By Molly Sanchez
Most days of the year San Francisco is kind of a silly place. Adults join kick ball leagues, burritos spark national debates, and costumes are worn regardless of the season.
So with Halloween fast approaching, I invite you to delve into these weird and scary tales from the city’s distant and recent past. The descriptions of urban legends presented below are best told while huddled around in a darkened room lit only by an under-the-chin flashlight.
The Lady of Stow Lake
There are several origin stories for this ghost. Some say she was an absentminded mother wandering Golden Gate Park’s Stow Lake with a baby in a pram. She became so enthralled in a conversation that the pram rolled into the lake, at which point the woman panicked and jumped in after her baby, swimming and searching until both mother and child drowned. Another story says she was an unwed teen who jumped into the lake and drowned herself to hide her illicit pregnancy. Either way the legends claim that a white figure of the woman can be seen wandering the lake shore at night. This tale features prominently in the SF Dungeon’s Halloween show, which incorporates local spooky history. A related myth claims that the nearby Pioneer Woman and Children statue will move its stone face to a different position when the ghost is nearby. As if park statues needed to be any creepier!
Chinatown Plague Tunnels
You know what’s scary? Tunnels. You know what’s scarier? Secret tunnels. According to some, a labyrinth of secret tunnels winds its way under Chinatown. There’s been speculation that these tunnels were once a shady tourist attraction, while others say the tunnels led to underground gambling and opium rings. Underground passageways would make sneaking around the city a lot easier, and who knows what might lurk inside the tunnels these days.
Sutro Forest Suicides
Sutro Forest is a beautiful spot for nature walks and picnics. However, it houses a dark past. In the years between 1899 and 1908 several bodies were found in the forest. The dense foliage made this an ideal location for a discreet suicide. The forest was so thick that several of the bodies remained among the trees for weeks before being found. If you believe the stories, the souls of these bodies still linger here to this day.
The Pinecrest Diner’s Bloody Past
The Pinecrest Diner sits on the corner of Mason and Geary. The sign above the door boasts “Best breakfast in San Francisco” and it’s a good little greasy spoon. However, patrons will notice that the breakfast menu has an odd addendum on it: no poached eggs. This seemingly innocuous detail hints at a murder that took place at the diner 17 years ago. In 1997, Hashem Zayed, a cook at the Pinecrest, shot and killed a waitress. Rumor has it that earlier that week the waitress, Helen Menicou, had scolded Zayed for making off-menu poached eggs for a customer. According to the story, Zayed was so upset and embarrassed he stayed up all night and returned to work the next morning bedraggled and armed. Zayed never admitted explicitly that the eggs were the cause of his crime, but the restaurant refuses to serve them to this day.
Ask Mary Ellen Pleasant
If you ask me, Mary Ellen Pleasant is one of the most badass ladies to ever inhabit this city. She was a former slave and indentured servant who came to San Francisco in 1899. She eventually opened up a restaurant and was notorious for clandestinely picking up stock tips from the wealthy businessmen who ate there. She was so savvy that she used these tips to make herself rich, eventually designing and building a bitchin’ mansion on Octavia Street. She lived there with her business partner and his wife. Things got a little scandalous when Pleasant was accused of pushing her business partner down the stairs and killing him. Eventually she was pressured to move out of San Francisco, lost all her savings, and died years later. It is said that her spirit haunts the commemorative park on Octavia and Bush St. If you stand on the plaque and make a polite request it will be granted. Beware, though, rumor has it that she throws rocks on the heads of people who do not show her the proper respect.
The Phantom Cow of Yerba Buena Island
We’ve shared a lot of murder and supernatural stories, but here’s one for the PETA crowd. Back before California was even a state, pirates and sailors would sometimes make camps on the islands near San Francisco. Allegedly, one of these pirates saw a calf wandering around Yerba Buena Island and butchered it for his dinner. (Mmm veal.) The mother cow spent her days roaming the island, mooing and looking for her baby. It is said that her loving ghost haunts Yerba Buena Island to this day. Surprisingly, a ghost cow sounds a lot like a real cow. “MooooooO MOOOOOO OOOooooooMOoooo.”
What urban legends did I miss? Tell me in the comments — the more the scarier!
Illustrations by Helen Tseng
