Haight Ashbury part 3: The haunted haight

You’ve made it to Part 3 of the Haight-Ashbury series. We’ve gone from sand dunes to sex and rock ’n’ roll but no story of the Haight is complete without its haunted side.

Haight-Ashbury has always been a neighborhood with layers. Most people know it for the Summer of Love, tie-dye storefronts, and the counterculture explosion of the 1960s. But dig a little deeper or walk the streets after dark and you’ll find another side of the Haight: the haunted one.

Take the Red Victorian. This bright, quirky bed-and-breakfast on Haight Street has been a hub for artists, poets, and dreamers since the ’60s. Founded by Sami Sunchild and later owned by Beat poet Michael McClure, it became a gathering spot for the free-spirited, socially conscious, and culturally restless. Today it’s still a colorful landmark, known for its eclectic decor and activist roots. But it also has a reputation for something a little less tangible. Guests and staff alike have reported flickers of the paranormal - footsteps where no one’s walking, shadows in the halls, even the occasional apparition.

Golden Gate Park, just a block away, carries its own stories. Eerie encounters have been whispered for decades: ghostly figures drifting across the meadows, disembodied voices weaving through the fog. And if you wander up into Buena Vista Park, the oldest official park in San Francisco, you might notice something unusual along the sidewalk - weathered headstones. They’re the remnants of Victorian cemeteries moved out of the city long ago, their histories literally embedded in the neighborhood’s bones.

Haight-Ashbury is often remembered for music, protest, and psychedelic revolution. But in between the incense and the vintage record shops, there are stories of spirits that refuse to leave. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing is true: the Haight has always carried an energy all its own.

Would you spend the night at the Red Vic?

Thanks for following along this 3-part journey through the Haight. From its windswept beginnings to its counterculture explosion - and yes, its lingering ghosts - this neighborhood remains one of San Francisco’s most unforgettable stories.