Arizona ghost hunter travels: San Francisco Ghost Hunt Tour

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Arizona ghost hunter travels: San Francisco Ghost Hunt Tour
June 11, 2009
Debe Branning
Examiner.com

Many people have left their hearts in San Francisco, so you can only imagine the ghostly activity in the city by the bay. I am a big fan of ghost walks. Not because I’m there hoping to capture a ghost on film—although the possibilities are there. I love hearing ghost stories told by a real paranormal investigator who has done all the research. They are the ones with personal experiences with photos and recordings to back them up.
Jim Fassbinder is all of the above---a historian, a paranormal investigator, and one of the best tour storytellers in the business. I have taken the San Francisco Ghost Hunt Tour twice and felt the enthusiasm of our guide each time from beginning to end. Fassbinder has offered the three hour walking tour since 1998 and knows what the public and budding ghost hunters are looking for. Wearing a cloak and top hat, Fassbinder takes his job seriously and his love for the deceased and history of San Francisco shows in his stories.

The tour departs year round, six days a week from the beautiful lobby of the Queen Anne Hotel. Before the tour hits the streets of San Francisco, Jim Fassbinder escorts the tour group to various rooms in the Queen Anne noted for ghostly activity. The Queen Anne was not always a hotel. It was originally Miss Mary Lake’s School for Girls. Her office is now one of the guest rooms decorated in Victorian style. Guests report cold spots and a misty figure moving through the room. Several weary travelers report falling into bed and waking up in the morning with the blankets and comforter tucked in around them. We were lucky the night we took the tour. Mary Lake’s room was vacant and we were able to sit in the room while its ghostly tales were told by the captivating style of Fassbinder.

The Mansions Hotel at 2220 Sacramento Street was built in 1887. The hotel had been purchased and under construction at the time of our tour. Fassbinder used to have access to the hotel on the ghost walk so he was able to give us great detail about the interior. The hotel once displayed photographs, witness affidavits, and séance transcripts to record the ghostly activity inside. Objects moved on their own, thumps and bumps and noises were heard in empty rooms and hallways, and apparitions appeared to startled guests.

One of these ghosts is said to be that of Claudia Chambers. Claudia died in the house under mysterious circumstances. The newspaper reported her death as a "farm implement accident". It was rumored that she was stabbed to death or even worse—cut in half. Fassbinder claims he owns a key from the old hotel that possesses magical powers. If you have energy within you, perhaps the key will flip in the palm of your hand towards the door of the building—like it did for some of our tour group!

My other favorite story is about Mary Ellen Pleasant. Her biography reads that her mother raised her in the Voodoo religion, and that Mary grew to have the powers of a priestess. Supernatural powers or not, she acquired a large fortune in San Francisco. A park and memorial plaque on the corner of Bush & Octavia Streets marks the place where her mansion once stood. Mary was quite the business woman and many of the most influential people of San Francisco gathered in her home.

During her years in San Francisco, she lived in a mansion that became known as “The House of Mystery” because of the wild, secretive parties rumored to have been held there. The mansion was bordered by a grove of six eucalyptus trees that Mary Ellen planted in the 19th century. Fassbinder told us the spirit of Mary Ellen still wanders the area of her old mansion. She often appears between the great eucalyptus trees. Folks that say bad things about her in the park have had objects dropped on their head, or slightly pushed. The appearance of a crow signals Mary’s presence. If you make a respectful request of the Voodoo priestess, and find favor with Mary, your request just may come true.
Other ghosts you might encounter on the tour are Flora, San Francisco’s famous wandering ghost. Flora haunts California Street where she once lived. She does not interact with anyone on the street and does not seem to notice today’s busy traffic. She’s the city's most often reported ghost. Many have seen her—sometimes on the Ghost Hunt—dressed in a white gown.

Also, the beautiful, late author Gertrude’s fine home is where a haunting began when a barrel of rum was delivered to one of her parties. The barrel contained her dead husband. Fassbinder makes a stop outside the Atherton mansion to tell this amazing story.

Fassbinder can't guarantee ghosts. But, after taking this tour, I can promise the San Francisco Ghost Hunt Tour will be one ghost tours you will always remember. You will learn the city’s haunted history and hear documented ghost stories presented by an expert. You might even learn a few ways to encounter a ghost yourself. The San Francisco Ghost Hunt Tour is: “humor and history, emotion and education; with supernatural spookiness! You will be entertained, enlightened and enchanted.”

The tour departs from the Queen Anne Hotel six nights a week at 7PM.
Reservations are not required. $20 per person Kids under 16 $10.
Call 415-022-5590 for latest information