Bay Area Ghost Hunters

Meet & Greet at Gardenia in Los Gatos

Sat, Jul 18 · 1:00 PM PDT

Gardenia, 115 N Santa Cruz Ave,, Los Gatos, CA, US

Apparently, a little girl is the center of attention from the astral world at the Coggeshall House—now the Gardenia restaurant. I used my pendulum to ask if the spirits there would like us to visit and received an enthusiastic yes. They went on to tell me that there are six hanging out at the old mansion.

When the Coggeshall House was erected back in 1891, Santa Cruz Avenue was a row of fine mansions. The Coggeshall family resided there until 1917, when they sold the property to E.E. Place. Place turned it into a family-run mortuary. In the 1970s, after the Place family left, it was overhauled to accommodate a series of restaurants and is currently operating as Gardenia, which serves French-Asian cuisine and has a coffee shop on the side. Because of all the repurposing of this beautiful building, the Coggeshall House is the only one from the 1890s affluent residential neighborhood to survive.

Most people believe its hauntings derive from its use as a mortuary, but it’s not the only place in the neighborhood that’s seen odd occurrences. In 2010, BAGH met at Double D’s Sports Grille a few blocks away. It has also seen some odd activity. A section of this part of town had once been a cemetery, which was relocated. When this happens, there are frequently remains that are left behind. In the case of Double D’s, maintenance workers doing some nearby digging uncovered a coffin. The Coggeshall House becoming a mortuary starts to make more sense.

At Gardenia, staff and visitors have reported odd temperature drops, cold spots and sightings of apparitions, particularly that of the little girl. One chef neatly stacked some plates in the kitchen and left the room for less than two minutes before he returned to see the plates stacked elsewhere in the room. The most amusing has to be the astral who likes to party. When staff arrived one morning, they found that someone rang up a long bar tab while the place was closed during the night.

So, please join us for brunch at Gardenia. Our resident ghost whisperer, Madeleine Harmath, has agreed to join us to learn more about what’s going on in this part of Los Gatos. Afterward, Moonstone Metaphysical shop is 150 feet away from the restaurant. Those interested can walk across the street to see their wide selection of gemstones and tarot decks. Some of the pendulums were busy swaying as I walked by. They were like puppies in a kennel asking someone to give them home.

Brunch is Dutch treat. I won’t lie: parking is in this neighborhood is a challenge, but there’s no charge. There is an alley for parking to the east, behind the buildings across the street from Gardenia.

For more details on the Coggeshall House, I found the following You Tube video:

https://youtu.be/-5y5Bhktj5U?si=ONpxmAe2q6MfIlq3

Looking forward to seeing other members at Gardenia.

Adrienne

Ghost Hunt at the San Remo Hotel in San Francisco — $105

Sat, Aug 1 · 8:00 PM PDT

Fior d'Italia at the San Remo Hotel, 2237 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA, US

Conducting ghost investigations are not my forté, but I found a tour operator who’s willing to take the lead. For those who would be interested in an introduction to ghost hunting, please join us for one at the haunted San Remo Hotel. For a fee of $105 per person, Haunt Ghost Tours takes small groups for a sampling of what goes on during an investigation. Each group is limited to 10 people. To spare BAGH members extra service charges, BAGH will avoid being a middleman and ask members to go directly to the operator for more details and to reserve their spots at:

https://thehauntghosttours.com/tours/paranormal-investigation-san-francisco/

Because we are sparing ourselves from additional service fees, please be aware that this 8 p.m. slot is still open to the general public and can fill up with outsiders. A RSVP here is no guarantee of inclusion in this ghost hunt without payment to Haunt Ghost Tours.

The San Remo Hotel originally opened in December 1906 as the New California Hotel. It was a project put together by A. P. Giannini, founder of Bank of America, for the North Beach district, which was a predominantly Italian neighborhood. After the earthquake, he saw it as refuge for other Italian immigrants who were less fortunate. It would be thought of as a transition home while tenants rebuilt their lives.

The name was changed in 1922 and it stuck. The transition ideal eventually deteriorated with the building as it became a seedy residence hostelry. By 1970, there was talk of demolishing it. The Field brothers, who had spent most of their lives restoring old things, acquired the property. They usually took on cars and apartment buildings, so a hotel was new challenge for them. It was restored and redecorated in a style living up to the Champagne Days of San Francisco.

Among some of the ghost stories taking place at the San Remo is that of a woman, a former madam, who died in her room. Presumably, she was down on her luck at the time and out of the business. The handout staff gives interested guests says "several staff members have seen glimpses of her 'floating' in the hallways and [she] has been known to flick lights on and off."

Another apparition has also been seen in the San Remo. Early in the morning, there have been several sightings of a tall, distinguished looking sailor man walking down the hallway and disappearing near the front desk.

One guest in an upstairs room took a series of 10 photos of his companion when they were alone in their room. When he later reviewed the shots, he noticed the faded image of a little boy standing behind his friend.

Being an older establishment, the San Remo provides shared rest rooms, bathrooms and showers, like quite a few hotels in Europe. The rooms are small with sinks for brushing teeth and shaving. If a modern-day guest will accept these conditions, it is one of the more affordable hotels in San Francisco. Nowadays, it offers a few more rooms with en suite bathrooms. Although my first stay at the San Remo was uneventful, a couple of odd things happened while I was there for the second time. I can't verify they were true phenomena, but I wonder.

I needed to make a pit stop when the hotel had few people in it. The plumbing bay was dark and empty as I entered a toilet booth and locked the door. When I finished, I turned around to watch it flush. We had to hold the cord for a few seconds to ensure the waste cleared. As I was in the process, a loud, single rap hit the door. "It's taken!" I yelled in response. When I turned back to leave, the door was ajar. Thinking it a little bizarre and trying to remember if I had unlocked it myself, I looked outside and no one was there waiting. In fact, the toilet booth across the way was open and unoccupied. When I thought about it, I'm conscientious about locking the door behind me when I use a public restroom. As I walked back to my room, I remembered the place was haunted.

The second occurrence took place after I bought a scented candle. I asked my friend to start burning it while I was taking a bubble bath. When I returned, there was no aroma of strawberries and cream and my companion claimed the candle wouldn't stay lit. There was no draft, so that was not the reason. The wick looked too short, but he said that he shaved the wax around it and it still wouldn't stay lit. At that point, I remembered the hotel had insisted on no smoking and would charge a $200 cleaning deposit if smoking was detected. It wasn't worth taking the chance my candle would be confused for that. However, when I lit it at home, it had no problem burning.

So, bring any equipment, which could be cameras, recorders, EMF readers, pendulums, dousing rods, compasses and—if nothing else—cell phones, to join us for a night of exploring a haunted hotel. We meet in front of the restaurant, Fior d'Italia at 8 p.m. BAGH hosts will be wearing their flashing ghost necklaces.

However, "class" ends late. For anyone who has a long drive afterward, it's worth considering a night's stay at the San Remo. It may have small rooms with no televisions, but it is clean and charming and provides good value. Ghost hunting has a tendency to drain energy, which may make it difficult to drive immediately afterward. For those wanting to book a room, please go to the San Remo website:

https://www.sanremohotel.com/

The San Remo is a couple blocks away from Fisherman's Wharf and close to the end of the cable car line. If taking BART into San Francisco, get off at the Powell Street station, where there is a cable car roundabout and take the route to Mason Street. For those driving in, there is some street parking around the hotel, but they have an arrangement to use a nearby parking structure. Please park in the passenger loading space in front of the hotel and check in at registration, where they will provide the location and a coupon for discounted overnight parking.

Looking forward to this ghost hunt!

Adrienne

BAGH’s 20th Anniversary Bash with Kirsten Langston at the Claremont in Berkeley

Fri, Nov 6 · 6:00 PM PST

Claremont Hotel, 41 Tunnel Rd., Berkeley, CA, US

If 20 years isn’t a good reason to splurge and dress up a bit, what is? It’s Bay Area Ghost Hunters’ 20th anniversary and we’re planning a very special event. We found a beautiful venue that is also haunted and has catering. Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach has agreed to give us a talk related to his work and Psychic Medium Kirsten Langston, who appears on the Third Eye Champagne channel on YouTube, will be topping off the evening with a special live Drunk Tarot reading.

The Claremont has had reports of unexplained footsteps, flickering lights, phantom voices and apparitions throughout the history of this 111-year-old building with the fourth floor having the highest concentration of its activity. It is believed to have the spirit of a little girl, who tragically died in an accident. Another reported apparition is believed to be that of Harriet Thornburgh, who lived on the property before the Claremont was built, but moved away before a fire destroyed her magnificent dwelling. (That’s folklore; go figure.) Several players of the San Antonio Spurs moved to different rooms after witnessing some paranormal activity. According to one of their stars, Tim Duncan, they heard baby noises and children running in the hallway when none were there.

This intimate function is limited to 60 people, including the BAGH hosts. The $355 fee pays for the cost of the venue, food, Kirsten’s personal appearance, food, other miscellaneous fees and food. (Did I mention the food is the biggest cost of this function?) Our schedule is:

6 p.m. doors open
7 p.m. several tasty appetizers and a few desserts served buffet style
8 p.m. BAGH organizers welcome everyone
9 p.m. Loyd Auerbach has the floor
10–11:30 p.m. Drunk Tarot with Kirsten Langston

During Kirsten’s channeling, she’ll touch base with the ghosts of the Claremont. She gives famous people preference while reading, but we’ll save some time for questions from the audience as well. Please be advised her readings are for mature audiences. For those who would like a sampling of Kirsten's work, she has both a YouTube channel and website with many videos of her work. YouTube has been shadowbanning many of its users, so if anyone would like to see her readings uncensored, please go to her personal website. You'll find both at the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/@KirstenLangston

https://thirdeyechampagne.com/

For those who would rather not face a long drive at the end of the evening, the Claremont has graciously offered us a discounted room rate for those who want to stay overnight. Please be aware that we have been warned that room rates are subject to dynamic pricing. The sooner rooms are booked the less they will cost. At present, they're $245 at this link. Regular price is $404. Click here for more details and booking:

https://be.synxis.com/?Hotel=48810&Chain=28394&theme=initialTheme&arrive=2025-02-21&depart=2025-02-22&adult=1&child=0&promo=CATER

For those who will be leaving at the end of the evening, the Claremont is offering discounted parking, $15 for self parking, $25 valet.

Tickets for this event are not refundable, unless it is cancelled or rescheduled, but can be transferred. BAGH hosts will be wearing their flashing ghost necklaces.

So please come help us celebrate our 20 years of meeting up. It's been fun meeting like-minded people and giving them a safe place to talk about their paranormal experiences.

I hope to meet many more.

Adrienne