Whaley House

In the Old Town district of San Diego, California, stands one of the most important buildings in the history of the city- The Whaley House. Built sometime in 1856, it belonged to Thomas Whaley, a notable businessman from San Francisco. He and his family inhabited the building until the last daughter's death in 1953. Over the years the Whaley house was a family residence, a theatre to the Tanner Troupe, and was even rented out to the San Diego County Court. The house itself was actually built on the site of the hanging of Yankee Jim Robinson, a convicted man in San Diego.

The Whaley House is considered to be one of the most haunted in the country. Even Mr. Whaley himself heard mysterious footsteps, which he told his children was "just Yankee Jim." But it seems that the majority of activity started when the house was opened as a museum in 1960. One of the bigger surprises is that most activity takes place during the day, something slightly abnormal for most haunted locations.


What goes on here?
The first (and seemingly one of the most prominent) ghosts here in Yankee Jim. According to Shadowlands, Yankee Jim was hung for stealing a boat. He seems to be the cause of the loud footsteps ringing through the house. There are reports of a tall man with unruly blonde hair (like Robinson was said to have), and a man's laughter heard in several of the rooms.

There is the apparition of a woman in a white dress and gold hoop earrings that is only seen in the court room of the house. There are more ghosts on the property, including an old attourney from the Civil War who fell in love with the house, and Mrs. Whaley, who likes to play the piano to make her presence known. Children and even the spirit of the Whaley's terrier Dolly roam the House, reliving their time among the living.

Music and singing are often heard by the employees and visitors to the House, as well as children laughing and babies crying upstairs. There are phantom smells of perfume, and during the week between Christmas and New Year's the smells of baking waft in the air.

It seems like the Whaleys never left their family home. Whether these are residual or intelligent is left up to investigators. What is evident is that this house definitely earns its title as the most haunted house in America. If you'd like to know more, or even schedule tours, there are several websites below with more details, and even some pictures!

http://whaleyhouse.org/ghostly.htm
http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/ca/whaley_house.cfm
http://theshadowlands.net/famous/whaley.htm
http://www.sdparanormal.com/page/page/199234.htm
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Whaley+House&aq=f