Aug 7, 2025 - News

The William Westerfeld House is a haunted time capsule

Nadia Lopez

Three views of a Victorian house: dim living room with patterned sofas and lamp by window; exterior at dusk with intricate woodwork; bedroom with wooden bed, chandelier, and patterned wallpaper. — Jim Siegel, the current owner, has meticulously restored the Victorian to reflect its 19th-century grandeur. Photos: Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

It may not officially be spooky season yet, but it is year-round at the William Westerfeld House, a historical haunted gem near Alamo Square.

State of play: The more-than-a-century-old gothic Victorian at 1198 Fulton St. has been the site of a Czarist Russian-run brothel and social club, jazz-era flophouse, psychedelic-using hippie commune and host to occult film sets and rumored satanic rituals, earning it an eerie reputation.

Catch up quick: The 28-room mansion was built in 1889 by local architect Henry Geilfuss for the affluent German baker and confectioner William Westerfeld, who was in poor health when he died there just a few years later.

The intrigue: The house is colloquially referred to as "The Russian Embassy," earning the moniker after Russian émigrés purchased it in the late 1920s and turned the ballroom into a club called "Dark Eyes" for social gatherings.

It later belonged to various owners, including The Palace Hotel architect John Mahoney and underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger, who regularly hosted friends like Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey.
Today, gothic enthusiast Jim Siegel owns the house and has restored its original Victorian flourishes with the hope it can become a museum one day.

The bottom line: Though privately owned, the San Francisco landmark still draws tourists with its rich history and striking architectural grandeur.

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The William Westerfeld House is a haunted time capsule

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