The San Francisco Ghost Hunt assembles year around in front of the beautiful Queen Anne Hotel, 1590 Sutter Street, corner of Sutter and Octavia, at 7:00 pm five nights a week, closed only Mondays and Tuesdays. The tour takes place in Pacific Heights, a peaceful safe residential district around a charming park.  We walk a one mile loop on tree lined streets with fine Victorian architecture.  There is one moderate hill.  Views are spectacular and the pace is easy. You will enjoy nearly three hours of guaranteed unearthly fun for only $20.  We return to the Queen Anne Hotel area near 10:00 pm. Reservations are not required. Telephone for the latest information 415-922-5590

COST: The cost is $20 per person, children under 16 $10, cash and traveler's checks only,please. I can't take credit cards. Advance tickets aren't available. Everything is taken care of at 7:00 pm in the hotel.

DISCOUNTS: I don't have discounts for seniors, students, military, agents or journalists. I only discount kids and groups. I'm a small time one man operation and most inquirers understand my position. I hope you do. With groups of 6 or more adults; the adults receive a 25% discount, the kids are still ten dollars. It really helps if you confirm your group in advance by email or phone. Just tell me you have a group attending.  I want you to understand the group leader collects from everyone and I collect total payment from the leader. I like to be informed of the date, and the group's size, especially if it's a large number.  NOTE: No group discounts on Halloween or on any Friday the Thirteenth!

CARS: It is easy to arrive at the Queen Anne Hotel by taxi or private automobile. Taxis are quick and plentiful in Pacific Heights. Street parking is limited but available, and there are parking garages close by on Van Ness Street, and there are two on Sutter Street between Van Ness and Gough Streets. Also, Japan Center Garage on Geary at Buchanan and Fillmore Street Garage on Fillmore Street at Post; both are open past midnight. You may want to check SFPARK.ORG (Fillmore) for more garages that are close by also.  It's safe to walk anywhere in our city for the most part.

PUBLIC TRANSIT: Public transit is a great way to get to the Ghost Hunt and all around San Francisco.  My recommendations to arrive at the Queen Anne Hotel are:

    BART, exit Montgomery Street, walk to Sutter Street use MUNI #2, #3, or #4, get off at Octavia, the Queen Anne    Hotel is on the northeast corner

    MUNI, from Union Square area use MUNI #2, #3, or #4 on Sutter Street (the northern edge of the square), get off at Octavia, Queen Anne Hotel is on the northeast corner

    MUNI, from Fisherman's Wharf area: use MUNI #47 on North Point Street (parallel to the waterfront the third block inland) it will turn onto Van Ness Avenue get off at Sutter Street use MUNI #2, #3, or #4 on Sutter street, get off at Octavia, Queen Anne Hotel is on the northeast corner

KIDS: The Ghost Hunt is not recommended for kids under 8 because we are are outside for two chilly hours, late at night, climbing a moderate hill. Scary has nothing to do with it, the Ghost Hunt isn't meant to be scary. The Ghost Hunt is a real supernatural adventure and kids under eight don't realize the difference between the real and supernatural. It's just not that entertaining for them. The kids are hanging with adults, participating in very obviously, an adult entertainment. Most kids have never done anything like this and it is a real rite of passage. So I treat them pretty much like any other adult. I certainly don't dumb things down. Being around all the adults and dealing with the fact that I don't dumb-down anything I say it can be really tough on a kid. Then the kids show their displeasure and it makes it tough on everyone. And, as you know, infants can go from zero to one hundred cries per second in a flash. That isn't fun for everyone else who is there to hear ghost stories. I want everyone, grownups and kids, to enjoy themselves, and when the kids are over eight they really do. Here's what I usually do. I let the family participate in a Ghost Hunt with the condition that if the infant cries, fusses or disturbs the storytelling the infant has to be quickly removed from the area. So far I haven't had any infants make it through a tour, and I've been giving Ghost Hunts for nearly ten years.

WHEELCHAIRS: I've only had a dozen or so folks in wheelchairs on the Ghost Hunt. Mostly they were all hand powered chairs and they all had someone to help. Powered wheelchairs have been on the Ghost Hunt without any problems whatsoever. When we are inside everything is wheelchair accessible. Outside there are curb cuts every place but some of our sidewalks are a mess. And there is that one "moderate" hill that we climb for three blocks, fortunately not all at once, then come down it too. A battery powered scooter used in the home for people with mobility challenges just doesn't have the power to limb the hill, but a powered wheelchair sure does. Every one of those people in a wheelchair has completed the Ghost Hunt and they had a great time doing it.

GHOST DETECTION DEVICES: If you want to bring some device you use to detect ghosts, like a tri-field meter, that’s certainly okay. Keep in mind that we are first meeting ghosts in a working hotel which sometimes make EMF detectors go nuts. Honestly, in walking through this city there are many, many man-made energy sources. I think many EMF readings are naturally suspect. Audio recording of EVP suffers for the same reasons. There have been some, but difficult to obtain, outstanding successes. The very best ghost detector is a living person.  We respond to ghosts in so many ways. For example; the "cold spots" we encounter can be felt by almost everyone. Since the ghosts move around and sometimes embrace people, a thermometer could be somewhat difficult to use. But photographs of “orbs” and other mysterious things happen on almost every Ghost Hunt.

MINIMUM: At least four living adults total on a tour, not just in your group, and not including your guide, are required for a Ghost Hunt. However if there are just a few of you who make it all the way to the Queen Anne Hotel I will, in the future, offer a special, personal, intimate but somewhat abbreviated Ghost Hunt at a reduced price. Oh, you’ll get history, mystery, a good story and hopefully an eerie shivery discovery. Of course I can’t guarantee the supernatural, but I will provide your absolute best opportunity to safely meet a real ghost along with a good portion of a regular Ghost Hunt.  I’ll let you know when that’s ready right here.

ALCOHOL: Intoxicants are NOT recommended on a Ghost Hunt. Immoderate alcohol use has caused me to remove people from a Ghost Hunt. It's a safety issue. We are crossing city streets that can be profoundly dangerous to the impaired. It annoys others. Public intoxication is illegal. And my police issued permit requires I be responsible. Realize that the Ghost Hunt is a real supernatural adventure, why miss that. Getting fresh air and exercise kills the buzz. Alcohol and a Ghost Hunt is just not a good mix. I really wish I didn't have to mention this, but as they say, stuff happened.

START AT 7:00 PM: Of course I know ghost stories are better told in the dark. In summer it slowly gets dark as the stories get scarier and scarier. We are inside a haunted place, with a friendly ghost, for almost an hour, while it gets darker outside. I don't even start the scary ghost stories until we have climbed the moderate hill. When people are out of breath and can't scream, that's when I take advantage. The scariest ghost story, the last one people hear, is always told in as-dark-as-it-gets darkness. And since there is some light as we go out among the "painted lady" Victorian homes people can appreciate those houses, our lovely city and occasionally, a fog-free colorful sunset.

REMEMBER: The San Francisco Ghost Hunt is a chilling supernatural adventure, PLEASE DRESS WARMLY! Evening temperatures in San Francisco will often be in the 40 - 50 degree F range year around (yes it’s really that cold on some summer nights) and rain is always possible.