By Rayming Liang
Originally published on October 31, 2014
In an online poll, we asked students to tell us their favorite San Francisco trick-or-treat spots, and here are the top six. From haunted ghost sites to extreme candy hauls, this list will help you find the perfect destination to visit on the spookiest night of the year.
1. St. Francis Wood
A great place to score a fix for your sweet tooth this Oct. 31 is closer to home than you think. Located almost a mile-and-a-half away from the Lowell campus, in the quiet tranquility of one of San Francisco’s most distinguished neighborhoods, St. Francis Wood stands as a hotspot for yearly Halloween nightlife.
As one of the more popular areas for trick-or-treaters around this time of year, St. Francis Wood boasts its prestige with beautiful revival-style architecture and even more stunning views to match. Perhaps such features are the reason that St. Francis Wood gives an ominous feel to pedestrians during the night. From the overhanging canopies of swaying trees that cast ghostly shadows on the sidewalk below, to the three-story-tall houses looming above at night, this affluent neighborhood definitely has the aesthetic factor down to a tee. The ambience is even spookier when residents put up festive decorations in their front yards, windows, bushes and doors. The neighborhood’s residents are also generous when it comes to the most important part of any Halloween escapade: the candy. Past trick-or-treaters rave about the portions that locals give out; on many occasions, trick-or-treaters are given large candy bars rather than mini-sized ones. But, to enjoy all that this neighborhood as to offer, one needs to go early. “You have to start trick-or-treating at around 6 p.m., or else they’ll run out of candy,” sophomore Tweety Doe said. “It’s that popular.”
2. Sea Cliff
Sea Cliff is a glamorous neighborhood with even more famous residents. Past A-list homeowners used to occupy these houses, like actress Sharon Stone and current resident Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. In fact, Robin Williams, who used to reside in this area, was known to leave his home and personally hand out glow necklaces to trick-or-treaters.
As for the sugar haul, one can expect the riches are great from candy-hunting here. “There’s this one house that always gives out huge, king-sized candy bars,” sophomore Madeline Mignola said, explaining her past candy plunders. “It was really awesome.”
Not only is the location well-known, but it is eye candy as well; windy roads and oversized yards make house-hopping a fun adventure. Adding on the 49-Mile Scenic Drive leading out from this expensive and celebrity-ridden community, Sea Cliff is a sight to see, especially on Halloween.
3. Marina District
In the Marina District, you can skip the haunted houses and cheap scares, because this neighborhood might actually house ghosts. Around the year 1880, the Marina and the surrounding Presidio areas used to be a cemetery where sailors were buried. But due to random acts of vandalism on the graveyards, the cemetery and its coffins were moved to the Colma area, according to the San Francisco History Encyclopedia’s articles. Gravediggers cut up and dropped the old gravestones into the surrounding ocean to provide a safe harbor for boats, according to the Haunted Bay.
So, if an avid trick-or-treater is daring enough to brave the Marina District’s ghostly past, the rewards are substantial, with tons of houses giving out a good amount of candy. But you might want to bring a coat, as it can get cold down by the shore — or maybe the chills are from the ghosts of the Marina. Perhaps the moved gravestones bind the souls of sailors who they still lurk by the oceanside at night.
4. Lake Street
The Lake Street area is home to one of Halloween’s greatest symbols: haunted houses. No, not quite the usual worn-down, battered, deserted kind — these are somewhat brighter, more cheerful, and full of joy, and they welcome all trick-or-treaters, young and old.
The residents of the area are known to transform their house in spirit of All Hallow’s Eve. “One of the best haunted houses was around 10th Avenue and Lake Street,” junior Andrew Wilcox said. “The man who owned it had modified his entire house and led everyone to the basement, where he had turned off all the lights. He let us wander around for a while, then stood behind someone, turned on a strobe light and screamed at the top of his lungs , which scared the pants off everyone.”
Nearby is Presidio Park, which is especially haunting on Halloween because of its rather war-torn history. If any trick-or-treaters come here, beware of the Letterman Digital Arts Center. Built in 2001, this building stands where the Letterman Army Medical Center used to be, a hospital which treated fatally wounded soldiers throughout the 20th century. Eventually, the hospital was abandoned, and the graffiti-filled halls and musty smell gave the location a very haunted feel. Locals who entered the building reported hearing footsteps at night, according to the SF Heart Website. The building may have been torn down, but workers in the current arts center that occupies the space have reported feeling cold spots, which are localised areas of cold air believed by some to result from paranormal activity, according to CBS San Francisco.
With haunted areas all around, cheerful or frightful, the Lake Street area is sure to give you a fun time worth dying for.
5. Pacific Heights
Pacific Heights is involved with the San Francisco Ghost Hunt, an all-year event that explores San Francisco’s past in this hilly area and Western Addition while mixing in a horror-filled adventure, according to the SF Ghost Hunt Web site. This spooky city tour begins at the haunted Queen Anne’s Hotel. It is rumored that the ghost of Ms. Mary Lake haunts the hotel’s Room 401, which has been named the Mary Lake Suite in her honor. The terrifying adventure is carried out on foot, lasting about three hours and costing only 10 dollars for everyone sixteen and under. It runs every week except Wednesdays, starting at 7 pm.
Many of the houses in Pacific Heights are modeled after antique styles, from Victorian to Chateau, and live up to their prices — some reach a whooping thirty million dollars. When the moon rises, the architecture of these homes transforms the area into a dark blast to the past, giving a sense of a world isolated from the ever-changing flow of time. Add in the relative calm of the whistling winds on the hilltop, and suddenly it feels like a ghost town, capable of making anyone paranoid enough to jump at their shadow.
6. Noe Valley
If knocking on strangers’ doors is not your thing, don’t fret; Noe Valley is home to a diverse commercial area that also participates in the Halloween festivities. Geared towards entertaining families with young children, the shops on 24th Street are open all day long on Halloween, filling the bags of trick-or-treaters while hosting exciting activities. “We are giving out candy and holding a costume contest, as well as a scavenger hunt,” employee Jeff Baker of The Ark toy store said. “It will be fun!”
Noe Valley is also a great place to see a variety of decorations, ranging from two daunting skeletons driving a rusty old car to giant inflated spiders dangling from their massive web, according to juniors Gideon Fox and Cy David.
With the opportunity to get candy while supporting your local shops, even the walking dead would come running likes there’s no tomorrow.
