It’s built on an ancient Indigenous American burial ground and atop the same gallows that hung Yankee Jim, the Whaley House is the oldest brick structure in Southern California and considered one of the most haunted.
Yet, is this a tourist scam? Or is it really haunted? This seemed to be the question we had when we visited the Whaley House in Old Town San Diego.
As we walked around we heard plenty of stories. The little girl who was accidentally poisoned and will hold people’s hands as they walk through the house. Violet Whaley who committed suicide in her bedroom (now the theatre) after her con-artist husband left her days after their marriage. The corner of the courthouse that is supposed to be a portal. The house’s original owner, Thomas Whaley, who is frequently seen by tourists and staff. The area in the parlour that sits atop the spot where Yankee Jim hanged and where people often feel like they are choking.
Yet for all the whoop-law and reputation, there wasn’t a heck of a lot that we saw to indicate the house was haunted. It simply felt like an old, interesting, hothouse with a lot of history.
I don’t doubt that there are things in this world that unknown or mysterious. Many investigations have been done at this house. Below are parts of an investigation conducted by Most Haunted from the UK. Methinks you should watch these with a grain of salt.
- MH 6×16 Whaley House Part 1
- MH 6×16 Whaley House Part 2
- MH 6×16 Whaley House Part 3
- MH 6×16 Whaley House Part 4
- MH 6×16 Whaley House Part 5
At the end of this particular investigation everyone seemed disappointed because the spirits seemed hostile and reluctant to make a connection. However, I will ask the question… the people who’s ghosts they were trying to contact were of Northern Irish descent and lived in a time when there was still anti-British sentiment in the Americas. Perhaps the spirits showed hostility because the investigators where British.
