The Hauntings of the Queen Anne Hotel

Posted: 12.04.2024 | Updated: 12.04.2024

Nestled in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in San Francisco is the Queen Anne Hotel. It has been offering luxurious amenities for those looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city for the last several decades.

Yet, the past has a way of returning to haunt the present, and those who’ve stayed in the hotel’s luxurious rooms have many stories to tell about what lurks in the hallways.

Let’s check in and discover what lies in store in one of the most haunted hotels in San Francisco. Are you interested in seeing what other haunted locations the city has to offer? You can book our San Francisco Ghost Tour, San Francisco Ghosts.

Join us as we uncover San Francisco’s forsaken and forgotten souls, lost in a fog of tragedy, misfortune, and greed with the gold that doomed them.

Is the Queen Anne Hotel In San Francisco Really Haunted?

Before the Queen Anne Hotel was checking in guests, it was originally built as a boarding school for girls. Many believe the hotel is inhabited by the school’s headmistress, Mary Lake. More than that, there are rumors that she may have been involved in a scandalous affair with one of the wealthiest men in the nation.

Class in Session

The building that would become the Queen Anne Hotel was built in 1890, and commissioned by the former Nevada Senator James G. Fair as a boarding school. He had made his wealth investing in silver mines in Nevada.

The Mary Lake School for Girls housed 100 girls to teach proper etiquette in a proper world such as piano, painting, deportment, flower arrangement, and household management. It was run by Mary Lake, who was very devoted to her students and the school.

However, newspapers were headlining a possible love affair happening between Senator Fair and the school teacher. This was only a few years after the senator was in the midst of one of the biggest divorce settlements in history, giving his ex-wife nearly $5 million, more than $150 million today. 

The reason for this divorce? He was having an affair.

There was never any proof of Mary Lake and Fair having any sort of scandalous rendezvous. She was even reported to spend $400 monthly on rent at the school. It doesn’t exactly scream love affair if you’re still footing the bill.

Fair would end up dying in 1894, and the school shortly with him in 1896. The economic panic that was devastating the nation at the time closed down many businesses, including the school. The school was bought in 1899 and refitted as a gentlemen’s club called the Cosmos.

As the years went by, the building was bought and sold several times. By the 1980s, the former school was in severe need of restoration. It was eventually purchased and completely restored to the hotel that you see today.

As for Mary, she left San Francisco and moved in with her sister in New Jersey, where she spent the remainder of her life until her passing in 1902.

The Queen Anne Hotel

The hotel’s name comes from the architectural style of the building, Queen Anne. While it was believed the style originated from Queen Anne’s reign in England, it takes its inspiration from the English Renaissance and even further back to medieval England.

This style of architecture was extremely popular in the United States from the 1880s to the 1900s.

Today, the hotel holds over 40 different rooms, each with its unique look and accommodations. Many of the rooms have a Victorian fireplace. Besides that, the hotel has several features that make it stand out compared to others.

There’s the parlor room with its decadent furniture and grand wooden staircase. The salon provides authentic Victorian fine dining for up to 80 patrons. The courtyard offers a cozy experience with a glass roof ceiling, a center water fountain, and a gazebo.

Phantom of the School House

Guests at the Queen Anne Hotel have had many encounters with the spirit of Mary Lake, and she seems to be just as helpful and caring to the guests as she was to her students.

People have reported returning to their rooms and finding their suitcases unpacked and their clothes neatly folded on their beds. Other people have even said they have felt a warm and inviting presence tuck them in at night.

Other guests have seen her apparition looking in the mirror, or playing the piano at odd hours of the day. Mary’s presence is felt throughout the hotel, but perhaps not as often as she’s felt in room 410.

Hauntings in Room 410

More than anywhere else in the hotel, Mary spends most of her time in room 410, also known as the Mary Lake Suite. The suite’s name is more than just a coincidence, the room used to be Mary’s office when she was headmistress.

She’s been reported in the room more than anywhere else in the hotel. Her spirit is seen more in the room as a woman in a Victorian dress. Many have seen her standing by the fireplace. Objects also tend to move more in the room.

Other Hauntings in Pacific Heights

The Queen Anne Hotel isn’t the only haunted location in Pacific Heights. Being a neighborhood with several defining Victorian mansions, you would be hard-pressed not to find other ghost stories floating around.

The Mary Ellen Pleasant Memorial Park is the smallest in San Francisco, and it’s rumored to be haunted by one of the largest figures in San Francisco. Mary Ellen Pleasant was an African-American philanthropist who spent her life and fortune fighting for civil rights decades before the movements of the 1960s.

Rumors say her spirit throws tree nuts at unsuspected passersby and has been known to scare dogs.

The Whittier Mansion was built by William Franklin Whittier in 1896. In 1941, the family sold the house to the Nazi Party. It housed one of Hitler’s top advisors, Fritz Wiedemann.

Some say William Whittier’s spirit still resides in the house, his apparition being seen moving back and forth in the windows. Others think they’ve seen him in the house’s wine cellar.

Haunted San Francisco

It is warming to know that the Queen Anne Hotel receives the same amount of care and love that it did more than a hundred years ago and by the same hands, no less. It seems Mary Lake will be there as long as there are people to care for.

San Francisco has so many more haunted locations to show you lurking around every corner. Book our ghost tour, San Francisco Ghosts, to see the many secrets of the city. Also, keep an eye out for more spooky content on our blog. We’re always adding more for you to check out.

Make sure you’re following us on our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to see what we’re up to when it comes to the most haunted places in the United States.

Sources:

http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=19