Aug 30 10
Truth or fish story? The legend of Whaley House
When you start digging into the history of Old Town, San Diego, you’re bound to uncover a few skeletons. That’s certainly the case with Whaley House, which has more than its fair share. According to the Travel Channel, the site is the most haunted house in the United States today.The house was built for Thomas Whaley, a Scotch-Irishman born in New York City in 1823. He moved to California in 1849, later returning to New York to take Anna Eloise Delaunay as his wife. The couple settled in Old Town, San Diego in 1853, and their new house was completed in 1857.Supposedly, the house was haunted even before the Whaleys took up residence. The ghost of a criminal named James “Yankee Jim” Robinson was reported by the family, most evident in the footsteps which echoed through the house. Over the years, though, as members of the Whaley family met their demise, they too joined the house’s haunted history.Thomas Jr. was the first to die in the house, being lost to scarlet fever in 1858 at the age of 18 months. In 1885, the Whaleys’ daughter Violet committed suicide after her divorce. Years later, after Thomas Sr.’s death, his widow died in the house in 1912, followed by the son Francis in 1914, another son, George, in 1928, and the youngest child Corinne Lillian Whaley. Ghosts of all of these members have been reported in the house, along with some surprising others. In 1960, the psychic Sybil Leek reported the presence of the Whaleys’ great-grand-daughter, Marion Reynolds, who sometimes grabs people’s arms. The spirit of the Whaley dog, a terrier named Dolly Varden, has also been seen, and even felt licking at the legs of female visitors.What is fact and what is fiction may never be separated in the Whaley House, but it certainly makes for a thrilling visit the next time you’re in Old Town. Just be sure to keep your eyes open.