Whaley House

The Whaley House is a Greek Revival-style residence and museum in Old Town San Diego, built in 1857. It is the oldest brick structure in Southern California. Officially designated as haunted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, it has been called "the most haunted house in America" by the Travel Channel. The home served various purposes: the Whaley family residence, a general store, San Diego's second county courthouse, and the city's first commercial theater.

The Whaley House, a Greek Revival mansion built in 1857, stands on land with a grim history that predates the structure itself. On September 18, 1852, James "Yankee Jim" Robinson—a tall, blonde Canadian thief—was publicly hanged here for stealing a boat. The execution was horrifically botched: instead of a quick death, Yankee Jim kept his feet in the wagon as long as possible before being pulled off, then swung like a pendulum for forty-five agonizing minutes as he slowly strangled. Thomas Whaley witnessed the entire ordeal yet purchased the land anyway and built his family home on the site.

Shortly after moving in, the Whaley family reported hearing heavy footsteps upstairs. Thomas documented these "eerie sounds" in his 1860 journal, attributing them to Yankee Jim's restless spirit. The phenomenon continues today: visitors passing through the archway between the music room and parlor—the exact spot where the gallows once stood—frequently report a choking sensation and their necks tightening, as though experiencing the hanged man's final moments.

The Whaley family suffered tragedy upon tragedy within these walls. In 1858, eighteen-month-old Thomas Jr. died of scarlet fever. On January 5, 1882, daughter Violet married George T. Bertolacci in the parlor, but he revealed himself as a con artist who wanted only the family fortune. He abandoned her just two weeks into their honeymoon. The ensuing divorce, scandalous for the era, dragged on nearly a year. On August 19, 1885, twenty-two-year-old Violet shot herself in the chest with her father's .32-calibre pistol, leaving a suicide note quoting Thomas Hood's poem "The Bridge of Sighs." Thomas Whaley died in the house on December 14, 1890, followed by his wife Anna and son Francis years later.

The house now teems with spirits. Anna Whaley is the most frequently encountered ghost, often seen tending her garden or sensed through the distinctive scent of her French perfume. Thomas appears "clad in black" at the top of the stairs, glaring at visitors—some report him blowing cigar smoke directly into their faces. Violet's presence lingers on the second floor, where visitors experience overwhelming sadness and sudden cold spots in her former bedroom; staff have witnessed her weeping. The sounds of children laughing are attributed to baby Thomas Jr., while phantom piano music plays though no piano exists in the house. A ghostly dog has been heard barking, and party sounds emerge from the empty former courtroom.

In 1965, legendary ghost hunter Hans Holzer and psychic Sybil Leek investigated and declared it "America's most haunted house"—a title the U.S. Department of Commerce later made official. In March 2019, investigators from Travel Channel's "The Holzer Files" returned. Dave Schrader reported being "literally knocked on my butt" by an invisible force that pushed his colleague into a wall. A light bulb exploded near a crew member, and cameras mysteriously shut down. "The Whaley House definitely earned the title Hans Holzer gave it," Schrader concluded. The house has also been featured on Ghost Adventures (2014) and BuzzFeed Unsolved (2017), cementing its reputation as one of America's most actively haunted locations.