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| 140 Beach Way, Moss Beach, CA 94038, USA (Moss Beach, California)
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The Moss Beach Distillery
This restaurant, located in Moss Beach, California, South of San Francisco, is said to be haunted. The tales of haunting have resulted in the restaurant being featured in episodes of both Unsolved Mysteries and Ghost Hunters. It has even attracted the attention of such psychics as Sylvia Browne. The restaurant is also known for serving organically grown vegetables and all-natural beef, poultry and seafood in a romantic ocean-side setting.
Frank's Place
Built in 1927 by Frank Torres, the building that would eventually become the Moss Beach Distillery began as speakeasy known as Frank's Place. Frank's Place became popular with celebrities, including stars of silent film and local politicians. Rum-runners shipped alcohol from Canada to the San Mateo Coast for illegal distribution in the USA. Thus, Frank Torres benefited greatly from his speakeasy's coastal location. Once prohibition ended, Frank continued to be successful with running the place as a legitimate restaurant.
Dashiell Hammett
During prohibition, Frank's Place was frequented by author Dashiell Hammett. In his his suspense tale, The Girl with the Silver Eyes, Hammett features a speakeasy he calls "The White Shack". The White Shack is based on Frank's Place. Decades later, author Mark Coggins, drawing inspiration from Hammet's short story would use Frank's Place as a location in one of his own detective tales.
The Blue Lady
The Moss Beach Distillery is said to be haunted by a spirit known as the Blue Lady. According to legend, a wife named Mary Ellen was killed in a car accident on her way to meet an illicit lover at Frank's Place. The legend states that the woman always wore blue and that her lover was the piano player at the speakeasy. There are also some versions of the tale that have the woman being murdered outside of Frank's Place because of jealousy resulting from her affair. Some tales also have her married to the bartender at Frank's Place or hiding out from an abusive husband she fled from. Legends regularly claim that her spirit searches for her lost lover.
Yet another theory as to the identity of the Blue Lady is that the spirit is actually that of Virginia Rappe. Rappe was a relatively unknown silent film actress at the time of her death, but she became a household name following her demise and the scandal that arose. Rappe died on September 9, 1921 from peritonitis after her bladder was ruptured. She had been attending a party at the Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco, hosted by Hollywood star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Arbuckle would later be tried and acquitted after three trials that charged him with a brutal rape that resulted in her death. However, there is no evidence that Rappe ever visited the Moss Beach Distillery and her spirit is more commonly believed to haunt her grave at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
The Blue Lady is said to still haunt the establishment. Rooms are found locked from within. Items have seemingly moved or vanished of their own accord, just to show up in unexpected locations later. The spectre of a lady in a blue dress has been witnessed dancing alone, or at times lingering about the ladies room or piano. Some witnesses have claimed that the apparition they witnessed was soaked with blood. The ghost has been said to even appear in the highway in front of the distillery.
There have been reported instances of people feeling the touch of unseen hands or smelling perfume from a woman who isn't there. There have also been instances where witnesses claimed to have heard the Blue Lady speak.
The Moss Beach Distillery celebrates their haunting with a sculpture of the Blue Lady that gazes down from above the bar.
The Other Ghost?
There are also stories that the Blue Lady had a competitor for the affections of her lover. The other woman was named Anna Philbrick and she is said to have committed suicide near the distillery. Some seances held at the distillery have been said to reveal the presence of the spirits of both women. Supposedly they still compete for the affections of the man they both loved and neither will budge from restaurant because of this.
Special Effects
The Moss Beach Distillery has been rigged with computerized special effects that simulate haunting to add thrills for customers. This practice has led to some aggravation within the paranormal community. The owners maintain that the restaurant was haunted prior to the rigging and that they avoided rigging objects that have been connected with the haunting in the past.
Days and hours of operation as well as other details (including the menu) are available at the web site below. |
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| Related Sites |
Moss Beach Distillery
Web site for the Moss Beach Distillery, a restaurant known for being haunted by the "Blue Lady". |
Haunted Bay: Moss Beach Distillery
Haunted Bay's page on the haunting of the Moss Beach Distillery. |
Paranormal Network: Moss Beach Distillery
Paranormal Network's page for the haunting of the Moss Beach Distillery. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Betsy Ross House |
| Musso & Frank Grill |
| The Chariot Grill |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: Moss Beach Distillery (06/04/08) |
| Blog: The Death and Afterlife of Actress Virginia Rappe (09/09/08) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations |
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places: Ghostly Locales from Around the World |
Haunted Houses of California: A Ghostly Guide to Haunted Houses and Wandering Spirits (Tetra) |
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