The San Francisco Ghost Hunt assembles in the lobby of the beautiful Queen Anne Hotel, 1590 Sutter Street, corner of Sutter and Octavia, at 7:00 pm six nights a week, closed Tuesdays. Reservations are not required.

Email: sfghosthunt@yahoo.com

Telephone for the latest information 415-922-5590

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 right on Sutter Street between Van Ness and Gough Streets. It's safe to walk in our city for the most part.

PUBLIC TRANSIT: My recommendations to arrive at the Queen Anne Hotel:

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

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

Fiherman'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

COST: The cost is $20 per person, children under 16 $10, cash and traveler's checks only,please. I can't take credit cards. Adavance tickets aren't available; everything is taken care of at 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 half price. Please confirm your group in advance by email or phone. I want you to understand the group leader collects from everyone and I collect total payment from the leader. I want to be informed of the date, and the group's size, especially if it's a large number.

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 a ways. 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.

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 thosepeople in a wheelchair has completed the Ghost Hunt and they had a great time doing it.

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, successes. Ghosts are experienced many other ways, for example; "cold spots" we encounter can be felt. Since they move around and sometimes embrace people, a thermometer is 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 offer a special, personal, intimate but somewhat abbreviated Ghost Hunt at just a kid's 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.

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.