Ghost and Mystery Tours in San Francisco

From mysterious unsolved murders to fantastic vampire stories, this type of tour is designed to satisfy even the most demanding tastes. I assure you that no matter how brave you are, this ghostly tour of San Francisco will make your hair stand on end.

I recommend that you book this tour if you don't want to miss one of the best parts of getting to know the city. It's definitely a tour to include among the things to see and do in San Francisco at least once in your life. Come on, fears be gone, and let's get to know terror!

The most professional option

San Francisco Ghost Tour

Experience the paranormal with an EMF detector on the streets of San Francisco

Discover the darkest mysteries of San Francisco on this guided tour with an electromagnetic wave detector for an interactive paranormal experience.

From £41 at Hellotickets

With this paranormal experience in San Francisco, you won't just hear ghost stories: you'll also be able to experience them. For an hour and a half, you'll tour the city's most mysterious places with a specialised guide while using an EMF detector, the same type of equipment used by ghost hunters, to pick up possible presences.

You'll explore dark alleys and learn about unsolved deaths, massacres and urban legends related to neighbourhoods such as Chinatown and old gold rush cemeteries. A tour for those looking for more than just a simple walk.

Recommended if... you want a more immersive and participatory experience in the world of mystery, with real paranormal detection tools.

The most economical option

San Francisco Small Group Ghosts Tour

Discover the darker side of San Francisco on a night tour

Explore San Francisco's most disturbing history with an expert guide on this small group walking tour.

From £25 at Hellotickets

This walking tour of San Francisco's haunted sites is perfect if you prefer a more intimate and guided experience. In groups of up to 15 people and lasting around 90 minutes, you will stroll through legendary alleys and corners with a guide who will tell you the city's most disturbing stories.

You'll visit sites such as the Pacific Union Club, the Nob Hill neighbourhood and the mysterious 450 Sutter Building, while listening to tales of crime, ghosts and tragedy that form part of San Francisco's hidden side.

Recommended if... you're passionate about mystery and prefer to discover it with an expert guide and in a small group, without any additional elements.

To book a ghost tour, I recommend looking for the most comprehensive option, one that is not only inexpensive but also includes different sites to visit and scare you. Once you've found your perfect option, all you have to do is book the tour online.

To take this type of tour, you need to book well in advance, bearing in mind that there is a minimum number of participants and that it is a very popular activity.

If you don't want to miss out on your spooky tour of downtown San Francisco, it's best to book before you travel. The confirmation process is carried out at the time of booking to ensure that the tour will take place and that you have your place secured.

Another thing to keep in mind is the cancellation policy. Cancelling the activity is usually free, but you must do so at least 24 hours in advance in order to receive a full refund of your deposit for the experience.

Duration of ghost tours in San Francisco

These tours are not too long, considering that it is at night and you don't want to spend four hours being scared by ghost stories and tales of fatal deaths. An hour and a half is enough to hear the city's most spine-chilling stories.

However, these types of tours can last a little longer depending on how long you stay at each of the sites visited. Sometimes the stories are so interesting or you meet such interesting people that you want to stay a little longer.

What will I see on this type of tour?

This is a very interesting tour because it offers you the chance to learn about the macabre stories that have been woven in this city since its inception. The narrator who will accompany you on this experience will take you to the most popular haunted sites in San Francisco, some of which are among the most terrifying in the world.

Your guide will not only tell you the typical paranormal stories of famous ghosts, but will also recount gruesome tales of what life was like in the area during the gold rush, when San Francisco was a lawless town where its inhabitants lost their lives very easily.

You will also be able to see authentic equipment for detecting ghosts and paranormal activity in different locations. Of course, the device is operated by the guide, who is qualified to do so.

One of the things you're sure to enjoy most is the night-time atmosphere during the tour, because during the day these are places you would never imagine to be haunted or to have dark stories to tell.

But this tour is about much more than just seeing; it is the stories that bring the places you will visit during the ghost tour to life. That is why I will describe some of the legends you will hear below.

Stories of haunted cemeteries and forgotten graves

Iconic sites that were built on ancient cemeteries now give way to the most chilling horror stories in all of San Francisco. For example, City Hall is one of these sites that was once an active cemetery.

Today, City Hall is one of the most haunted sites in all of San Francisco, along with other sites with similar histories. Presidio, home to one of San Francisco's best museums, dedicated to the life and work of Walt Disney, is also very close to a pet cemetery.

Stories from this site focus on frequent sightings of animal spirits wandering the area, as if waiting for their owners. There is also a National Cemetery nearby, where it is rumoured that the ghosts of soldiers have been seen carrying out their official duties.

The latter is considered one of the most paranormal sites in San Francisco. These stories, which remain so interesting even today, can be heard first-hand from your guide on a night-time ghost tour.

Stories about the bubonic plague that struck the city in 1900

In 1900, the dreaded Black Death arrived in San Francisco, making it the first city in the United States to experience the epidemic. Politicians at the time were more concerned with covering up the problem than solving it.

By then, it was already the third outbreak of the Black Death in the world, and this time it had started in China and other Asian countries. It is believed that it arrived in San Francisco with the large influx of Chinese immigrants who came to the bay attracted by the gold rush.

The bubonic plague then took hold in the Chinese ghetto and spread throughout the city. Inequality and racism in the treatment of the disease were evident throughout the outbreak, leaving behind some truly chilling stories.

Deaths of prolific Hollywood artists

There are several stories of Hollywood actors and actresses who have lost their lives in tragic circumstances in San Francisco. In some cases, the deaths occurred in famous hotels in the city.

Your tour guide will surely tell you the most incredible stories of the strange deaths of artists in this city.

Sordid stories about the Prohibition era

For 14 years, the United States experienced a fierce period of alcohol prohibition, also known as the Prohibition era or Prohibition period. The measure was neither wise nor accepted from the outset, causing corruption to skyrocket across the country.

Mafia groups and corruption ran rampant, plunging American society into a maelstrom of excessive violence. This unrest was felt strongly in San Francisco, where it found the perfect breeding ground to thrive.

This era of excess and reckless behaviour left thousands of murders and other heinous crimes in its wake, and with it, multiple stories of ghosts and wandering spirits.

There is no specific place to encounter spirits from the Prohibition era, but if you want to visit a location for this purpose, it would definitely be Chinatown or Jackson Square, places where the Barbary Coast district once operated.

• I recommend taking this tour with friends, family, or your partner, but never take children under the age of 10 on a similar experience. The experience can be really overwhelming for a child of that age.
• I advise you to dress in layers regardless of the season, as it can get quite cold in the city at night.
• It is important to wear comfortable, closed shoes, bearing in mind that the tour involves walking through the city centre.
• The tour may be cancelled in case of bad weather, so I recommend confirming again before heading to the meeting point.
• To get to the meeting point , I recommend using public transport to avoid parking problems if you are travelling by private vehicle.
• As the tour is outdoors, I recommend bringing additional protection such as a raincoat in case it rains during the experience.
• Don't worry if you or anyone else in your group uses a wheelchair, as the tour is also suitable for wheelchair users.

The dark tour of San Francisco can cost from £35 per person upwards. The price of this type of tour depends on the number of sites visited and the duration of the tour.

Please note that tips are not included in the price of the tour. You should consider leaving a tip for the tour guide, as tipping is more than just a gesture of gratitude in the United States; it is an almost mandatory practice for all service providers.

The cost of transportation is not included in the price, so you will need to make your own way to the meeting point to start the tour. If you feel like eating something during the tour, you will need to bring your own food or money to buy something along the way.

The experience will take you to spooky and historic places in the city. In most cases, history is responsible for keeping dark secrets that later become paranormal legends.

That's why on this type of tour, the guide focuses more on the historic area of the city and how it has left behind some of the most chilling tales that today bring to life the worst fears of many locals and visitors alike.

Transamerica Pyramid

This place is home to ghost stories and other darker tales, which are part of the history of the tower's construction. From the mid-1800s to the 1950s, the area where the Transamerica Pyramid stands was occupied by a low-rise commercial building.

Artists, writers, lawyers, and other professionals gathered in this place. Towards the end of the 1950s and into the 1960s, the site was used as a car park, until construction of the current building finally began in the 1970s.

During construction and excavation, workers began to notice that, given its proximity to the pier, the old building was built on top of buried ships and ship parts.

You can imagine all the terrifying stories you might hear about these excavations and why these tales remain alive to this day.

Jackson Square

The gold rush of 1800 changed the landscape of the city of San Francisco, seemingly giving its inhabitants a purpose and bringing great economic growth to the region, but it also brought a stain of blood, terror and violence to this city.

Suffice it to say that buildings that belonged to the old city centre of San Francisco still survive in Jackson Square, so you can imagine the number of stories that can come out of there. In fact, construction on this site began in the mid-19th century.

This neighbourhood was part of the old Barbary Coast red-light district, which was known for its many bars, jazz clubs and, above all, brothels. During those times, Jackson Square and the entire red-light district were completely anarchic, with impressive social disorder, violence and prostitution being the order of the day.

Chinatown

What is an excellent place to include in the best food tours of San Francisco during the day, at night becomes a truly enchanted place, full of history and a dark but very red past, with endless things to see and do in Chinatown.

During the 19th century, Chinatown was also part of the disturbing Barbary Coast red-light district. This neighbourhood, full of brothels and above all violence, was the scene of shocking murders, horrific deaths and exploitation. All this happened during the so-called gold rush.

Of course, with such a turbulent history, this side of the city has many stories that are now part of the dark legends of San Francisco. It was precisely in this part of the old district that multiple gang wars used to break out, ending up staining the city with blood.

This story was repeated over and over again with multiple criminal groups setting up shop in this lawless and forgotten place, until finally that dark past was left behind and the neighbourhoods now known as Chinatown, Jackson Square and North Beach were formed.

This tour is highly recommended, not only for the scary stories you'll hear along the way, but also because it offers a historical insight into what these places in San Francisco were once like. Thinking about what the early 20th century was like here allows you to reflect on the great social progress that the nation, and San Francisco in particular, has made.

It's also an activity that I recommend including among your options for things to do in San Francisco at night because I think it's an excellent way to start the evening, and then go out and enjoy the current nightlife, which, if you think about it, has something to do with the San Francisco that is now a thing of the past.

I like to recommend this tour because the extensive knowledge that the guide shares with you is rarely found in other types of tour guides. It's usually an interesting, participatory experience, where you don't just have to stand there listening to the stories the guide has to tell, but they're also open to hearing all your questions and those of the rest of the group.

I don't recommend going on a ghost tour on your own. Although if you're really into these things and have done some research on San Francisco and its mysteries, go ahead, it will be a good experience.

But if you don't know anything about these kinds of paranormal matters, it's best to go on a guided tour with someone who can tell you exactly what's going on in these places and all the secrets they hide.

Also, since this is an activity to do in San Francisco at night, it's best to go with people who are already familiar with the places at night. Keep in mind that by going on a guided tour , you'll have the opportunity to ask questions that you might not be able to answer on a self-guided tour.