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Day of the Dead in San Francisco’s Mission District is an excellent Halloween finale. Photo: GPS/Flickr.
Basecamp for Burning Man, home of a renowned Latin neighborhood that celebrates Day of the Dead, and said to crawl with paranormal activity, San Francisco is one of the best places in the United States to be on Halloween. From ghost tours to Ghost Ship, here is how to celebrate Halloween in San Francisco 2015.
Starting with the ghouls and goblins that haunt San Francisco year-round, travelers can take a ghost walk of San Francisco that visits the spirits of Chinatown alleyways, the former home of Titanic survivor Washington Dodge, the haunted St. Francis Hotel and film locations from the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, “Vertigo.” Other spooky tours to book for Halloween in 2015 center on ghosts in Chinatown and vampires in Nob Hill. You can also visit haunted places on your own, whether it’s Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park, Mission Dolores or Alcatraz (we all know what kind of ghosts inhabit that place).
Fans of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” can find countless Halloween screenings around San Francisco at venues ranging from the Clay Theater in the Fillmore to Davies Symphony Hall, which includes a pre-show orchestral rendition. Other Halloween-themed shows can be found at the Dungeon on Fisherman’s Wharf. If you’re craving more audience participation, you might consider an escape room such as the zombie puzzle at Room Escape Adventures in SoMa.
But the main reason people will visit San Francisco for Halloween 2015 is the big-ticket events. The Scream Scene concert will take over the Masonic, featuring bands such as Awolnation and Passion Pit. The eighth annual Ghost Ship will dock at Pier 70 in the Dogpatch, filled with DJ dance parties and artistic wonders a la Burning Man, built from scrap metal and found objects. Treasure Island will also host another one of its giant Haunted Island parties, which attracts thousands. Across the Bay, ScareCo will transform the USS Hornet in Alameda into a floating haunted house and the historic 16th Street train station in Oakland into a walk-through scream fest. There will even be a 21+ party at the Chabot Space and Science Center.
Finish Halloween off at a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) commemoration such as the parade and candle-lit vigil in the Mission District or the annual celebration at the Oakland Museum of California, which features a museum exhibit, an artisan market, a procession and traditional music and dance.
– Contributed by Serena Renner
