her dead husband had come home to haunt her, Mrs. Jorgenson was forced to repeatedly point out that the man in the window didn’t even look like him. Which may have been a bit of a shame for her, given that in its front page follow-up report on Dec. 10, the\u003cem> Chronicle\u003c/em> described the window ghost as “rather handsome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The paper provided both an artist’s rendering of the apparition and a detailed description. “The image is of life-size,” it reported, “with mustache and goatee; well-defined hair parted in the middle, and waving off the forehead.” The paper also said: “The eyes are quite distinct and, from a circular rim beneath each, seem to be spectacled. The head is pensively cast on the left shoulder,” with an expression that appeared “thoughtful and rather sad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13884416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13884416\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-800x1207.jpg\" alt=\"The artist's rendering of the window apparition, as seen in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10 1871.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-800x1207.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-1020x1539.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-1018x1536.jpg 1018w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-1358x2048.jpg 1358w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_143941-scaled.jpg 1697w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The artist’s rendering of the window apparition, as seen in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10 1871.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The same day the\u003cem> Chronicle’\u003c/em>s first report came out, the window was purchased for $250 by Robert B. Woodward, the owner of \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodward%27s_Gardens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Woodward’s Gardens\u003c/a>. “The Gardens,” as it was commonly referred to at the time, was a popular amusement park that was open between 1866 and 1891. It occupied the block bounded by Mission, Duboce, Valencia and 14th Streets, and it squeezed a lot into that space—including a museum, art gallery, zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens and—as of 1871—a haunted window section.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward got the glass in the nick of time—the Superintendent of the North Beach and Mission Railroad arrived later that day in the hopes of also buying it.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Woodward was busy removing Mrs. Jorgenson’s window on Mason, half a block away at 708 Lombard Street, another window was causing a furor. And the ghost face in this one, the\u003cem> Chronicle\u003c/em> was careful to detail, wasn’t nearly as dashing as the first. “The apparition is of an elderly gentleman with very grotesque features,” it reported. “He presents a profile view, and is looking contemplatively upward. The pane of glass is rather small, and the old gentleman’s head seems to be squeezed in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13884419\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13884419\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-800x863.jpg\" alt=\"Ghost window number two, as presented in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10, 1871.\" width=\"800\" height=\"863\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-800x863.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-1020x1100.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-160x173.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-768x828.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531-1424x1536.jpg 1424w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/20200805_145531.jpg 1626w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ghost window number two, as presented in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, Dec. 10, 1871.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the homeowner John J. Hucks, noticed the commotion gathering in front of his house, he rushed outside and told them, in no uncertain terms, to scram. “Mr. Hucks was terribly wrothy,” \u003cem>The Chronicle\u003c/em> noted. “He asked us of who and what we were and on hearing our business, broke out violently, declaring that he ‘wanted no such damned thing as that put in the \u003cem>Chronicle’ \u003c/em>about his house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hucks’ mood probably lifted after Robert B. Woodward arrived later that afternoon and handed over $250 for the window.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, attention had shifted to yet another house on Mason Street. Spotted in the window of number 2109 was a—wait for it!—spectral butterfly. Based on his text, this appears to have been the breaking point for the\u003cem> Chronicle\u003c/em> reporter. “What the object of any spirit may be in assuming the shape of a butterfly, we can’t see,” he wrote, “unless it is to make a poor reporter overhaul numerous huge volumes of entomology, for the purpose of finding out the particular caterpillar he comes from.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after the butterfly image “faded away and gradually disappeared,” the reporter and his sketch artist were informed by a frantic man running up the street “with one boot off” of a fourth ghost window—this one at Mason and Green. “But we had our fill of specters,” the newspaper reported. “It was getting rather monotonous, this ghost business. So we determined not to interview this fourth abomination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the article’s conclusion, it was suggested that the “ghosts” were, in all likelihood, merely “iridescent formations” resulting from a combination of “dust and moisture.” By that stage, it didn’t much matter. Robert B. Woodward was already proudly displaying the “Ghost Sensation!” attraction at his amusement park and the city was filled with enough believers to go and visit it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1893, 14 years after his death, Woodward’s collection of 75,000 curios and \u003cem>objet d’art\u003c/em> were auctioned off. Adolph Sutro snapped up a lot of items that would later be displayed at the Sutro Baths—but it’s unclear exactly where the windows ended up. If not for the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em>’s willingness to report on such a strange episode, the ghostly windows—and the wacky behavior they inspired—would likely have been lost to the ravages of time. Now they may just live on forever, as all good window ghosts should.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Haunted House on Lombard Street That Left a Trail of Tragedy",
"headTitle": "The Haunted House on Lombard Street That Left a Trail of Tragedy | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">P\u003c/span>at Montandon’s ordeal began at her own party. It was 1968 and the socialite had invited the glitterati of San Francisco to her home at 1000 Lombard Street. The theme was astrology; guests were paired up according to zodiac sign and offered psychic readings from a palmist, a crystal-ball gazer, an astrologer and a tarot reader. At the end of the night, buoyed by compliments from her guests, Montandon felt certain that the party had been a “brilliant success.” Two years later, she recognized it as the start of an unyielding nightmare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Montandon, then 39, was a columnist for the \u003cem>Examiner\u003c/em>, a popular host on the local TV station KGO and the author of a book inspired by her legendary soirée-throwing skills, \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1638162.How_To_Be_A_Party_Girl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>How To Be A Party Girl\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. She was vivacious, beautiful and her life was positively enviable … until all of a sudden, it wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The night of the astrology party, the tarot reader flew into a rage after Montandon forgot to bring him a drink. In \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1075886.The_Intruders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Intruders\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, her incredible 1975 book about the events that followed, she wrote:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Quivering with rage, he directed a stream of abuse at me: He had never been treated so rudely, I was an insufferable, ungracious hostess, he was leaving, but not before he made certain I would never have any happy moments in that house again. He fixed me with a glare, his face puffed and distorted. ‘I lay a curse upon you and this house. I do not forget, and I do not forgive. Remember that!’\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, Montandon’s life was falling apart. At home, she was subjected to paranormal events so relentless, they quickly transformed her from a skeptic into a believer. She was plagued by locked doors and windows opening themselves, and freezing temperatures that persisted despite a thermostat turned up to 90 degrees. She was routinely awoken at two in the morning, and she heard strange footsteps and music—specifically a song called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0OSRuaKKig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mockin’ Bird Hill\u003c/a>,” on repeat. [aside postid='arts_13892672']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her home was broken into and ransacked. Her car was destroyed. When she tried to throw another party, a mysterious fire broke out. She was physically assaulted by a date who had to be forcibly removed from the house by police. She was threatened by her new neighbors, a gang of drug dealers. She was forced to give up her beloved Lhasa Apso who developed sores and became so fearful inside the house that he started pulling his own fur out. (The dog returned to full health as soon as he was re-homed.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While in the house, Montandon suffered bouts of dizziness, headaches and disorientation. One night, these symptoms became so severe, she almost overdosed on medication. Worst of all, within three years of the tarot reader’s curse, three of the women closest to her—all young and healthy, all of whom had resided in the house for short stints after the astrology party—were dead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of them, Montandon’s cousin Carolyn and a young assistant named Vera Scott (both of whom had been terrified by the house while living there) died by suicide. The third woman, Montandon’s best friend and secretary Mary Lou Ward, died in the home under circumstances so mysterious, a cause of death has never been determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened. In May 1969, Montandon abandoned the house to live with her new husband, Alfred Wilsey, who moved the date of their wedding up in an effort to loose her from the building’s clutches even faster. Montandon was unable to get out of her lease, and the Lombard Street house sat empty for weeks until Ward asked if she might stay there—she was looking to give her own newlywed daughter and son-in-law some space to themselves in her home. Montandon agreed, but recalls saying: “You’re sure you’re not afraid? I wouldn’t go back on a bet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One week later, after flames were spotted by a neighbor, Ward was found face down on the bed in Montandon’s bedroom, severely burned. All of the windows and doors to the room were locked. At the inquest, it was determined that the 47-year-old had died before the fire started, but no one could figure out how or why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coroner Dr. Henry W. Turkel stated:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I should explain to you … that we have examined Mary Louise Ward as carefully as we know how and at great length, and we cannot establish any reason for her death. We don’t know why she died.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>George Lucas, an inspector from the SFFD who also worked on the case, was equally confounded about the fire’s origin, especially since it broke out \u003cem>after\u003c/em> Ward died and she was home alone. He later wrote to Montandon:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I personally went back to that apartment on my own several times to try to solve the mystery there. In my 22 years as a member of the fire department, I have had lots of experiences of death by fire. There was something about this one that just wasn’t right.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Tortured by the fact that the investigation into Ward’s death created more questions than answers, Montandon went about doing her own detective work. Before her death, Ward had told Montandon she didn’t think the tarot reader’s curse was entirely to blame for the run of strange activity that followed. “I think it was already there,” she told Montandon. “Maybe his influence just called it out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Montandon’s investigation seemed to back up Ward’s theory. She discovered that former tenants of 1000 Lombard Street had uncommonly high rates of both divorce and alcohol dependency. One complained of developing a puzzling illness while living there that she never entirely got rid of, even years after leaving. [aside postid='pop_103040']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, at least one woman had died by suicide in the house. Neighbors who knew the deceased later told Montandon that, before the former resident took her life, she listened to music at all hours of the day and night—specifically the song “Mockin’ Bird Hill.” Before her suicide, Montandon’s cousin Carolyn confessed she continued to hear the song even after she moved away from Lombard Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Montandon’s ex-landlord sold the building in 1973, he told the writer: “That building surely was a voodoo for me. It had a hex on it. I had more trouble there than I’ve ever had in my life. It was hard to unload.” And in a later letter, he wrote, “I was glad when I finally sold it in 1973.” He got $150,000 for the property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, 1000 Lombard Street sold for the first time since. And though initially listed for $7,850,000, it ended up selling for \u003ca href=\"https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1000-Lombard-St_San-Francisco_CA_94109_M10037-31155\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$5,100,000\u003c/a>. Which, for a 12-room, 3-story home with breathtaking views of the Bay and a prime position at the bottom of the Lombard Street wiggle, seems fairly cheap by San Francisco standards. (There are currently 5-bedroom homes in the neighborhood on the market \u003ca href=\"https://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/2352/CA/San-Francisco/Russian-Hill/filter/viewport=37.80419:37.79803:-122.41312:-122.42467?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for more\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pat Montandon sent two psychics to investigate 1000 Lombard Street in 1973. They emerged with strange photographs that seemed to change over time, and an ominous analysis of the spiritual state of the home. Though efforts were made to shield Montandon from the things she had experienced there, the paranormal experts were unable to clear the house of the unusual activity that plagued it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the investigators, Frank R. Nocerino, wrote a summary for Montandon afterwards. “You are and will be protected from anything in the house by an exorcism that my group and I have done from a distance, and from symbols left behind in the house itself,” he told her. “I can only again suggest that you do not go there if at all possible. In particular, never go alone.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">P\u003c/span>at Montandon’s ordeal began at her own party. It was 1968 and the socialite had invited the glitterati of San Francisco to her home at 1000 Lombard Street. The theme was astrology; guests were paired up according to zodiac sign and offered psychic readings from a palmist, a crystal-ball gazer, an astrologer and a tarot reader. At the end of the night, buoyed by compliments from her guests, Montandon felt certain that the party had been a “brilliant success.” Two years later, she recognized it as the start of an unyielding nightmare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Montandon, then 39, was a columnist for the \u003cem>Examiner\u003c/em>, a popular host on the local TV station KGO and the author of a book inspired by her legendary soirée-throwing skills, \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1638162.How_To_Be_A_Party_Girl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>How To Be A Party Girl\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. She was vivacious, beautiful and her life was positively enviable … until all of a sudden, it wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The night of the astrology party, the tarot reader flew into a rage after Montandon forgot to bring him a drink. In \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1075886.The_Intruders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>The Intruders\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, her incredible 1975 book about the events that followed, she wrote:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Quivering with rage, he directed a stream of abuse at me: He had never been treated so rudely, I was an insufferable, ungracious hostess, he was leaving, but not before he made certain I would never have any happy moments in that house again. He fixed me with a glare, his face puffed and distorted. ‘I lay a curse upon you and this house. I do not forget, and I do not forgive. Remember that!’\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, Montandon’s life was falling apart. At home, she was subjected to paranormal events so relentless, they quickly transformed her from a skeptic into a believer. She was plagued by locked doors and windows opening themselves, and freezing temperatures that persisted despite a thermostat turned up to 90 degrees. She was routinely awoken at two in the morning, and she heard strange footsteps and music—specifically a song called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0OSRuaKKig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mockin’ Bird Hill\u003c/a>,” on repeat. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her home was broken into and ransacked. Her car was destroyed. When she tried to throw another party, a mysterious fire broke out. She was physically assaulted by a date who had to be forcibly removed from the house by police. She was threatened by her new neighbors, a gang of drug dealers. She was forced to give up her beloved Lhasa Apso who developed sores and became so fearful inside the house that he started pulling his own fur out. (The dog returned to full health as soon as he was re-homed.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While in the house, Montandon suffered bouts of dizziness, headaches and disorientation. One night, these symptoms became so severe, she almost overdosed on medication. Worst of all, within three years of the tarot reader’s curse, three of the women closest to her—all young and healthy, all of whom had resided in the house for short stints after the astrology party—were dead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of them, Montandon’s cousin Carolyn and a young assistant named Vera Scott (both of whom had been terrified by the house while living there) died by suicide. The third woman, Montandon’s best friend and secretary Mary Lou Ward, died in the home under circumstances so mysterious, a cause of death has never been determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened. In May 1969, Montandon abandoned the house to live with her new husband, Alfred Wilsey, who moved the date of their wedding up in an effort to loose her from the building’s clutches even faster. Montandon was unable to get out of her lease, and the Lombard Street house sat empty for weeks until Ward asked if she might stay there—she was looking to give her own newlywed daughter and son-in-law some space to themselves in her home. Montandon agreed, but recalls saying: “You’re sure you’re not afraid? I wouldn’t go back on a bet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One week later, after flames were spotted by a neighbor, Ward was found face down on the bed in Montandon’s bedroom, severely burned. All of the windows and doors to the room were locked. At the inquest, it was determined that the 47-year-old had died before the fire started, but no one could figure out how or why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coroner Dr. Henry W. Turkel stated:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I should explain to you … that we have examined Mary Louise Ward as carefully as we know how and at great length, and we cannot establish any reason for her death. We don’t know why she died.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>George Lucas, an inspector from the SFFD who also worked on the case, was equally confounded about the fire’s origin, especially since it broke out \u003cem>after\u003c/em> Ward died and she was home alone. He later wrote to Montandon:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I personally went back to that apartment on my own several times to try to solve the mystery there. In my 22 years as a member of the fire department, I have had lots of experiences of death by fire. There was something about this one that just wasn’t right.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Tortured by the fact that the investigation into Ward’s death created more questions than answers, Montandon went about doing her own detective work. Before her death, Ward had told Montandon she didn’t think the tarot reader’s curse was entirely to blame for the run of strange activity that followed. “I think it was already there,” she told Montandon. “Maybe his influence just called it out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Montandon’s investigation seemed to back up Ward’s theory. She discovered that former tenants of 1000 Lombard Street had uncommonly high rates of both divorce and alcohol dependency. One complained of developing a puzzling illness while living there that she never entirely got rid of, even years after leaving. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, at least one woman had died by suicide in the house. Neighbors who knew the deceased later told Montandon that, before the former resident took her life, she listened to music at all hours of the day and night—specifically the song “Mockin’ Bird Hill.” Before her suicide, Montandon’s cousin Carolyn confessed she continued to hear the song even after she moved away from Lombard Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Montandon’s ex-landlord sold the building in 1973, he told the writer: “That building surely was a voodoo for me. It had a hex on it. I had more trouble there than I’ve ever had in my life. It was hard to unload.” And in a later letter, he wrote, “I was glad when I finally sold it in 1973.” He got $150,000 for the property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, 1000 Lombard Street sold for the first time since. And though initially listed for $7,850,000, it ended up selling for \u003ca href=\"https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1000-Lombard-St_San-Francisco_CA_94109_M10037-31155\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$5,100,000\u003c/a>. Which, for a 12-room, 3-story home with breathtaking views of the Bay and a prime position at the bottom of the Lombard Street wiggle, seems fairly cheap by San Francisco standards. (There are currently 5-bedroom homes in the neighborhood on the market \u003ca href=\"https://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/2352/CA/San-Francisco/Russian-Hill/filter/viewport=37.80419:37.79803:-122.41312:-122.42467?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for more\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pat Montandon sent two psychics to investigate 1000 Lombard Street in 1973. They emerged with strange photographs that seemed to change over time, and an ominous analysis of the spiritual state of the home. Though efforts were made to shield Montandon from the things she had experienced there, the paranormal experts were unable to clear the house of the unusual activity that plagued it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
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"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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},
"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
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"source": "pbs"
},
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