F I R S TP R E V879NEXTLAST

Vampires and the Golden Gate
In the final scene of the film, Interview with the Vampire Lestat the vampire is driving a car northbound over the Golden Gate Bridge with his latest bloody victim crumpled on the seat next to him. San Francisco's long history of rumored vampires is what we explore today.

In the Gold Rush days stories of entire mining camps being wiped out by vicious bloodsuckers were circulated through San Francisco. The purpose of these tales were to scare the newly-arriving fortune seekers from laying their claims in the dangerous wilderness.

Two decades later vampires were once again used to scare people. On December 15, 1879 it was reported a policeman interrupted a vampire who was feeding on a prostitute. Before dying, it was claimed, she identified the vampire as being Chinese. Soon more stories of opium-fueled, Chinese vampire attacks surfaced and fueled an already strong anti-Chinese sentiment in the city.

One story that is true however is that of German immigrant, Lewis Keseberg a member of the ill-fated Donner Party. When found by rescuers, Keseberg had grisly, partly-devoured remains of other party members in his cave. Keseberg never denied or apologized for eating his fellow travelers. He later moved to San Francisco where he opened a restaurant.

Happy Halloween Everyone.

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