San Francisco Local Legends: Ghost Stories, Myths and What’s Actually True

Every city collects stories, and San Francisco has more than most: ghosts on foggy lakes, tunnels that were never dug, a self-declared emperor, and at least three foods it swears it invented. Here are thirty of the best-known, with the story as people tell it and then what is actually true.

We only include a legend if a reputable source (a newspaper, public radio, a historical society or the agency that runs the place) records it as a story people tell. That makes it a real legend. It does not make it true.

Ghosts and Hauntings

The White Lady of Stow Lake (Now Blue Heron Lake), Golden Gate Park

What is actually true: KQED and SFGATE both tell this as a ghost story, and neither points to any record behind it. The lake itself was dug in 1893 for boating and carriage drives, and circles Strawberry Hill, the highest point in Golden Gate Park. In January 2024 the Recreation and Park Commission renamed it Blue Heron Lake, because William W. Stow was an antisemite.

Can you go? Yes. Rec and Park lists park hours of 5am to midnight, and pedal boats and rowboats are rented at the Blue Heron Boathouse.

The Ghost of Cell 14D, Alcatraz

What is actually true: These stories are told by FoundSF, KQED, SFGATE and 7×7, not by the National Park Service. What NPS does document: the cellhouse was built between 1910 and 1912, while Alcatraz was still a military prison, and D-Block held the most troublesome inmates in solitary confinement. It is the most visited site in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Can you go? Yes. The only way onto the island is the ferry from Pier 33, run by Alcatraz City Cruises under contract with the Park Service. Book ahead.

Miss Mary Lake of the Queen Anne Hotel, Cathedral Hill

What is actually true: The hotel at 1590 Sutter Street was built in 1890 as Miss Mary Lake’s School for Girls, and its Mary Lake Suite was once her office. The last class graduated in 1896. Senator James G. Fair paid for the building, and the Chronicle printed rumors in 1891 that the two were secretly married; both denied it, and SFGATE found no evidence either way. Lake died in 1904 and is buried in New Jersey, which, as SFGATE and SFist point out, leaves Room 410 as the story’s only link to her.

Can you go? It is a working hotel, so the public rooms are for guests; check the hotel’s own site.

The Lady in Black and the Pet Cemetery, Presidio

What is actually true: SFGATE collects the ghost stories, and the Presidio Trust has hosted ghost-story evenings at the Officers’ Club itself. The Trust calls the club San Francisco’s oldest building (Mission Dolores makes a similar claim): Spanish colonists built the first adobe on the site in 1776, and adobe walls from the 1810s can still be seen in its Mesa Room. For the Pet Cemetery, the Park Service says there are no records of how it began, which is exactly why the horse and guard-dog legends grew; its oldest markers date only to the early 1950s.

Can you go? The Officers’ Club history exhibition is free, Friday to Sunday 11am to 4pm (Presidio Trust). The Pet Cemetery is behind a picket fence under the bridge approach; the Park Service lists it among places to visit.

The Museum on Top of a Cemetery: The Legion of Honor

What is actually true: This is the rare legend that turned out to be largely true. The site was City Cemetery, set aside in 1868 and used for the city’s poor; burials were banned in 1898 and the land became Lincoln Park in 1909. The graves were never all moved. When the museum was seismically retrofitted in the 1990s, about 750 burials were found and removed, according to the SF Standard, and up to about 20,000 people may still lie under the Lincoln Park golf course next door. We found no reputable source for actual ghost sightings, so the haunting part stays a story.

Can you go? Yes, it is a working art museum (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco); check its site for hours and tickets.

The Ghosts of the Sutro Baths, Lands End

What is actually true: KQED collects these sightings as ghost stories. The real history is dramatic enough: Adolph Sutro’s baths were among the grandest indoor swimming places anywhere, and the spot has had a long run of bad luck. In 1887 a schooner called the Parallel ran aground below the Cliff House and exploded, the rebuilt Cliff House burned down again, and in 1966 a fire took down the Sutro Baths building while it was being turned into apartments.

Can you go? Yes. The ruins are at Lands End, in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; stay on the paths and off the slippery rocks. See beaches and waterfront walks with kids.

Laffing Sal, the Cackling Lady of Musée Mécanique

What is actually true: Not quite. SFGATE reports that the Sal at Musée Mécanique is a back-up; the original Playland Sal now lives at the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Atlas Obscura says Sals were built for amusement parks all over the country, and the museum’s owner told it that kids are “scared to death” of her.

Can you go? Yes. Musée Mécanique is free to enter; bring quarters. See our listing.

A ghost tradition that is real: every late summer, Chinatown holds the Hungry Ghost Festival, the Chinese Culture Center’s free festival for the seventh lunar month, when spirits of the dead are said to roam. It has a giant paper Ghost King parade, Cantonese opera and community altars; the 2026 edition was on 5 September.

Myths, Tunnels and Tall Tales

The Chinatown Tunnels That Never Were

What is actually true: It is a myth, and not a harmless one. SFGATE traces it to tour guides of the late 1800s, who led visitors through ordinary connected cellars under Grant Avenue and told them they were six or seven storeys down, when they were never more than one below the street; some of the “opium den” scenes were staged for tourists. KALW, asking Cameron House and the Chinese Culture Center, found basements, not tunnels, and heard that the rumor still feeds stereotypes about the neighborhood. We include it so you can recognize it if a tour guide tries it on you.

Can you go? There is nothing to visit. Visit Chinatown itself instead: see our Chinatown and North Beach walking day.

Shanghaied Through a Trapdoor: The Barbary Coast

What is actually true: Shanghaiing itself was real and common, FoundSF says: crimps drugged and kidnapped men for “blood money” and sailors’ wage advances. The trapdoors are the legend part, and the Kelly birthday-party tale was discredited by the historian Bill Pickelhaupt. The Old Ship Saloon at 298 Pacific Avenue, founded in 1851 in the hull of the ship Arkansas and now on the city’s Legacy Business Registry, was a notorious shanghaiing haunt, according to SF Heritage and SFGATE’s Gary Kamiya. We found no reputable source for a trapdoor there.

Can you go? The Old Ship Saloon is a working bar in Jackson Square; check its own hours.

Coit Tower, the “Fire-Hose Nozzle”, Telegraph Hill

What is actually true: Rec and Park, which runs the tower, says plainly that it “was not designed to resemble a firehose nozzle”. The rest is true: Coit was an honorary member of Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5, and her bequest to beautify the city paid for both Coit Tower, completed in 1933 to a design by Arthur Brown Jr.’s firm, and the volunteer firefighters monument in Washington Square below. The murals inside were painted in 1934 by artists of the Public Works of Art Project.

Can you go? Yes. Rec and Park lists daily hours (10am to 6pm April to October, 10am to 5pm November to March) and elevator and mural-tour prices on its Coit Tower page.

Where the Wild Parrots Came from, Telegraph Hill

What is actually true: KQED looked into it: a pet store did burn down, but in Pasadena, and the woman was an employee trying to save the birds, which probably never reached San Francisco. The likelier answer is pet owners releasing noisy, demanding birds. They are mostly cherry-headed conures, native to Ecuador and Peru, brought in by the pet trade before the United States banned wild-bird imports in 1992, and the flock now ranges well beyond the hill.

Can you go? They are wild, so sightings are luck. Listen for them around Telegraph Hill and the Filbert Steps.

Emperor Norton, His Bridge and His Dogs

What is actually true: Most of it is real. Joshua Norton proclaimed himself emperor in 1859 after a rice deal ruined him, and he died in 1880 (FoundSF). The Emperor Norton Trust has his four 1872 proclamations calling for a bridge by way of Goat Island (today’s Yerba Buena Island), and a tunnel. The dogs are the myth: Bummer and Lazarus were real and famous strays, but both FoundSF and the Trust say there is no evidence they were his; cartoons of the day put them together.

Can you go? There is no Norton site to visit; the Emperor Norton Trust lists events and memorial days.

“The Crookedest Street in the World”: Lombard vs Vermont

What is actually true: Both claims are old: Chronicle photo captions from 1987 already called Vermont “said to be more crooked”. Lombard’s zigzag block was built in 1922, when the straight street was too steep for cars; Vermont’s curves were built in the 1930s and it has been one-way downhill since 1977 (SFGATE, Potrero View). Sources measure the curves and slopes differently, so we are not naming a winner.

Can you go? Both are public streets. Lombard is busy with cars and visitors; Vermont is quiet and residential, so please be a good neighbor.

The Grave of Carlotta Valdes, Mission Dolores

What is actually true: Carlotta never existed. Her headstone was a movie prop, and according to the Chronicle it stayed in the cemetery for several years after the 1958 film, becoming a stop on bus tours, until tourists tramping past real graves led to its removal. The real cemetery is remarkable enough: the Mission says some 5,000 Ohlone, Miwok and other First Californians are buried there, along with the first Mexican governor of California. The Mission calls itself the oldest intact building in San Francisco.

Can you go? Yes. Mission Dolores at 3321 16th Street is open Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm and weekends 10am to 5pm, self-guided (Mission Dolores).

“The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent Was a Summer in San Francisco”

What is actually true: Twain never said it. Quote Investigator traced the joke back to the 1700s, when it was told about the actor James Quin, and found it attached to other chilly places, Duluth among them, before it ever landed on San Francisco. It calls the line “the coolest thing Mark Twain never said.” The joke does get the weather right: summer fog keeps much of the city cool, as our what to wear guide explains.

Can you go? The fog is free. Check our fog forecast before you pack.

The Seven Hills of San Francisco

What is actually true: Plenty of cities claim seven hills, and KALW could not find anyone who knew why these seven made San Francisco’s list. The city has far more than seven: one hill-counter told KALW he had counted seventy-four.

Can you go? Yes. KALW says you can see all seven from the top of Twin Peaks; see the best views in San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge: Painted End to End, and Orange by Accident?

What is actually true: The Golden Gate Bridge District calls both painting stories misconceptions: the bridge is painted continuously, an ongoing job that protects the steel from the salty air, not one end-to-end coat after another. The color was a choice. NPR reports that consulting architect Irving Morrow noticed the reddish-orange primer on some of the steel and championed it as the bridge’s color, when most bridges were gray, silver or black. A paint superintendent told NPR the Navy had wanted it painted black and yellow so it would be easier to see.

Can you go? Yes. You can walk or bike across; our Presidio guide covers the viewpoints at the south end.

“Earthquake Weather”

What is actually true: There is no such thing. Asked by KTVU whether earthquake weather exists, USGS research geophysicist Annemarie Baltay answered: “Absolutely not.” Earthquakes happen somewhere in the world every day, she pointed out, in hot places and very cold ones alike.

Did the 1962 Alcatraz Escapees Make It?

What is actually true: The escape is real; the ending is not known. The FBI says Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin left dummy heads made of plaster, flesh-tone paint and real hair in their beds, climbed out through a ventilator onto the roof, and set off on a raft stitched together from more than 50 raincoats. The FBI calls their fate a mystery to this day.

Can you go? Yes. Ferries to Alcatraz leave from Pier 33, and they sell out, so book ahead. Our three days in San Francisco guide shows how to fit it in.

The Restaurant on Top of Sutro Tower

What is actually true: Half right. The SF Standard traced the restaurant idea to a 1962 Chronicle story about a tower planned for San Bruno Mountain, which was never built, not to Sutro Tower. The moaning was real: after the 977-foot tower was finished in 1973, wind rushing through its cables made it moan like a harp until a redesign fixed it. It has been sending out TV and radio signals since July 4, 1973.

Karl the Fog

What is actually true: Karl began as a joke on Twitter. KQED says an anonymous creator launched @KarlTheFog in August 2010, inspired by parody accounts such as @BPGlobalPR, and named it after the misunderstood giant in the 2003 film Big Fish. The account passed 348,000 followers, and people started calling the fog Karl in everyday conversation.

Can you go? Check our fog forecast to see whether Karl is in today.

Origin Stories

The Fortune Cookie, Japanese Tea Garden

What is actually true: The “court” was the Court of Historical Review, a mock court with no legal or academic authority, and Los Angeles, which has its own claimants, never accepted the verdict. KQED reports that researchers traced the cookie to Japan, where similar crackers were being made in the 1870s. The Tea Garden, citing Hagiwara’s family, says he introduced it to the United States from Japan, and that the sweet vanilla version was probably developed for him by the San Francisco confectioner Benkyodo. Fair summary: rooted in Japan, popularized in California, and San Francisco’s claim is the best-loved one, not a proven one.

Can you go? Yes. The Tea Garden says a fortune cookie still comes in every bowl of rice crackers sold at its Tea House.

The Sourdough Starter That Survived 1906, Fisherman’s Wharf

What is actually true: The rescue is company and family lore, told by Boudin’s museum and by SF Travel; we found no independent record of it. Boudin’s own history says the bakery dates to 1849, that it is “believed” Isidore Boudin got his starter from a Gold Rush miner, and that Louise ran the bakery after his death in 1887. Boudin says it still adds a portion of the original mother dough to every batch. One myth KQED does knock down: the famous sourdough bacteria was first identified here but is not unique to San Francisco.

Can you go? Yes. Boudin at the Wharf, 160 Jefferson Street, has a window onto the bakery.

Why It Is Called Cioppino, Fisherman’s Wharf

What is actually true: The food historian Erica Peters told KQED the name much more likely comes from ciuppin, a fish soup in the Genoese dialect. Genoese fishermen developed the dish in San Francisco in the second half of the 1800s, and the chili that went into it is what made it Californian.

Can you go? It is a dish, not a place: see our guide to crab and cioppino.

Who Rolled the First Mission Burrito?

What is actually true: Both are claims, and nobody has settled it. Mission Local dates La Cumbre’s first burrito to 29 September 1969 and notes El Faro’s rival date of 26 September 1961; La Cumbre opened as a meat market in 1967 and became a taqueria in 1972. The SF Chronicle tells El Faro’s story as “the legend goes”.

Can you go? Try both and pick a side; see our burrito guide.

The Horses That Inspired the Cable Car, Nob Hill

What is actually true: SFMTA says “legend has it” and the Cable Car Museum says “as the story goes”: the account comes from Hallidie’s own recollection years later. The rest is well documented. The first cable car made its test run at about 4am on 2 August 1873 on Clay Street, and public service began on 1 September 1873. Hallidie knew wire rope from his father’s patent and his mining work, and William Eppelsheimer engineered the system.

Can you go? Yes. The Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street is free (Cable Car Museum).

The Sea Lions of Pier 39

What is actually true: The timing checks out. Pier 39 Marina says the Loma Prieta earthquake struck on October 17, 1989, and that in December 1989 one large male sea lion arrived in its West Harbor; by February 1990 there were more than 300. The marina credits dock space, plenty of herring and a sheltered harbor for why they stayed. Nobody has shown that the earthquake sent them.

Can you go? Yes, and watching them is free; see Fisherman’s Wharf with kids.

Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista

What is actually true: The Buena Vista tells it this way: on November 10, 1952, owner Jack Koeppler and Chronicle travel writer Stanton Delaplane set out to recreate a drink Delaplane had loved in Ireland, and only got the cream to float after the city’s mayor, a dairy owner, suggested cream aged 48 hours. KQED says the drink itself was invented about a decade earlier, in 1943, by cook Joe Sheridan at the Foynes flying-boat terminal in Ireland. San Francisco is where it took off in America: a Buena Vista bartender told KQED it serves about 2,000 on a regular day.

Can you go? For grown-ups only, of course.

Was the Martini Invented in San Francisco?

What is actually true: Martinez tells it the other way round, and has a plaque in a downtown parking lot to prove it. KQED found that both sides have held mock trials: in 1983 San Francisco’s Court of Historical Review, which has no legal authority, ruled for the city, and a mock court in Martinez answered back. The first printed Martinez recipe appeared in Jerry Thomas’s bartender’s guide in 1887. As one cocktail historian told KQED, “There is nothing empirical here.”

Rice-A-Roni, “the San Francisco Treat”

What is actually true: It was made in San Francisco, from an Armenian recipe. NPR reports that Lois DeDomenico, who married into the family behind Golden Grain Macaroni Co., learned to make rice pilaf from Pailadzo Captanian, an Armenian woman the young couple lived with in the 1940s. At a family dinner, her brother-in-law Vince looked at the pilaf and said, “This would be great in a box.” The cable car ad campaign ran in 1967.

Know a Legend We Should Add?

If your block, bar or building has a story, or you heard one of these differently, tell us. We will add it if we can find it told by a reputable source, and we will correct anything here that turns out to be wrong.

More: Halloween in San Francisco for families, the local’s guide and three days in San Francisco.

Sources

• KQED: The Lady of Stow Lake
• SFGATE: The most haunted places in the Bay Area
• SF Rec and Park: Stow Lake (Blue Heron Lake)
• SF Rec and Park: Blue Heron Lake renaming
• FoundSF: Alcatraz, Island of Evil Spirits
• National Park Service: Alcatraz cellhouse
• National Park Service: Plan your visit to Alcatraz
• SFGATE: The Queen Anne Hotel
• SFist: The Queen Anne Hotel
• Presidio Trust: Presidio history exhibition, Officers’ Club
• National Park Service: Presidio Pet Cemetery
• SF Standard: The dead of City Cemetery
• SFGATE: Chinatown tunnel myths
• KALW: Are there tunnels under Chinatown?
• FoundSF: Shanghaiing
• SF Heritage: Old Ship Saloon
• SF Rec and Park: Coit Tower
• SF Chronicle: Lillie Hitchcock Coit
• KQED: Where did the wild parrots come from?
• FoundSF: Emperor Norton
• Emperor Norton Trust: the bridge proclamations
• SFGATE: Lombard Street, the crookedest street
• Potrero View: San Francisco’s most (or second most) crooked street
• SF Chronicle: Vertigo’s San Francisco locations
• Mission Dolores: The Old Mission
• Japanese Tea Garden: Tea house
• KQED: The California origins of the fortune cookie
• LA Almanac: The fortune cookie
• Boudin: Our history
• KQED: What makes San Francisco sourdough unique
• KQED: The fishy origins of cioppino
• Mission Local: La Cumbre at 50
• SF Chronicle: El Faro and the Mission burrito
• SFMTA: 150 years ago today, the cable car was born
• Cable Car Museum: Heritage and visitor information
• Quote Investigator: The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco
• KALW: What are the seven hills of San Francisco?
• Golden Gate Bridge District: Painting the bridge
• NPR: The Golden Gate Bridge’s accidental color
• KTVU: USGS says earthquake weather doesn’t exist
• FBI: Alcatraz escape
• SF Standard: A restaurant on Sutro Tower?
• KQED: How the Bay Area’s fog came to be named Karl
• SFGATE: The story behind Playland at the Beach
• Atlas Obscura: The story of Laffing Sal
• KQED: Are the Cliff House and the Sutro Baths cursed?
• Pier 39 Marina: The sea lions
• The Buena Vista: The Irish coffee story
• KQED: The true history of Irish coffee
• KQED: The story of the martini
• NPR: Birth of Rice-A-Roni
• Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco: Hungry Ghost Festival

Checked on 18 September 2026; thirteen legends added and checked on 2 October 2026. Legends are labelled as legends; they are not endorsed as fact.