The Whaley House. Old Town San Diego – Ghost Story #2

The Whaley House in Old Downtown San Diego is a hot spot of paranormal activity. Regis Philbin had gone to The Whaley House for a story and he even walked away with a paranormal experience which lead him to also claim it is the most haunted house in America.

Regis was quoted as saying, “You know a lot of people pooh-pooh it because they can’t see it. But there was something going on in that house.”

I would have to agree.

After doing my research to learn about the various ghosts and sightings there, I went in the middle of the week, a Wednesday, right when they opened their doors for self-guided tours.

I walked in the door and 2 ladies in period dresses met me to take my ticket. One said, “You are the first one here today.”

“So I have the place to myself?!”

She replied, “Yes. Its slow during the week.”

That was all she had to say! It is every paranormal investigator’s dream to have a place all to themselves to investigate. No noise contamination or distractions.

So off I went on my own like a kid in a candy shop. I started in the old courtroom. No activity there even though it is a known hot spot.

As I was leaving the courtroom, I heard it…Heavy footsteps upstairs. Heavy boots, that is. I knew who this was. Yankee Jim. Yankee Jim Robinson was a thief and was executed on the very property where the house was built. He had been hanged on the property for stealing the only row boat in San Diego Bay.

I headed straight upstairs just to see if anyone else was up there. Sure enough, I was indeed still alone in this house but the footsteps had stopped and all was quiet.

When I got to the top of the stairs, I took a right. This took me down a small portion of the hallway to a dead end. I put my left shoulder up against the wall at the dead-end and faced into a room covered in Plexiglas to preserve the antiques. I was looking into this room when I felt and heard heavy breathing in my left ear. You know, the side of my body that was up against the wall. I quickly turned but no one was there. As I walked away, I said, “Hi Jim.”

I wandered my way down the hallway to the room that has a small theater stage along one wall.

I wanted to get a picture from the back of the room to capture the whole wall with the stage. There are rows of chairs on each side of the room. So was I was walking down the middle aisle to get to the back, I felt a soft pressure on my body. Something was physically touching me. It was not scary but it felt like whoever it was did not want me back there. It was saying, “No.”

Just at that time, one of the ladies that greeted me when I got there, was standing in the doorway and asked how things were going. I explained to her the sensation I just felt and she said, “Oh, yeah. That happens. That is Anna Whaley. The corner you were headed to is where her deathbed was. She died in this room. So we call that “Anna’s Corner.”

Okay then! So I was 2 for 2 in the famous ghost department. After the girl left, I apologized to Anna and quietly backed away. Around that time, I was using my audio recorder to try to get some EVPs. It was not until after I got home that I heard music playing that was not audibly playing while I was there. There are not speakers wired throughout the house. Anna loved music so it just may have been her. Sadly, over the years, I have misplaced some of my EVPs.

I was ecstatic that I not only had the house to myself while I was there but that I came across the 2 of the best known spirits in that house. Even exploring and investigating during the daytime was a success.

I will most certainly visit again when the opportunity arises.

M.