Is This One of Pleasanton's Legendary Ghosts Captured on Camera?

Settlers, scoundrels, prospectors, ladies of the night, and bandits are all said to have lived and died in Pleasanton. Did this eerie photo taken in Pleasanton on Friday night capture the image of one of them?

At first glance, the picture appears to simply show a woman standing in a hallway, but if you look behind the actress’ shoulder, you may see the shape of a person peeking out from inside the corner of the mirror at the end of the hallway.

The photo was taken during one of the Museum on Main’s annual Ghost Walk tours. Those on the tour are told to snap as many photos as possible to see if the camera captures what the naked eye cannot. The upstairs hallway is above Handles Gastropub, located at 855 Main St., in a building that stands in the location of one of Pleasanton’s original hotels.

According to officials from the Museum on Main, it has long been reported that the building is haunted. An unnamed prostitute, who was believed have been stabbed to death in 1870, is said to have met her tragic end at the hands of a jealous customer in the hallway just to the right of the mirror.

Patch visited the same location the next day and was not able to recreate the photo. The mirror did not have any visible smear marks.

Pleasanton, a quiet suburb of the San Francisco Bay area, was not always so quiet or pleasant. Originally named Alisal when it was established in the 1850s, Pleasanton in its early days was nicknamed “the most desperate town in the West” and was home to gangs, bandits and drifters continuously passing through and mingling with the locals and a few ladies of the night, which prompted the occasional drunken skirmish. Sickness, shoot outs and debauchery lead to many untimely deaths in the small but wild town and likely sparked the rumors of the hauntings, according to museum officials.

The haunting of Pleasanton’s downtown has long been documented and is well known in the East Bay. The ghostly history of Pleasanton is so intriguing to those curious about the abundant specters that the Museum on Main hosts two nights of tours every Halloween. The tour has become so popular that it sells out each season.

The nearby Blue Agave Club was featured in 2014 on ABC’s 20/20 as one the most haunted properties in town.

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Many other buildings along Main Street are also believed to be haunted. The Gay 90s Pizza Company, Graham Mortuary, the Rose Hotel and Towne Center Books are all said to be home to wayward spirits.

Photo courtesy Laura Chalker