With recent talk of how “San Francisco just isn’t the same,” some details reveal it to be eerily like 1998, when entertainer and “ghost storyteller” Jim Fassbinder started the San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour. Back then, the city was a burgeoning tech hub that had a reputation for closed shops and dilapidated neighborhoods — a reputation local leaders were desperate to erase through corporate sponsorship. (The Metreon opened in 1999.) In many ways, San Francisco always has been haunted by its own history.
Which is precisely what Fassbinder hoped to tap into with his tour, which sheds light on the colorful history, memorable characters and the haunting urban legends of the City by the Bay.
In 2016, Fassbinder turned over the spooky storytelling to friend and colleague Christian Cagigal, one of the Bay Area’s premiere magicians and illusionists. I’ve personally come to know him through theater acquaintances and high school connections; we both attended Westmoor High School in Daly City. (I was in the class of ’98, the same year the Ghost Hunt began.)
As the Ghost Hunt turns a quarter-century, I caught up with Cagigal, curious to find out what the spectral expert thinks about San Francisco’s shadow-covered history, and if it connects to today’s scary headlines about the city.
As a fellow Westmoor alumnus, do you ever have old classmates (and/or their kids) attend your shows?
Christian Cagigal: Yes, it’s always fun to see old familiar faces on the tour.
Were you a regular of Jim Fassbinder’s tour before you took it over in 2016?
CC: When Jim was developing the tour in 1998, I was still a student at San Francisco State’s Theater Department. In the [Bay Area] magic community, I was already known as a storytelling magician. That’s how I met Jim, we became friends, and he asked me to co-direct and be a creative consultant on his tour. I also did some research for him. It was fun to dig into the archival room of the Main Library and discover SF history. This was well before the internet could be accessed from a tool in my pocket. So yes, I had seen Jim’s tour countless times.
Do you just host the tour or does your work as a magician play into things also?
CC: I sometimes add a little hint of some spooky magic at the end of the tour, as an extra “thank you” to my guests. Last year, I added a VIP ticket for Halloween weekend, which included the ghost tour and a close-up magic show at the haunted Hotel Majestic for a limited group of 13 people. It went really well, and I’m doing it again this year.
When people think of popular Bay Area haunts, they often point to the Winchester Mystery House in San José. What about the SF Ghost Hunt do you think has piqued everyone’s interest for a quarter-century?
CC: Most ghost tours are full of legends, which is totally fine and really fun. You can learn a lot about a culture by its legends. The SF Ghost Hunt has a couple legends in it, too. However, from the beginning, we wanted our tour to be based in as much historical fact as possible. Guests really appreciate learning the hidden and obscure parts of history. Even the hauntings we talk about are most often based on years of documented accounts.
The 90-ish minute tour focuses on oft-forgotten historical figures like Mary Ellen Pleasant and Gertrude Atherton. What other unsung “ghosts” do you think deserve greater recognition in SF history?
CC: Quite a people deserve more recognition, but those folks were never reported to be ghosts at all. Example: Before Rosa Parks fought for civil rights on public transportation and before Mary Ellen Pleasant did the same (a little-known part of California history), there was Charlotte L. Brown. I had no clue about Charlotte L. Brown but just learned about her after meeting Rae Alexandra from KQED.
Are most Ghost Hunt patrons more interested in history or looking for a thrill?
CC: Most people come on walking tours because they want knowledge and history. The many people who seek out ghost tours, most of them are believers but quite a lot of them are not and are seeking a little thrill of discovering the weird and amazing events from history. And the believers come as curious explorers, hoping to find some sign of what is behind the veil.
Has anyone ever had to bow out of the tour from being too scared?
CC: (Sheepishly) Yes… one time. I don’t talk about what happened that night.
It seems as if every contemporary headline about San Francisco makes it seem like a scary place. As a longtime local performer and student of history, what do you think those headlines primarily get wrong?
CC: Here’s a roundabout answer: I also live in New York City half of the year. Anytime my family sees on the news that something bad happened or there was major flooding in NYC, they check in to make sure I’m OK, which is very sweet. But I have to remind them NYC is a big place. And ya know, just because something happened on Powell doesn’t mean it happened on Noriega. Most of the bad videos people are seeing are taking place in the tourist-dense locations. That’s very bad. We need our tourists to be safe. But thankfully the rest of the city is fine. In fact, more of those tourists should venture out to the smaller hotels and destinations in the western half of the city, and get a more complete sense of SF.
For independent artists, SF has a bit of a growing “ghost town” reputation after the loss of the EXIT Theatre, PianoFight and StageWerx. Where in The City do you go to perform or watch work outside of the mainstream?
CC: Honestly, since taking over ownership of the SF Ghost Hunt I don’t get to see and do as much since I’m working. It’s something I’ve missed since before the pandemic. But, when I do get out, I love to see my magician friends: Kevin Blake at Speakeasy, Brad Barton at The Lost Church, Jay Alexander at The Marrakech (which is literally underground), and David Gerard, Michael Feldman and Andrew Evans at The Magic Patio.
Another scary element is the continued proliferation of COVID-19. Even considering the Ghost Hunt’s safety rules, how much concern do you have during the still-ongoing pandemic?
CC: Speaking as someone who is not immunocompromised, I feel much safer than I did when I reopened in the summer of 2021. But I like to be prepared. I just received my next booster. And I always have a mask on hand for those times I walk into a packed place and feel apprehensive.
After 25 years of tours, most of which were hosted by Jim, how long could you see yourself hosting?
CC: Well, Jim ran this tour all the way to retirement. He lives on an island now… And that doesn’t sound half bad. (Laughs)
What’s the one thing you hope ghost-hunters leave with at the end of each tour?
CC: A few chills and a new perspective on the city we all love.
San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tours are at 8 p.m. Oct. 6-31, starting at the Healing Arts Center, 1801 Bush St., San Francisco. Tickets are $30 general and $100 VIP. For information, visit https://www.sfghosthunt.com/.
Charles Lewis III is a San Francisco-born journalist and performing artist. He’s written for the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED, San Francisco Examiner and more. Dodgy evidence of this can be found at The Thinking Man’s Idiot.