The ghost story behind San Francisco's historic Curran Theatre
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Spookiness awaits inside. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
San Francisco's historic Curran Theatre has hosted its share of dramatic performances over the past century, but according to local lore, one of its most enduring characters has never actually left the building.
Why it matters: The 104-year-old theater near Union Square is among the city's oldest surviving performance venues with a particularly unsettling ghost story.
Catch up quick: The Curran Theater opened in 1922 on Geary Street and has since welcomed generations of theatergoers and productions.
State of (spooky) play: One longtime occupant hasn't needed much convincing to stick around. Here's where things get a tad eerie.
- Back in 1933, ticket taker Hewlett G. Tarr was fatally shot while working at the theater just days before his wedding.
- The gunman, whom the San Francisco Examiner nicknamed the "Hatless Slayer" — for his apparently scandalous decision to go without a hat in 1933 — evaded authorities before police finally caught him following a shoot-out that year, SF Weekly reports.
- Tarr's ghost has been spotted in the theater's lobby ever since, particularly in the large mirror near its entrance.
- Witnesses have described seeing a young man dressed in 1930s clothing, while theater employees have reported strange occurrences over the years, per SFGATE.
The intrigue: The Curran's former manager, Tess Collins, told SFGATE that a psychic once suggested the theater was home to more than 300 spirits.
- Whether those are restless (and occasionally hatless) souls or avid theatergoers unwilling to leave after the final curtain is up for debate.
💠My thought bubble: I can't say whether the Curran is actually haunted, but if I were a ghost, spending eternity in a beautiful old theater wouldn't be the worst arrangement.
- Perhaps Tarr isn't haunting the theater out of malice but is lingering in a place out of heartbreak because his future was so abruptly cut short.
- That said, don't expect me to check the lobby mirror on my way out.