In this episode, Matt tells the story of a rather standard haunted house. However, the tale of how the ghosts came to be there involves what amounts to sitcom tropes, a barrel of rum, and the specters of iconic eras in San Francisco’s history.

Full show notes: kmmamedia.com/podcasts/ghosthropology-podcast/

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Email: ghosthropology@gmail.com

Transcript here

This episode featured music by Matthew Armstrong and production assistance from Kaylia Metcalfe.

121.: Pursuing Demons and Spectral Hounds – Ghosthropology

In this episode, Matt discusses two settings where Christians have told him tales of strange encounters. In one, there is pressure to see even mundane events as demonic activity, and in the other, there is room for ambiguity. Through this, we see how the same religion can produce very different ways of looking at the world. Past episodes of our show can be found at https://kmmamedia.com/podcasts/ghosthropology-podcast/ Facebook: facebook.com/ghosthroplogy Instagram: instagram.com/ghosthropod YouTube: youtube.com/@ghosthropology Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/c/ghosthropology Email: ghosthropology@gmail.com

1. 121.: Pursuing Demons and Spectral Hounds 22:11
2. 120: A Ghost Motorcycle in Australia and a Ghost Train in North Carolina 21:39
3. 119. Ghosts of the British Museum (with Noah Angell) 01:05:47
4. 118 The Glorious Past and The Sordid Past 30:15
5. 117. Ghostwatch 38:57

Sources:

Image in part by by Arthur Zim from Pixabay 

Found SF

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

NOE Hill

Seeks Ghosts

San Francisco Preservation Bulletin 9

SFGate

SF Ghosts

Weird California

Paonessa, Laurie and Clio Admin. “Atherton House.” Clio: Your Guide to History. April 1, 2025. Accessed March 30, 2026. https://theclio.com/entry/190869

Richards, Rand. 2001. Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City’s Past. Heritage House Publishers, Victoria, BC. Accessed online 3/30/26 at https://books.google.com/books?id=SMuQi_WnKyQC&dq=faxon+atherton+house+san+francisco&pg=PA310#v=onepage&q=faxon%20atherton%20house%20san%20francisco&f=false

Waldhorn, Judith Lynch; Woodbridge, Sally Byrne. 1978. Victoria’s Legacy: Tours of San Francisco Bay Area Architecture. 101 Productions, New York. Accessed online 3/30/26 at https://archive.org/details/victoriaslegacy00wald/page/24/mode/1up?q=atherton

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