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Located in the historic neighborhood of Old Town San Diego, the mysterious Whaley House Museum has a long history of tragedies and hauntings dating back to its construction.

In its heyday, the stately 1850s Greek Revival mansion served countless purposes, including a courthouse, theatre, general store, and residence for the Whaley family. 

While the Whaley House might seem perfectly normal, it also has a dark side. The house and property were the sites of multiple violent and bizarre deaths, hangings, and even suicide.

As a result, it’s widely believed that various members of the Whaley family and others haunt the home where they endured so much sorrow. 

Today, the house is featured on sightseeing tours of San Diego for those looking to connect with spirits of the past and has been featured on countless paranormal television shows and podcasts.

Looking to learn more about America’s most haunted locations? Check out our blog at US Ghost Adventures.

Why Do People Think The Whaley House Is Haunted?

From the day Thomas Whaley and his family moved into their San Diego home, he believed something otherworldly resided in his home. He often heard heavy footsteps on the second floor of the house when no one was home. 

As far as Thomas was concerned, his brand-new home was already haunted. It would only be a matter of time before crushing losses led them to leave the house. 

Over the years, guests and staff of the Whaley House have reported unsettling activity, including disembodied voices, orbs of light, and full-bodied apparitions of those who died on the property. 

With all of these ghostly phenomena, it’s no surprise that the house has been nicknamed the most haunted place in America.

Table of Contents

  1. The Legacy of Yankee Jim
  2. A Glimpse Into The Past of The Whaley House
  3. The Untimely Death of Violet Whaley
  4. The Hauntings of the Whaley House
  5. Visiting the Whaley House: A Haunted Experience
  6. The Haunted Whaley House Today

The Legacy of Yankee Jim Robinson

From his first day in the house, Thomas Whaley feared that James “Yankee Jim” Robinson haunted it. Yankee Jim was a horse thief from northern California who escaped law enforcement and fled to San Diego in 1852. 

Once in San Diego, he teamed up with two other men to steal a rowboat, but the group was quickly captured and put on trial. 

The jury for Yankee Jim’s trial included the two men who owned the boat they had attempted to steal, which did not bode well for him. 

Yankee Jim was sentenced to death by hanging, but he only laughed at the judge, not believing he’d actually be executed. As it turned out, he was wrong.

He was taken to the town gallows across from the El Campo Santo cemetery and placed on a mule cart with a noose around his neck. 

But the hangman failed to account for Jim’s height of 6’4”. As a result, Yankee Jim’s feet were just able to touch the ground, causing him to suffer a slow and agonizing death.

One newspaper reported on the hanging and how Yankee Jim “kept his feet in the wagon as long as possible, but was finally pulled off. He swung back and forth like a pendulum until he strangled to death.”

There was a crowd at Yankee Jim’s hanging. One of the spectators was none other than Thomas Whaley. While no one knows for sure what was going through Thomas’s mind, he subsequently purchased the land that Yankee Jim and so many others were hanged on and built a home for his unsuspecting family on the site. 

A Curse?

Many believe that Yankee Jim’s violent death placed a curse on the land that would haunt the Whaley family for the entire time they lived in the house. 

As a reminder, Thomas Whaley noted peculiar activity almost from the day he moved in.

He often heard the sound of heavy footsteps stomping through the second floor and on the staircase when no one else was around. 

Anna Whaley also sensed a negative presence in the home soon after moving in. The family suffered subsequent deaths in the home that seemed almost too strange to be matters of fate. Thomas’s business setbacks further created a narrative that not only was the house haunted by Yankee Jim, but it was also cursed.

A Glimpse Into The Past of The Whaley House

Like many men of his generation, Thomas Whaley came to California on New Year’s Day in 1849, hoping to make his fortune in the gold rush. 

Thomas’s father was a successful businessman. Thomas’s acumen led to the creation of a thriving lumber, hardware, and mining supply store on Montgomery Street in San Francisco, which he owned with his business partner George Wardle. 

Once he’d made enough money, Thomas returned to New York City, where he married Anna Eloise DeLaunay on May 14, 1853. 

The Whaleys’ first child, Francis Hinton Whaley, was born on December 28, 1854. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to San Diego, which Thomas had heard was an up-and-coming area and an ideal place to expand his business. 

A Family’s Journey: Life And Death At Whaley House

After moving to San Diego, the Whaleys welcomed a second son, Thomas, born in 1856, and a daughter, Anna Amelia, in 1858. Now a family of five with a thriving business, it seemed as though the Whaleys had everything they wanted. 

However, a series of tragedies rocked the family to its core. Young Thomas died from scarlet fever in 1858 when he was only 18 months old. 

Shortly after this incredible loss, Thomas’s downtown store burned to the ground with barely anything salvageable. It seemed the curse and mere presence of Yankee Jim was already claiming its first victims.

It was believed rats had been chewing on matches and started the fire on the building’s second floor, though some suspected arson. This was the second time one of Thomas’s businesses had burned down, the other being the store on Montgomery Street in San Francisco. 

The loss of their child and business devastated the Whaleys, and Thomas decided that the best course of action would be to leave Whaley House for a time and return to San Francisco for a fresh start. 

During this time, Thomas and Anna welcomed three more children into the family: George Hays Ringgold in 1860, Violet Eloise in 1862, and Corinne Lillian in 1864. 

The Many Lives of the Whaley House

While the Whaleys lived in San Francisco, portions of the house were rented out. This provided them with much-needed income to combat the heavy effects of Yankee Jim’s curse. 

But the hanged outlaw would have his say. In 1868, an earthquake hit San Francisco. Cutting their losses, the Whaley Family returned (likely with some hesitation) to their San Diego home.

Thomas Whaley eventually converted the main room, or the “Big Room,” into San Diego’s second county courthouse by installing a curved railing across the width of the room and placing a judge’s stand behind it. 

In 1869, Thomas Whaley began renting out the courtroom to the county and three rooms on the second floor where records were kept. 

After business setbacks and the gruesome suicide of daughter Vio

The Untimely Death of Violet Whaley

On January 5, 1882, the Whaleys hosted a double wedding for two of their daughters. Anna Amelia married her first cousin, John T. Whaley, and Violet married George T. Bertolacci. Although the weddings went off without a hitch, Violet’s wedded bliss was short-lived. 

While on their honeymoon, Violet awoke to find a letter from George explaining that he had only married her for her money. A heartbroken Violet returned to Whaley House, where she took her own life by shooting herself in the chest of one of Thomas’s guns. She was only 22. 

The stigma surrounding Violet’s death led to Corinne Whaley’s fiance calling off their engagements and a slowdown in Thomas’s business. Thomas and Anna had now lost two of their children.

Like her father, Violet’s spirit resides on the house’s second floor and is often seen crying and looking forlorn. People have also reported an overwhelming sense of sadness and temperature fluctuations in Violet’s old room. 

It seems the psychic scar left by her death continues to affect others over a century later.

The Later Years

Whatever luck Thomas seemed to have had in his younger days slowly started to fade away as the years went on. 

Thomas Whaley sometimes wondered if he was cursed by the spirit that haunted the Whaley house.

Thomas Whaley died on December 14, 1890, at the age of 67, in his New Town home. The Whaley House would stand vacant for 20 years until Francis Hinton Whaley decided to rehab the derelict building and turn it into a tourist attraction in 1909. 

Francis, Anna, and his surviving siblings lived in the Whaley House until their deaths. 

The Hauntings of the Whaley House

Since Thomas Whaley first noticed Yankee Jim’s ghost in 1857, countless staff and guests have reported ghostly activity inside the Whaley House that ranges from friendly to foreboding. 

Unexplained noises, flickering lights, cold spots, footsteps, and disembodied voices are just some of the paranormal phenomena that have been witnessed over the years. 

In addition, the chandeliers are known to sway as if an unseen force is gently pushing them when there’s no breeze. Then there are the unexplainable mists and orbs that have been seen and photographed by hundreds of witnesses. 

Some of these photos are so shocking that they can be viewed on the Whaley House website.

The Whaleys also reported hauntings upon their return to the house in 1912. This isn’t surprising since the house had been vacant for decades, and the return of the Whaleys likely activated the dormant spirits.

While Thomas and Anna found the spirits of the home to be sinister, their son George embraced the ghosts. George was known to communicate with the spirit of his father, Violet, and Yankee Jim after moving back into Whaley House. 

When Corinne Whaley began renting the house to boarders in her later years, they also encountered the home’s many spirits. These borders typically didn’t stay long once they realized the house was infested with ghosts.

The Spirits Make Themselves Known

Other hauntings include the sounds of a ghostly piano playing despite there no longer being a piano in the building, a phantom barking dog, the sounds of a party in the empty courtroom, and the sounds of children laughing, crying, and playing. 

The sounds of children are often attributed to the ghost of Thomas Whaley Jr., who died in the home when he was only 18 months old. 

Phantom scents of perfume and Cuban cigars have been reported, and the smell of fresh-baked bread and pies is noted to occur around the holidays. 

Over the years, guests have even reported physical reactions to being in the house. One poster on Tripadvisor wrote that they felt a breeze hit them while in the Whaley House and immediately felt ill and as if they were going to pass out. 

These sensations are often felt in Violet Whaley’s bedroom and the archway in the main parlor. 

Thomas and Anna Whaley

As far as full-bodied apparitions at Whaley House are concerned, Anna Whaley is the most reported spirit. Her ghost is often seen on the home’s main floor or tending her beloved garden. 

Rather than being a frightening entity, those who encounter Anna report a sense of warmth and positive energy coupled with the distinct scent of French perfume.

On the whole, running into Anna Whaley is a surprisingly pleasant experience–or as pleasant as seeing a ghost can be. The same cannot be said for her husband.

The ghost of Thomas Whaley is regularly seen on the house’s second floor, usually standing at the top of the stairs. He’s known to glare at people, and some even report feeling smoke blown in their faces when encountering Thomas’s unfriendly spirit. 

Known to be rather grumpy in life, Thomas’s death doesn’t seem to have mellowed him out.

Yankee Jim

Presumably the first ghost to haunt Whaley House, Yankee Jim’s heavy footsteps are still heard on the second floor just as Thomas Whaley heard them in 1857. Witnesses often report seeing a tall, lanky man out of the corner of their eye that they believe to be Yankee Jim. 

This entity is considered ominous, and witnesses experience the same dark feeling Anna Whaley described in the 1850s. 

There is an archway in the Whaley House’s main parlor that was allegedly built across the exact spot where Yankee Jim died. 

Those passing under the archway have felt a constricting sensation in their chest and a tightening around their neck as if they are experiencing Yankee Jim’s hanging. It’s definitely more than anyone would bargain for on a Whaley House ghost tour.

Annabelle Washburn

One of the often-told stories about the tragedies at Whaley House is that of four-year-old Annabelle Washburn. Annabelle was a neighbor girl who was playing in the Whaleys’ backyard when she met her untimely demise. 

While running across the year, Annabelle ran into a clothesline and was strangled. Barely alive, her small body was brought into the kitchen, where she died on the table.

Since then, Annabelle’s lively spirit has been seen and heard playing in the backyard and the house. 

However, there is no historical record about Annabelle or her death, leading some to believe this is a fictional tale that became part of the Whaley House lore over the years. Not that anyone needed convincing that the house was haunted.

Visiting the Whaley House: A Haunted Experience

Now a museum, the Whaley House fully embraces its haunted past and allows it to live alongside the building’s historical significance. Guests can partake in self-guided tours during the day and guided tours in the evening. 

These chilling tours are so famous that they have been featured on the Travel Channel, SyFy, and the Discovery Channel.

For those looking to engage in a more immersive experience, Whaley House offers an After-Hours Paranormal Investigation. These small group investigations begin at 10:30 p.m. Guests can use a variety of paranormal investigating tools, including EMF readers, thermal cameras, spirit boxes, and dowsing rods. 

These otherworldly tours are so popular that they have been featured on Buzzfeed, Ghost Files, and Ghost Adventures.

The Whaley House in Pop Culture

In 2005, Life magazine named the Whaley House “the most haunted house in America.” Due to its reputation for being thoroughly haunted, numerous TV shows have conducted paranormal investigations of the home.

The Whaley House has been featured on Ghost Adventures, Buzzfeed Unsolved, Ghost Files, and Most Haunted, among others. 

During the Ghost Adventures episode, one investigator told Zak Bagans that she communicated with George Whaley’s ghost through an Ovilus, a device used to communicate with spirits. 

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Regis Philbin recounted his experience at the Whaley House multiple times, including on the shows Celebrity Ghost Story and The Haunting of. In 1964, Philbin spent a night there because he wanted to see a ghost.

Philbin later said of his encounter, “All of a sudden, I noticed something on the wall. There was something filmy white. It looked like an apparition of some kind. I got so excited I couldn’t restrain myself! I flipped on the [flash]light, and nothing was there but a portrait of Anna Whaley, the long-dead mistress of the house.” 

Was Philbin’s eyes playing tricks on him, or did the beloved celebrity come face-to-face with the ghost of Anna Whaley?

The Whaley House has also been covered on paranormal podcasts, including Morbid, And That’s Why We Drink, and Two Girls One Ghost. And That’s Why We Drink host Christine Schiefer stated in the episode that she had seen the ghost of Thomas Whaley at the top of the stairs. 

There was no one upstairs, and the door Thomas’s ghost passed through was covered in plexiglass. It was then that Schiefer had the stunning realization that she had seen a ghost. 

Schiefer and co-host Em Schulz then went on to investigate the Whaley House, where they collected several EVPs and other evidence of hauntings.

The Haunted Whaley House Today

Francis Hinton Whaley’s vision of turning his childhood home into a tourist destination finally came true when it opened to the public as a museum in 1960. 

The year prior, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors designated the home as a historic landmark due to its significance as the first brick structure in San Diego and its overall cultural significance. 

Each year, thousands of visitors pass through the Whaley House’s doors. In many ways, it has become a communal gathering place, as it was during its heyday in the late 1800s. 

This seems fitting, considering that the Whaleys believed their home to be haunted from day one, and the ghosts of the past continue to intermingle with the current guests of Whaley House.

America’s Most Haunted

The United States is full of haunted locations that fascinate and strike fear in our hearts. Many have surface-level stories that are more complex than they appear. Continue reading our series on America’s Most Haunted Places if you enjoyed this in-depth look into the Whaley House.

Follow our blog, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for more of the spookiest content and scariest stories around. 

Sources:

  1. https://www.whaleyhousesandiego.com/san-diego-museums-tours/
  2. https://www.hauntedrooms.com/california/haunted-places/whaley-house
  3. https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1960/april/whaley/
  4. https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/halloween-at-the-whaley-house/2088290/
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VognilClpkA
  6. https://www.whaleyhousesandiego.com/san-diego-paranormal-ghost-hunting/
  7. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60750-d102978-r149603156-Whaley_House_Museum-San_Diego_California.html
  8. https://hauntedhouses.com/california/the-whaley-house/
  9. https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/ghost-adventures/episodes/whaley-house
  10. https://www.girlvetica.com/home/2017/10/16/the-whaley-house

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