She was a singular woman in Gold Rush-era San Francisco: an entrepreneur, an abolitionist, and extraordinarily wealthy. But Mary Ellen Pleasant’s mere presence was enough to rattle her neighbors, and the accusations levied against her were enough to shock: she practiced black magic; she murdered a business associate; she cursed a family. Now she’s rumored to haunt a park in the very city that helped her swim, then watched her sink.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices