The Blue Lady
Do You Believe in Ghosts?
Are you an avid seeker of paranormal experiences or do you just get a sudden chill on the back of your neck when visiting spooky places? Perhaps you don’t believe in ghosts at all. I can’t say if there are really spirits from beyond that lurk around us, but I have occasionally been a frightened traveler in eerie places. Let me tell you about the Blue Lady ghost.
Yesterday, I decided to take a drive to the coast for a little lunch and ghost hunting. I was so brave.
The Setting
Moss Beach Distillery
Built by Frank Torres in 1927, Frank’s Place operated as a speakeasy and was popular with silent film stars, notables such as writer Dashiell Hammett, and San Francisco politicians (which explains why it was never raided during Prohibition). Frank’s Place continued to be a successful business even after the Prohibition Act was repealed in 1933 and it’s now known as Moss Beach Distillery. The restaurant is located just off the Pacific Coast Highway in Moss Beach, California seven miles north of Half Moon Bay and about 25 miles south of San Francisco.
Although the sun was shining when I took the photo above, skies were more ominous most of the afternoon, as seen in this photo taken from inside.
Ominous Skies at Moss Beach Distillery
The Lady and the Ghost
Opinions are varied about whether or not the restaurant is haunted, but there are psychics and paranormal investigators who believe that there is a ghost, rather famously known as the Blue Lady. Over the years, restaurant employees and customers have claimed to witness bizarre phenomena such as moving objects, and to have the eerie sensation that there is an invisible presence. Even customers who don’t know the story of the Blue Lady have asked if the place is haunted. From the 1930s to the 1960s, there were many who said they saw the lady dressed in blue, but now she mostly stays out of sight, favoring playful pranks and mischief.
According to those who say they’ve communicated with the spirit, the woman’s name was Elizabeth Claire Donovan. However, psychic Annette Martin says that Elizabeth prefers to be called “Catye”. There are various theories about Catye, a common one being that in the 1930s she was a married woman from San Francisco who had left an abusive husband. She met a handsome man who played the piano at the bar in Frank’s Place and was often there to be with him. One night, her husband found her and a fight erupted between him and Catye’s lover on the secluded beach below Frank’s Place.
Beach Below Moss Beach Distillery
Because there are no reliable records of what actually occurred, the story is pretty hazy. But it’s said that the next morning a beautiful woman dressed in blue was found stabbed to death on the beach — presumably Catye, murdered by her husband. According to legend, her lover was injured in the fight, but was back at the piano the next night; the husband was never found; and Catye continues to search for her lover at the Distillery.
A Table for the Blue Lady
The Blue Lady’s Favorite Table?
Do you see Catye and her ghostly friends having lunch? Actually, people had just finished lunch and left, but some believe that table to be the Blue Lady’s favorite spot in the main dining room. Other paranormal investigators have said that she is often in the dining area on the lower level. A waitress told me that she has not yet seen any of the ghost’s shenanigans because she’s only been there for a year and always works in the daytime, but she’s looking forward to such an opportunity.
A Scary Restroom
Downstairs Hallway
Around the corner at the end of this dark, quiet hallway are the restrooms. I jumped a little as a woman was coming out of the Ladies’ just as I started to open the door. Once inside, I glanced at the mirror in which some have reported seeing the Blue Lady’s image, afraid of what I might find looking back at me. I felt a bit uneasy in there, so I got in and out as quickly as possible! I guess I’m not a very brave ghost hunter, after all.
Ladies Room at Moss Beach Distillery
Don’t Be Afraid of the Blue Lady
Seal Cove Patio
Ghost or no ghost, the Seal Cove Patio on the lower level is a wonderful place for sitting near a fire pit bundled up in blankets on a cool evening while watching a sunset over the Pacific Ocean. It is a dog-friendly patio, so bring your pet if it’ll keep your spirits up.
For more information: Moss Beach Distillery
On the Cliff at Moss Beach Distillery
I got chills reading this post. I am a big paranormal fan and attended an investigation in my home town of Mount Dora last year in the old jail from the turn of the twentieth century! SPOOKY!!!!!!! Great post my friend and I too would have been scared heading to the restroom!!
That must have been pretty cool, Jeff. I’d like to hear more about that investigation.
I’d take the Seal Cover Patio – what a beautiful view!
I’ve seen a ghost once that I’m aware of
I would love to hear about your ghost-sighting, Marcia. Have you written about it?
Spoooooky! I half believe in ghosts but my European friends laugh at me for that. Oh well….
I half-believe, too. Well, maybe more that half after a couple of experiences I’ve had. There’s one I’ve never written about — maybe for Halloween. 😉
This place does sound spooky! It’s in such a beautiful location that I wouldn’t know it’s “haunted” if you hadn’t told me. 😉
Beautiful location. Outside I don’t feel the spookiness, but inside — yes.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and am spreading it around with all I’ve got.
Thank you — you are awesome!
I shouldn’t be reading spooky stories close to bedtime in the dark. But, a part of me enjoyed this 🙂 What a gorgeous view to have while dining. I’m with you..I would have been too paranoid to be in that restroom alone. I want to hang out in that patio.
I actually didn’t want to work on putting the post together late at night either. I waited until morning. 🙂
I don’t think I believe in ghosts. I’d like to think that there is something beyond once we’ve shuffled off this mortal coil, but I’m kinda hoping it’s a bit more interesting than wandering around old buildings wailing. Knowing my luck, the Buddhists have got it right and I’m going to come back as a snail, and the wailing in an old building gig will seem like a much better idea, but there we are.
Yeah, I don’t think I like the snail idea, either. Well, I guess we’ll eventually find out.
Oh Halloween is one of my favourite holidays because it is just a few days after my birthday and as a child growing up I’d get presents and then lots of candy 😛 I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts but I think I may have encountered one before.
So the end of October is one big party for you! I think I’ve encountered a ghost (or two) also, but can’t be sure…..
I’d say you are brave to even go there because I wouldn’t have. I think ghosts exists although I’m yet to see one. Well, not planning to see one though 🙂
I hope that seeing a ghost is NOT in your future! 🙂
I love these kinds of places – only because I get as jumpy as you described although I tell myself there is nothing there and how silly it all is. I will probably see a ghost one day and then never return to anything remotely connected with them!
The place looks sufficiently eerie, but I try not to be scared when I travel or wherever. I always travel solo so I can’t afford to be afraid of anything!
Excellent, Aleah! Don’t let anything hold you back from exploring the world.
We have so many of these stories also in Sardinia, who knows what happened to the Blue Lady and who was the woman found dead on the beach 😉
There are many unanswered questions about the Blue Lady. I’d love to find out more about Sardinia’s mysterious stories someday.
It looks like a gorgeous place to have dinner or a glass of wine on the patio – the history is fun too! Thanks for linking up with us!
A glass of wine on the patio is especially nice while watching a sunset.
I LOVE the photo of the lady and despite the fact the place sounds a tad spooky I’d be happy to plunk my body into a chair on the patio with a view. However my mind is quite capable of imagining things especially under the right circumstances of quiet and dark.
Thanks, Leigh. Interesting how our minds can go wild with imagination depending on mood and environment. Keeps things exciting.
I’m not a believer in the whole ghost phenomena, but there is no way I would step foot in that place if I knew any of this. A bit eerie and creepy, and I would think my food was poisoned.
Just for the record, I want to say that the food is very good (and safe) at Moss Beach in my experiences. No need to worry about that!
Those kind of stories give me chills. My imagination is too active. 🙂
I got chills when I started to write this post late at night. Had to put it off until morning. 🙂
I love ghost stories and thanks to you I now have another one for my collection. You didn’t say: did the Blue Lady stare back at you when looking in the mirror in the rest room?
No, I didn’t get a look from the Blue Lady , thank goodness. I was very quick to take the photo and then look away!
A great story. I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts or not but hearing the story would be enough to freak me out going to the restroom. I’m going to join the others on the patio below!
The patio is a big plus at Moss Beach Distillery. I don’t know if anyone’s ever said they felt the Blue Lady’s presence there. Hmmm…
That does look beautiful! But it sounds kind of scary…
It truly is a beautiful area along the coast. Well worth a visit, ghost or not.
I hadn’t seen the words “beach” and “distillery” combined before. It sounds good to me; I think I could even put up with the blue lady crashing my table…
Hah! That does sound pretty good, doesn’t it?
Oh all places I don’t want to be scary, it’s the washroom! You can’t just jump up and run away!
I agree — I probably set some kind of record getting in and out of there so quickly. 🙂
Very cool post, Cathy. Although it would be fun, interesting and deliciously spooky if ghosts did exist, I’ve never met one, so can’t really believe it. Love ghost stories and haunted places all the same.
Thanks, Sophie. I’m not quite prepared to say that I definitely believe in ghosts, but I’m not going to say I don’t, either. Not very brave of me, I admit.
You are brave! But what a fun way to spend a day. I never would have thought about ghost hunting along the California coast before.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have gone to the bathroom at all..but what a chilling story!
Yikes! I don’t think I would ever do this. I got really freaked out in Malaysia once when everyone in the hostel was telling spooky stories. I had to get my friend to accompany me to the bathrooms in the early hours of the morning!
I love a good ghost story.
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