People see ghosts at The Settlement. So some folks claim. This homeless shelter is downtown, close to the Bay and the chilly ocean. Some nights the fog is so thick, it coats the City with dew. The Marine layer of clouds rolls in and turns on the foghorns. Street lamps fade to dabs of light. Skyscrapers shake out their pelts.

On these chill obscure nights, right from the fountain that Doc Manny donated to the mission, shadows come to drink. One famous apparition wears a coat of armor that Spanish Conquistadors used to subdue the indigenous tribes by force.

Some say the spirits of lost children play on the grassy knoll.

As for shelter itself, recall that it was once a hotel. And dusty travelers often need sanctuary. Such are the tales we bear. It’s said that the mission’s second floor hallway is visited by a young woman. Threadbare gingham, a plain cotton shawl: She walks barefoot.

Now Reverend Bentham has to fund the Settlement, in order to feed and clothe its one hundred residents who come and go depending on need. These ghosts stories, sad as they are, can nurture the living. The Pastor’s dedicated one room in the shelter for “ghosties” who dare spend the night on vigil. The residents are on board with the arrangement. “ DONATIONS WELCOME”, he bids the wide-eyed Casper visitors.

“Look hard, Remember us.”