I was born in San Francisco at Kaiser Hospital on Geary Street. We lived in the City for years before we moved to nearby Daly City, and then Redwood City further down the Peninsula. It never occurred to me that there was so much to the city that I did not know, even though it is where I am from. San Francisco is rich in history, and apparently rich in spirits. No, I am not talking gin here…I am talking apparitions, ghosts. My mother loves to tell the story of how she heard me talking to a ghost in my great-grandmother's house on Third Ave. There is no shortage of haunted places in the City, so I narrowed the list down to five of the places where you may or may not see a ghost.
BAY BRIDGE'S LOWER DECK
On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m., the upper deck of the Nimitz Freeway collapsed onto the lower deck causing 69 deaths, and over 3,000 injuries. I was living in Fremont, CA. at the time, and I remember sitting in the living room of my apartment. My then one-year-old son had just taken his first step, when everything began shaking. Motorists have reported seeing a headless man racing alongside their cars, knocking on their window. This hits very close to home. My grandmother has lived in Daly City for as far back as I can remember, and I cannot tell you how many times I have ridden that exact route when we lived in Oakland. I have never seen the headless man, but I sure will not be taking that way home again!
ALCATRAZ ISLAND
Alcatraz Island is probably one of the most well known haunted locations in San Francisco. Nestled 1.5 miles from Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz was founded in 1934 has a been used as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and finally, a federal prison. Alcatraz was closed in 1963, and occupied by Native American activists from 1969-1971. As a prison, some of the most notorious criminals were incarcerated on what locals call “the rock”. Al Capone, Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud, and Arthur “Doc” Barker of the infamous Ma Barker Gang have all resided in the dank and sparse cells. The cruelest conditions have caused some of the prisoners to go insane. There have been reports of men sobbing, voices, and the echoes of the cell doors being opened and slammed closed. Most of the “activity” seems to come from the lower level, cell 14d in particular. This cell is always freezing and inmates have reported seeing a pair of “glowing eyes” when left alone in there. Guards and tour guides alike have reported sightings of soldiers in military garb, spirits from Alcatraz's military days.
U.C.S.F MEDICAL CENTER
University of California Medical Center is known as a “public university dedicated to saving lives and improving health.". Not only does it serve as a hospital, but as a learning center for graduate students pursuing a career in medicine. A woman believed to have died during childbirth haunts the intensive care nursery, while an exorcism was performed on the eighth floor to rid the pediatric department of the ghosts of children.
STRAWBERRY HILL - STOWE LAKE, GOLDEN GATE PARK
Golden Gate Park is the home of the famed De Young Museum. I remember visiting the park and the science themed Exploratorium in the sixth grade. Some of my fondest memories of childhood were when we visited the aquarium. Golden Gate Park is also the home of the spirit of a woman who allegedly killed her newborn baby, and disposed of the body. She then drowned herself in the reservoir, I am assuming from guilt she undoubtedly felt as the one who took the life of her own child. She wanders the area, looking for her child. As a mother of a son who passed shortly after his birth, this one too hits close to home.
ORCHARD SUPPLY HARDWARE -SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
To get to South San Francisco you have to take 101 heading south. Once you pass the suburbs of Daly City as I mentioned my grandmother lived there for quite some time, and the small city of Colma, where members of my family rest. On Gellert Boulevard is Orchard Supply Hardware. Here you can get whatever you need for that do-it-yourself project you have been putting off for so long, or you can see the ghost of a girl who was raped and murdered one year before it became O.S.H.
