{"id":482701,"date":"2026-10-02T11:47:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/482701\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:47:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:47:17","slug":"history-but-make-it-haunted-historic-tours-around-the-bay-area-to-enjoy-around-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/482701\/","title":{"rendered":"History but Make It Haunted: Historic Tours Around the Bay Area to Enjoy Around Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most blessed time of all has finally arrived: Halloween. (And yes, Halloween is a monthlong affair.)<\/p>\n

And yes, there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate the vampires, zombies and werewolves of lore. But for history fans, the Bay Area also has no shortage of real-life storied spots with haunting backstories \u2014 or places that just make for a downright spooky visit at this time of year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From haunted manors and ghostly ships to castles, lighthouses and more, read on to see what historical sites are hosting Halloween tours, events and experiences this month around the Bay Area. (And if you want those jumpscares too at a more immersive horror experience, we\u2019ve got a guide to those coming soon too.)<\/p>\n

\nThe USS Hornet Museum\n<\/p>\n

\"\"The sun sets on the USS Hornet in Alameda, California, on Oct. 25, 2024.\u00a0(Courtesy of Florence Middleton)<\/p>\n

All aboard this giant warship, now a floating museum in Alameda. The USS Hornet Museum has a range of year-round exhibits, including one about its time as an aircraft carrier during World War II.<\/p>\n

But during Halloween, the ship becomes The Haunted Hornet<\/a>, inviting visitors on a seasonal group tour of the vessel after dark where you\u2019ll learn the nautical ghost stories<\/a> of its past. Tours are available until Nov. 1, and tickets can be bought online<\/a> for around $39.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a Spaghetti & Spirits Paranormal Dinner on Oct. 23<\/a> and a Monsters Bash party on Oct. 24<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nThe Haas-Lilienthal House\n<\/p>\n

\"\"The Haas-Lilienthal House in San Francisco.\u00a0(Ppienovagem via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

This beautifully preserved San Francisco Victorian survived the Great Earthquake<\/a>. And this Halloween, the nonprofit SF Heritage is partnering with the Gregangelo Museum<\/a> to host \u201cHouse of Weird\u201d within the Haas-Lilienthal House\u2019s walls, promising \u201ca secret, sensory world\u201d<\/a> that\u2019s an \u201conly in San Francisco experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Slots are available online<\/a> from mid-October up until Halloween night, for around $66 per guest.<\/p>\n

\nThe Pacifica Castle\n<\/p>\n

The Bay has a castle. Who knew? (No, not that one<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in checking out this unusual structure in Pacifica during Spooky Season, act fast: Tours of the castle are available only on Oct. 10 this month, although there are more in November and the new year. Tickets are around $35.<\/p>\n

According to the website, there\u2019ll be a possible guest appearance from the castle\u2019s ghosts. But tour guides promise they\u2019re friendly<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThe cemeteries of Colma\n<\/p>\n

\"\"In many parts of Colma, neat rows of gravestones are visible for as far as the eye can see.\u00a0(Olivia Allen-Price\/KQED)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s everyone\u2019s favorite Bay Area fact: there are more dead people in Colma than living<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reputation was founded in the 1900s, when over 100,000 bodies were exhumed <\/a>and moved from San Francisco to Colma in order to make more room for housing in the city. Now, more than a million people are buried in Colma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The multiple cemeteries of Colma host the resting places of many famous people, including athlete superstar Joe DiMaggio and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. KQED has a map of famed burial sites<\/a> \u2014 some of which are striking mausoleums \u2014 that people can visit in Colma. There are also opportunities for trolley or walking tours<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nThe Winchester Mystery House\n<\/p>\n

\"AStaircases and doors that lead to nowhere are a hallmark of what makes the Winchester House \u2018mysterious.\u2019 \u00a0(Carly Severn\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where we\u2019ll really stretch the definition of \u201chistorical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jos\u00e9, dating from 1886, has always had an allure for fans of the paranormal. They\u2019re drawn not just by its bizarre architecture but by the apparent sightings of ghosts that reportedly haunted its owner and widowed heiress, Sarah Winchester.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alas, the truth is sometimes a little less juicy, and Bay Curious has an episode debunking a lot of the myths around the Winchester House and Sarah herself<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, we can recognize there are still thrills to be had when touring the mansion\u2019s sprawling estate \u2014 with lots and lots of stairs leading to nowhere. Tickets can be found online<\/a> (around $48 for adults, $25 for children), with a seasonal Festival Fright Nights<\/a> after-hours series running until Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

\nPoint Sur Lighthouse\n<\/p>\n

\"\"The Pt. Sur Lighthouse has been operating since 1889. It\u2019s one of California\u2019s oldest and most remote light stations.\u00a0(Sasha Khokha\/KQED)<\/p>\n

A little further away: Point Sur Lighthouse in Monterey County, just off Highway 1 in Big Sur, is one of the state\u2019s oldest \u2014 and most remote \u2014 lighthouses. It\u2019s also said to be the visiting place of past families who once lived there, who\u2019ve been known to make their ghostly presence felt<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now a state historic park, the lighthouse is open for haunting evening visits<\/a> on Oct. 24 and Oct. 31, with tickets priced at $125 and limited to 40 people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThe Kelley House Museum\n<\/p>\n

\"\"The Kelley House Museum in Mendocino.\u00a0(W Nowicki via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s several hours\u2019 drive north up the coast from the Bay Area. But up in the always-scenic coastal town of Mendocino are two pretty great tours<\/a> for Halloween: the Haunted Mendocino tour and the Murder, She Wrote<\/a> (of the Angela Lansbury television show fame) tour.<\/p>\n

The Haunted Mendocino event will touch on Victorian specters and the town\u2019s history. The Murder, She Wrote tour, meanwhile, visits former film sets and recounts behind-the-scenes tales about the television show that lasted for over 200 episodes.<\/p>\n

Both tours cost around $25, and a calendar can be found on the Kelley House Museum website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nHaunting Bay Area spots to glimpse from the outside\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate\n<\/p>\n

\"AThe Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate has been a backdrop for many scary films, including \u2018Phantasm\u2019 and \u2018Burnt Offerings.\u2019 \u00a0(Wayne Hsieh\/Flickr)<\/p>\n

This Neoclassical house<\/a> in Oakland has acted as the ultimate horror movie location<\/a> in the Bay Area over the years, featured in movies like \u201cThe Vineyard,\u201d \u201cSo I Married an Axe Murderer\u201d and \u201cBurnt Offerings.\u201d But it\u2019s probably best known for its role in Phantasm, a cult classic soundtracked by the father of KQED tech reporter Rachael Myrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this gorgeous mansion in Oakland is not exactly open to the public<\/a> right now, and its current condition has stirred up no shortage of community complaints online.<\/a> But it\u2019s still worth a journey into the Oakland Hills to look at from afar through the fence, due to its place in Halloween movie history.<\/p>\n

\nThe William Westerfeld House\n<\/p>\n

While The Black House<\/a> \u2014 the Church of Satan\u2019s most well-known headquarters<\/a> \u2014 was demolished in 2001, the founder Anton LaVey also reportedly <\/a>resided in the Westerfeld House on Fulton and Scott streets overlooking San Francisco\u2019s Alamo Square.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the impressive home is not open to tours or the public, it is an eight-minute drive from the Haas-Lilienthal House and can be a good opportunity to glimpse some more dark San Francisco history \u2014 albeit from the outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nWant even more \u2018spooky history\u2019 events in the Bay Area this October?\n<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re craving other events with a historical tinge, you can also check out:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The most blessed time of all has finally arrived: Halloween. (And yes, Halloween is a monthlong affair.) And…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-482701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}