Bay Curious
Bay Curious
KQED
The Best Scary Movies Set in the Bay Area
30 minutes Posted Sep 24, 2026 at 10:00 am.
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Show notes
The San Francisco Bay Area isn't as popular of a filming location as Los Angeles or Vancouver, Canada, but there are some very creepy films that use our unique weather and topography as characters. Check out top picks this Halloween season from Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle culture critic, and Carly Severn, Senior Editor of Audience News at KQED. It's a fun conversation about movies, stars and some of the great directors who've been inspired by our region.
Additional Resources:
Dunsmuir: The Oakland Mansion That Inspired Hollywood Nightmares
The Best San Francisco Movies to Stream This Holiday Season
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This story was reported by Carly Severn and Peter Hartlaub. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
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