Hey, I Know That Guy!

My darling husband buys me the latest season of Ghost Hunters every Christmas. I was particularly interested in an episode comprised of a visit to Alcatraz, the famous island prison that had a pretty decent t.v. show based on a pretty neat premise based on the prison and its inhabitants. As is the case with many new shows I get hooked on, it was not renewed for a second season. I really hate when that happens.I must have bad taste in television.

Anyway, since I have visited Alcatraz (will dutifully report on that in a future post), I was interested to see what the boys (and girls) came up with. They delivered some pretty creepy EVPs. One of the local gentlemen featured on the show was a man named Jim Fassbinder, Ghost Guide Extraordinaire. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he was wearing modern clothing, but the face was the same. Just to be sure I whipped out my pictures and yup, that was him. Here he is in one of my more spooky photos of him, guiding us through the scary streets of San Francisco in search of spirits.

Jim's the 'spirit' behind the San Francisco Ghost Hunt, a three hour walking tour of some of San Francisco's spooky places. The walk is only a mile, but packed with fun stories and amazing architecture.

We began our tour at the beautiful and historic Queen Anne Hotel on Sutter Street in Pacific Heights. The Queen Anne is in fact part of the tour, and we spent a lot of time exploring it. The hotel is well-known for being haunted, particularly by a Miss Mary Lake. Miss Mary was the headmistress of the school that originally occupied 1590 Sutter Street. It is said that she was devastated when the school closed and she still wanders the hallways. The Ghosts of San Francisco has two pages devoted to the Queen Anne and her history here and here.

The hotel has also been the focus of many paranormal investigations, including Ghost Trackers and the SF Bay Area Paranormal Group. Charlyn Keating Chisholm, about.com Guide, wrote about her stay there: Haunted Hotels: Braving the Queen Anne Hotel     

Here are some of my pictures from the Queen Anne. Orbs were plentiful!

View of the Outside

Front Parlor - orb on curtain

Sitting Area

Another Sitting Area

Really Cool Clock

Slightly Creepy Light Fixture

Beautiful Staircase

View from Staircase

Orbs-a-plenty Staircase

The Neatest Chair I've Seen Lately

We are definitely going to stay here on our next trip to SF!