The Most Haunted House in the United States – The Whaley House
The Whaley House was built in 1857 on land that formerly held gallows. It is not only the most haunted house in America, it was even haunted before it was built. The first ghost to roam the area where the rooms would be built was that of James “Yankee Jim” Robinson. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
Thomas Whaley moved to California during the gold rush, and moved to San Diego in 1851. He lived there until 1853, when he moved back to New York to marry his sweetheart, Anna. They moved back to San Diego right away, and Thomas started building their dream home with bricks from his own brickyard. They moved into the house in 1857 with their children Francis and Thomas. Immediately, although the house was beautiful and unlike any other in San Diego, they began to hear strange noises in the night.
The land where Thomas built the Whaley house had once been home to gallows where one James “Yankee Jim” Robinson had been hanged for trying to steal a boat. Upon his arrest he had been hit upon the head and he suffered some wounds. During his time in jail, his medical care was seriously neglected, and he suffered infection and delirium. He was hanged, and it took him forty five minutes to strangle to death. The Whaleys were quite sure that it was Yankee Jim who haunted their house.
The Whaleys suffered personal tragedies (Thomas Jr. died one year after they moved into their new house – taken down by Scarlett Fever and their wooden store burned down), and personal joys (Anna Amelia was born six months after Thomas Jr. died) and moved back to San Francisco for almost a decade. During that time, Anna gave birth to George in 1860, Violet Eloise in 1862, and Corinne Lillian in 1864. Thomas Sr. returned to San Diego in 1868, fixed up the house, and the family joined him in 1868.
The house was not only the residence of the Whaley family, but also the location of the town theater. The theater was set up in a rented second-floor bedroom and could seat 150 people. In 1869 Whaley rented the courtroom (good thing he had the foresight to build one of those!) and three upstairs bedrooms.
Both Violet and Anna wed their suitors in 1882. Violet and her husband divorced, and distraught about the situation, Violet shot herself through the heart with her father’s gun in 1885. The elder Whaleys and the kids who still lived at home moved to a smaller home in San Diego. That would be the place that Thomas Whaley would die, in 1890, and in 1905 Anna passed away in Modesto, California.
I909, Francis, eldest son, decided to restore the old family homestead. He advertised the home as an attraction, and would play his guitar for visitors. Anna (the mother), Francis, Corrine, and George all lived in the house until their deaths. Anna in 1913, Francis in 1914, George in 1928, and Corinne in 1953. They all died in the house that they loved so well.
In the 1960s, the United States Commerce Department would designate the Whaley House as an official haunted house. Yankee Jim’s footsteps can still be heard, and he is the most consistent haunt of any of the paranormal sightings and experiences that have been recorded. Though he did not die there, people have claimed to see the ghost of Thomas Whaley in the house, and others have seen Anna in the garden and in the downstairs rooms.
Other ghosts have been seen in the upstairs rooms, and a descendant of Thomas Whaley’s who ate ant poison and died is said to grab people’s arms as they walk by. Even the Whaley’s dog, Dolly Varden, is known to lick women’s legs, and children have tried to pet her.
Related articles
- Top 10 Most Haunted Cities in the U.S. (toptenz.net)
- The Scariest and Most Famous Female Ghosts (bizarrebytes.com)
- Top 10 haunted homes in the U.S. (msnbc.msn.com)
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Posted by You Live Where?
on June 5, 2012. Filed under All Houses, Strange Mansions.
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um on that last picture it is a picture taken from a mirror.
actually Danielle I think thats one of those plexiglass barriers they put up to keep anything from being damaged. My family and I visited a Civil War base when I was a kid and they had those barriers up and when my grandma took pictures it had that same effect.
I have studied the science of life and the demons and ghosts and deepened during a lot of science Sulaymaniyah also studied black magic and spells, which belonged, according to Hama science must be proficient in science zodiac and the planets and their attributes and mastered also the Syriac language in order to be able to be versed of this science and has many properties and plenty of hidden aspects.
Through the experience of many I was able to treat many of the cases in which sick that have no explanation at the doctors to man the patient and after the lab tests the result is not something with the piece Abaka human feel sick or illusion because the disease or feeling experienced by the person give rise for the illusion, whether by magic Tair or spirit or ghost, or even the cause of the house or where you live by
And for these events have a lot of solutions, but at the depth of this flag is true and not test it until the houses haunted a lot of solutions and ways to clean the homes of spirits and ghosts, or even demons and protect the place so that is no longer such events again
As for the people with which some people complain of voice is not heard, but he and others see things not seen, but he and some feel things do not feel jealousy and all the events mentioned is correct, but when doctors because no interpretation of medicine and human interpreted as mental illness is not organic and the reality it a controlled takeover or a spirit or demon on humans and create the events of this person so that the person is a lot of fear and other symptoms
All these phenomena can be treated simply and comfortably for the patient or the person who suffers from these symptoms and I can work necklace or a ring and have the vaccination of a person after the treatment so as not to affect by any ghost or spirit or demon then be pendant or ring protection and immunization astronomer and the strength of many and the realization of many useful the person who carried and houses inhabited the same thing
I thank you and I hope you be in touch with me on e- mail and I want work with you in these cases. I deal this science.
E-mail:Al_rawhani77@hotmail.com
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Thank you
Best Regards
I don’t know why they’re is life after death.