Most Haunted Houses in America: Whaley House
Nestled in beautiful southern California, the Whaley House is known to be America’s most haunted house. Listed as only one of two houses in California that is certified haunted, the Whaley House was built by Thomas Whaley in 1857 during the Great Gold Rush in the west. Whaley, an entrepreneur from New York City, purchased the property in 1855, which was served as a part of the gallows in old town San Diego. The Greek Revival style two story house not was not only his residence, but also his general store in the lower level of the home.
That was just the beginning, The Whaley House was home to a courthouse, a school, a polling place, a ballroom, and a billiard hall to name a few. The 152 year old house has a rich history and was home to a series of important events in California history such as a seizure of important court documents.
Originally built as a one story granary in May of 1856 to hold between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds of grain, Thomas Whaley decided to adjoin a two story Greek Revival style house later that year which was finished in 1857, which was listed as the finest brick block in Southern California by the San Diego Herald. In August of that same year, Mr. Whaley had opened a general store in the lower floor of the house that catered to cash paying customers.
Over the years, many tragedies happened to the Whaley family, such as the death of their 18 month old son Thomas, the suicide of their daughter Violet, and an arson caused fire that destroyed the general store just to name a few. After the fire and the death of young Thomas Jr., the Whaley’s moved to San Francisco, which lasted until a major earthquake hit the region in 1868 where they moved back to the brick house in San Diego.
Throughout the years, there had been reports of several events which the first reported was of James “ Yankee Jim” Robinson, who was hung at the gallows in 1852 for grand larceny by Thomas Whaley himself. He died on the grounds of the Whaley home when it was still the city gallows. The next was Anna, who was witnessed by television personality Regis Philbin, as a floating white spirit. He became so excited that he turned on the flashlight to find nothing there.
Other occurrences have been a sighting of a young child who appeared to be between 5 and 6 years old. This was supposedly a friend of one of the children who had broken her neck, while staying at the home. Some have spotted Mr. Whaley himself on the upper landing, along with a woman in the courthouse, and many others. Even the family pets have been spotted running through the walls of the century and a half old house.
Today the Whaley house is a part of California’s historic landmark and has become a very popular museum. Even those who do not believe in paranormal activity has a wonderful time exploring the rich history of this century and a half old home. Some individuals may complain of not seeing any activity while on the premises. However, one can sense that there is an abundance of activities that happens within the walls of the Whaley House.
BoOSS
on Sep 1st, 2009
@ 10:53 am:
Could you provide viewers with information on how to set up a paranormal investigation at these great haunted locations?
Sincerely,
BoOSS, Believers of Oregon Spirit Society, (Ghost Trackers)
Ghost Writer
on Sep 2nd, 2009
@ 10:11 am:
There are many ways to go about investigating places like these. Some of the most popular spots like Eastern State, Waverly Hills etc., have regular events you can get your team into. There is a cost however but some offer public and private tours. The Whaley House also provides this (http://whaleyhouse.org/events.htm).
Unfortunately in our field there are groups/individuals who do not know how to conduct themselves professionally along with dealing with skepticism as well as some thinking that having a reputation for being haunted is bad for business, sometimes getting permission can be rather daunting. I don’t know if there is a better solution than being professional, polite and a little persistent in your pursuit.
One example for us would be a Civil War Battlefield in the area. We have visited during proper hours, staying until the last minute. We took the Park Ranger Tour and eventually struck up a conversation about what we were doing. We were told that the head ranger in which we would have to go through to investigate this section at night was a real skeptic and good luck trying. There is an old field hospital on the site, the ranger was right and we are still trying to get permission to go inside at night.
What we did get, I think by being polite, professional and showing interest, after a couple more visits was permission to hang around the outside of the building after dark as long as we wanted as long as we didn’t mess with the building (or set of its alarm). We did that evening and got some interesting EVPS. Hopefully this is one more step into getting inside.
Dee Leachman
on Apr 24th, 2011
@ 2:28 pm:
When I was about 12 years old my family and myself had visited the Whaley House and from the moment we reached the top of the stairs my mother asked us if we could see the white orbs floating around the bedroom. My mother has proved over and over that she sees things no one else sees. 4 out of the 6 members in my family have some physic ability so no one ever doubted that what she was seeing was real.