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/

Facebook: facebook.com/ghosthroplogy

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Email: ghosthropology@gmail.com

Transcript here

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

118 The Glorious Past and The Sordid Past – Ghosthropology

In this episode, Matt considers how ghost stories reflect different views of American history and considers the type of ghost stories that may result from current events. While Ghosthropology is not a show about politics, it is impossible to discuss current events and history, along with their representation through ghost folklore, without delving a bit into the subject.  Full show notes: 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. 118 The Glorious Past and The Sordid Past 30:15
2. 117. Ghostwatch 38:57
3. 116. The Fresno Nightcrawler 19:40
4. 115 The Haunted London Underground 28:58
5. 114. Deogen 15:57

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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