Haunted: The Ghosts of The Whaley House

My new house, when completed, will be the handsomest, most comfortable, and convenient place in town or within one hundred and fifty miles of here. That was a phrase of Thomas Whaley when construction started on his home in May sixth, eighteen fifty six. According to the location's website, and what he said was true. The house was designed by mister Whaley himself, a beautiful two story Greek Revival home. There was no other place like it, so it didn't take long for it to become known as one of the finest in all of southern California. A beautiful construction using mahogany, expensive drapes and carpets, and yet it was fitting when you found out about the owner. He was a businessman, founding many of them. Even the bricks that made us house were made by Thomas Whaley himself in his own brickyard. But his home would soon turn into a place of tragedy and horror, as his family would begin to fall apart in the worst ways. In fact, Life magazine called the Whaley House the most haunted house in America. The more we researched into the topic, the more we became convinced that a place with such history was deserving of the title. Witness accounts facts that are backed up with official records and evidence being captured to this day. Today we head to San Diego, California to visit the most haunted house in America, the Whaley House. My name is Edwin, and here the dark night. The house stands out from the rest in old Town San Diego. At one point it was the location of Whaley's General store and also San Diego's second County Courthouse. People would come in and go out, and the Whaley House continued to be a part of their lives, living and breathing with them. It even became the first commercial theater in the city. That even the Journal of San Diego History has made note how much the house has witnessed after it was built. Tomas Whaley was born in eighteen twenty three in New York City and found his way to San Diego in eighteen fifty one. He married Anna Eloise de Launy, and they moved into their new home in eighteen fifty seven. It was three days after Christmas in eighteen fifty four when Francis Hinton, their first baby, was born. Their second Tomas Whalley Junior was born in August, almost two years after that. They had six children in total. Things seemed to be going right for them, then tragedy struck. At eighteen months old, Thomas Whalley Junior got sick from scarlet fever and died in January of eighteen fifty eight. They also lost their general store due to a fire. Anna and Thomas needed a change understandably, and they opted to move up north to San Francisco. Something kept drawing them back, and after a few business deals, Thomas Whaley went back to San Diego. He fixed a Whaley house and they were all settled by eighteen sixty eight, but tragedy was once again looming right around the corner. One of their daughters, Violet Eloise Whaley, got married, but soon after she found some details of her husband through a letter that broke her heart. The whole family was upset. Why had he waited until after they had gotten married and expected everything to be fine? What her husband, a man named George Berto Lacci, who was up to was literally up to no good. He was a con artist and had only married her for the money he would collect for getting married. Violet and George got divorced, but it was far too much for Violet. The public commuliation was too much. She became depressed and was shunned by society, and one day decided to end her life. Mad from life's history, swift to death's mystery, glad to be hurled anywhere, anywhere, out of this world, she shot herself in the chest and was later found. She was brought into the house and lay there dying for fit efteen more minutes. Due to the tragedy, the family would move out to another newly built home, and the Whaley House would become empty for over twenty years, slowly fading decay and falling into disrepair, with ghosts lurking within its walls. When the original owners died, eventually, the son, Francis Waley, started working on the house to maintain its history. Alive in town, he restored it and it soon became a tourist attraction. The next generation, which included Anna Thomas's widow, corn Lillian, Francis, and George, lived in the house until they died, but all along the house had been known to house other worldly residents. This is where we find the story of Yankee Jim the Whaleyes even before any of these tragedies started, told the local newspaper that they thought a ghost of a person named James Robinson or Yankee Jim was haunting their home. Yankee Jim, as he was better known, had been hanged on the property for stealing a boat before the house had been built. The local newspaper reported that Yankee Jim kept his feet on the wagon as long as possible. Was finally pulled off, he swung back and forth like a pendulum until he strangled to death. Tomas Whaley was there on that property and he saw that man put to death, and yet it didn't stop him from purchasing the property. A piece from the San Diego Union says that the family would hear heavy footsteps moving about the house, the sounds of footsteps of a large man, and Yankee Gym was known for Poulter Guy's activity, which is an entity that is known to move objects or create chaos by making noises, opening and shutting doors have been known to attack. Lillian Whaley, their youngest daughter, had been convinced that the ghost of Yankee Jim was haunting the house. To make matters worse, the Whaley house was built on top of an old cemetery. Late at night through the dimly knit rooms of the house, the family would hear footsteps walking up and down the halls. When they would check, nothing would be there, and it was reported that people walking along the sidewalk would turn up to look at the beautiful house and see apparitions standing by the windows. Even when the house was being restored, workers who would report hearing strange sounds coming out of nowhere, seeing figures standing in out places of the house. Most spoke of a powerful presence whenever they were inside. What is a place like? Now? Are experiences still piling onto the dark stories of this place. We'll find out about what this place is now today. You go to the house now, you'll be told many of these stories. Tales of little baby Thomas crying down the halls, hearing his laughter echoing against the walls. You can even hear him play. Some of the other famous apparitions that make themselves known on occasion are the young woman from the second floor, who ghost believed to be the one of Wayley, still suffering from humiliation and her pain as she lay there dying. Some of the rumors say that she is tempted to lock herself in the same room where she escaped to after her marriage fell apart, cold spots throughout the house and the stairwells, and even the ghosts of Thomas with his top hat and coat staring at you from the top of the stairs, perhaps not staring, just welcoming you. Workers of the place now will tell you about the lights turning on and off, and strange mists appearing out of nowhere you see. The house itself has played a huge role in modern shows on television and historical documentaries. It has been on travel channels, America's Most Haunted fact or Faked, Paranormal Files, and many others, including Ghost Adventures and BuzzFeed. On Salt, you can visit today and take one other Haunted evening tours to experience a paranormal for yourself. You get to see the house in the surrounding areas through a thirty minute guided tour. The people today report seeing curtains moving in the house even when there is nobody inside, long after the tours have ended the workers have gone home. The most haunting sounds are those of the children running up and down the stairs, and during the research for this episode, I came across a personal account from a visitor, which I would encourage you to read for yourself. It's about a person who visited the house when he was younger, mentioning that he went past the ropes to a room where he found a long mirror. When he looked in it, he saw a young boy about five years old, dressed with suspenders knee high socks, talking to a beautiful lady who kept looking at him through the mirror, smiling mischievously. And the strange thing about this is that the woman was completely green, face, clothes, and hair. He heard noises coming up the stairs and he turned around, but there was nobody behind him standing in the mirror was only his reflection. Now, I'll have links to these stories on the episode web page so you can see them for yourself. That this green lady has shown up on other occasions, just like you'll find in this creepy account from a manager who told the story of a retired police officer. Victor Santana was a museum manager who held a confidential letter and here's what happened. A concerned police officer responded to an on call regarding a woman crying in front of the Whaley House Museum almost forty years ago, has reported in a story on the Los Angeles Times this was a story he kept to himself for decades. The officer came onto the property and saw a woman at the back of the house crying, According to a museum manager who read the police officer's confidential letter. The police officer said that she was in period clothing and asked, ma'am, are you all right? The woman turned around and smiled as a police officer shone his light on her. The woman vanished, and he wasn't the only witness to this, at least one other on duty officer. The article continues, as well as countless guests to the home have claimed to come face to face with other worldly apparitions. Even this museum manager claims to have heard voices, adding himself to the list. In fact, he was still in high school working as a docent when he first experienced something strange in the house. In the LA Times article, he says, as I was setting the alarm code, I heard a woman's voice say why are you here. He was so scared that he ran out of the front door without completing the code, and the alarm started blaring. When a San Diego Police Department officer arrived at the scene, the officer saw a woman in a green dress in the parlor. This lady works here, doesn't she, he asked Santanna. By the time backup arrived, the woman had vanished. Places can hold residual energies from tragic events that happened long ago. But you don't have to be a believer to experience these things for yourself. For a house that has experienced tragedies in the forms of death and strong emotional pain, one can understand why you might intrigue hundreds of thousands of visitors that make the trip to the Whaley House. With the sounds of footsteps, the mists, and the apparition of the woman in green and old man Wili himself. They're trying to scare you away. Where they're trying to welcome you. Inside the Whaley House is what remains of a sad family story that also captures how life was lived back then. Though some believe that the grounds where the house was built it was already haunted by the hanging of a Yankee Jim in the lands of the old cemetery, making the Whaley House haunted for it was ever even built to. This episode of A Dark Memory was written and produced by me edwin Comarujas. You can send me your ideas for the next episode by going to a Dark Memory dot com or through Twitter and Instagram. If you're looking for other shows to follow, I also make Scary Story podcast and True Scary Story. Until next time, thank you very much for listening.