Today’s post is one I write with strong background knowledge of my own. In the eighth grade, I went with my seven-person class to San Diego. There, we took a night tour of the historic Whaley House. This house belonged to the Whaley family, whose roots in California traced back to the Gold Rush. According to the Travel Channel show America’s Most Haunted, this house is the most haunted in all of the United States. The history of the home and the property it is built on no doubtedly backs this up, as does my experience and those of my peers. Both will be featured in this special end-of-the-year blog post.
Thomas Waley migrated to the west coast from his hometown of New York City in 1849. He came in search of fortune, and found it first in San Francisco. He set up a store called Whaley & Pye, an extension of his family’s business back in New York, and sold hardware and mining equipment to those searching for more hidden riches. A fire destroyed his storefront in 1851, forcing him to relocate to San Diego. There, he worked
with several business partnerships to once again build up his wealth, and when he had made enough coin, he returned to New York City in 1853. This time, the move was not made for business reasons; Whaley intended on marrying his beau, Anna Eloise DeLaunay. The newlyweds returned to San Diego and in less than a year, Thomas purchased a plot of land in order to begin building his family home. The house was located in a stunning part of Old Town San Diego, and was the first brick building erected in California. It was an example of elegancy, complete with columns flanking the front door as a mark of the Greek Revival architecture, and filled with the finest in wood furniture and draperies. There was only one issue: the land was previously used for public executions, and the tree in front of the house was, allegedly, a hanging tree. One of the most famous executions that took place on the property was that of Yankee Jim Robinson, a notorious thief.
Despite its dark history, Thomas and Anna made their family on the land. By 1858, a year after the home’s completion, the couple had three children: Francis, Thomas, and Anna. Thomas died young from scarlet fever at only 18 months old. The family triumphed 
through their grief, opening a general store within the home. Then, only a few months after baby Thomas’ passing, a fire destroyed the store and damaged the home. The family, with so many issues happening at once, moved to San Francisco in 1858. In the ten years they lived there, three more children were born: George, Lillian, and Violet. They moved back to San Diego in 1868 after an earthquake shook up their household, and lived once again in their brick house. Thomas reopened the general store, and along with the business, the home became residency for both the San Diego County Courthouse and the Tanner Troupe Theater company. A raid that ended in stolen court documents in 1871 is regarded as the beginning of the end for the Whaley family.
The family first fell into a period of destitution after Thomas Whaley traveled to New York, and then San Francisco, looking for work. They had to rely on the oldest son,
Francis, for income. Then, following a humiliating and traumatic divorce, youngest daughter Violet Whaley committed suicide in the house in 1885. Thomas Whaley died in 1890 in a separate house he built for the family from health issues, and his wife Anna passed away in the home 24 years later. The home was left to Lillian Whaley, but despite renovations by her older brother Francis, the house fell into disrepair in the years after her death in 1953. The house was left alone and vacant until the Save Our Heritage Organization took notice and began restoring the home in 2000. The long-term restoration plan to get the house back to its original condition has yet to be completed, and revenue from tourism goes towards doing so.
The main attraction of the Whaley House that brings in tourists is, of course, the alleged paranormal activity. Visitors and employees alike have described many haunted 
encounters, ranging from cold spots to unexplainable noises to apparitions caught on camera. Some common visitors from beyond the veil include the previously mentioned Yankee Jim, who has been known to cause banging footsteps in the upper level of the house since the Whaley family lived in the residency. Other spirits described by tourists include those of Thomas, Anna, and Violet Whaley, as well as two people that did not belong to the Whaley family. A young woman has been seen in the courtroom whose description does not match any of the Whaleys. One visitor who allegedly saw the woman describes her as such: “I see a small figure of a woman who has a swarthy
complexion. She is wearing a long full skirt, reaching to the floor. The skirt appears to be a calico or gingham, small print. She has a kind of cap on her head, dark hair and eyes and she is wearing gold hoops in her pierced ears. She seems to stay in this room, lives here, I gather.” Another spirit is said to be that of a little girl; visitors say that she likes to play hide-and-seek underneath the dining room table, and claimed to have heard a child’s giggling coming from beneath the table. When our tour guide told us this particular story, my teacher was rightfully disturbed. Thus begins my own testimony to the activity within the Whaley House.
We began the tour in the courthouse, where we were encouraged to take pictures and try to capture the image of any spirits residing there. My teacher, Mr. Ramirez, took many pictures with his phone and in nearly every one, two or more orbs were present. Orbs are said to be spheres of paranormal energy, however images of them are easy to 
disprove, what with dust in the air or a scratched camera lens. While we moved through the house, I had continuous feelings of unease that followed me into the dining room, where I felt a chill as I walked into the doorway, odd for a humid summer night. We continued to the upstairs area, where the bedrooms and theater are located. After telling us more history, the tour guides allowed us to explore the house on our own and take pictures. This is when I had the two major experiences of this trip. As I was taking pictures of the bedroom belonging to Anna Whaley, I caught the image of a woman’s face floating above one of the room’s chairs. Sadly, I cannot show the picture as my iPod’s data was 
corrupted a few weeks after the trip. Whether this was the cause of angry spirits or the fact that my iPod was seven years old at the time remains unsolved. Anyway, my friend Isaac pointed out the face, and promptly walked away. Next, I noticed Mr. Ramirez was taking pictures of the floor-to-ceiling window in front of the stairwell. Wanting to startle the already scared man, I snuck up behind him and looked over his shoulder as he snapped picture after picture. One of the pictures caught my eye, and instead of scaring him, I made my teacher go back to the photos on his phone. The picture was of the window, showing the view of the tree outside. Standing either outside or in front of the window was a shadowy figure, clearly masculine and very tall, with its head reaching three-fourths up the window. I thought this to be the image of Yankee Jim, but before I could say anything, Mr. Ramirez deleted the photo, whispering his extreme fear of the spirit.
Whether or not you believe in the paranormal, the Whaley House holds enough history to draw the interest of many. I would recommend a visit to the museum to anyone visiting Old Town San Diego.
Sources
- http://whaleyhouse.org/whaleyfamily.htm
- https://www.ghostsandgravestones.com/san-diego/whaley-house
- http://whaleyhouse.org/historyrestoration.htm
- http://whaleyhouse.org/hauntedfolklore.htm
History Story Time 