- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Whaley House Museum
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
2476 San Diego Ave(between Conde St & Harney St)
San Diego, CA 92110
Neighborhood: Old Town
(619) 297-7511
- Hours:
Mon-Tue, Sun 10 am - 5 pm
Thu-Sat 10 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
87 reviews for Whaley House Museum
Review Highlights
"They give you a handout and it's a self guided tour."
(in 13 reviews)
"Watch out for Yankee Jim though."
(in 9 reviews)
"I took tons and tons of photos trying to capture ghosts."
(in 27 reviews)
Loading...
87 reviews in English
-
Review from Michael P.
Long Beach, CA
11/30/2011 17 photos
On a day when getting any parking for the Botanical Gardens at Balboa Park was as hard as me trying to fit into a 29 inch waist pair of Levi Jeans, my guy and I decided to venture to Old Town San Diego, if for nothing else to see the famous Whaley House.
================================================== =========
If you are in Old Town San Diego and have nothing to do then Whaley House is for you.
Yes, this iconic historical home is very interesting, thought provoking and definitely stirs ones mind as to how much of the comforts of home we take for granted as compared to back at the turn of the century.
And, since San Diego was the first CA city to be recognized as the largest & newest city to CA, yes this place bears recognition.
Price of admission is $12 I recall..not sure, staff is quite ambivalent to your presence except one woman in the court room who took time to explain to Marty & I the history of the court room, how it came to be so and what it was prior.
As an Empath & Sensitive I picked up on some paranormal energy pretty much saying "WE are not a freak show or circus act", "Not here for skeptics"
Fair enough as I've investigated many Paranormal Activities with a local group at many homes & buildings etc.
Interestingly enough Marty felt a dizzy, heavy feeling upon climbing the stairs as if something ( or someone ) was choking from smoke.
Well, truth be told if you read the history there was an incident when one of the Pot Belly Stoves backed up and filled the house with smoke all the way up the stairs to the theater area.
I would not call Ghost Busters but, historically this place has interesting photos and information about days gone by in Old Town San Diego.
http://www.youtube.com...Listed in: San Diego's......, A different view everytime you…
-
Review from Megs B.
Anaheim, CA
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
So, while my cousin from Germany and her boyfriend meandered through the shops, Jeremiah and I decided to check out the Whaley House.
It's $6 during the day and a self guided tour.
We walked through the entire place in about 15 minutes.
Partially because we were trying to get away from the annoying tourists making smartass remarks about ghosts. (Don't !%$@ with the other side dude!!!)
But really, you're stuck behind ropes & glass so there's only so much time you want to put into standing in one spot reading a piece of paper and trying to figure out if you're in the right section...
The rooms are beautiful and what seemed to be period correct (I grew up learning a lot about this time period, my parents did reenactments of the Victorian era.)
Lots of information is provided and if you have any questions, there are staff walking around to answer them.
Soooo onto mine and Jeremiah's "experience":
The first main room we went into was the court room.
Pretty basic, chairs and a judges podium.
However, what was out of place was the bizarre woman (tourist) standing in random spots with her eyes closed and talking to herself.
Okay. (I don't judge, but it seemed a little over the top...)
So anyways, Jerm wanted me to take a picture of him in the room... which naturally I did.
While taking his picture, the weird lady came over and stood right next to me.
(Ever heard of personal space?)
When I was done taking his picture, she said:
"There is someone sitting right next to him in that chair. Look at the picture, there should be something there."
Me being an enthusiast for the supernatural, looked at the photo, zoomed in and out... Nothing.
"Sorry hun, there's nothing there, see..."
"Hmmm... odd, there's someone sitting there."
After removing ourselves from the awkward situation, we continued our tour of the property and continued to have a nice time in Old Town.
Well, the following Monday when I uploaded the photos, I came across the photo of Jerm in that courtroom. You won't believe it, but there IS something on that chair next to him. Is it a ghost? I dunno, but the fact that she said something is there and low and behold there is something there... kinda cool!!!!
I wouldn't mind going back, maybe taking the night tour (which I think is $10) ...and maybe take my time. I did have a heavy feeling on my chest in there, but who's to say it was anything supernatural?
It's a cool tourist spot and full of history... Can't complain! -
Review from Shaina B.
10/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here for some Halloween festivities and this time around--it was much more fun and exciting.
I've been here before during the day around summertime and the "tours" are self guided. So you don't learn too much about the place unless you want to stop and read everything (and who wants to do that while you're waiting to get groped by a ghost?). Makes the visit somewhat boring and uneventful.
This time around, I had a good time! Tour guides give you some info about each room. It was fun to sit in the theater room--the guide for that room was really funny and had some good stories. Another room I really liked was when they took us to the dining room. It was dark except for an oil lamp on the table--so it was a bit more spooky and the girl in there also gave a good presentation.
For a better experience, go at night and make sure there's guides. It makes it much more fun and interesting than when you have to guide yourself through a house you know nothing about. -
Review from Dana T.
San Diego, CA
1/26/2012
This has been featured on many television shows boasting that it's the most haunted house in America. I tried very hard to conjure up some spirits while on the tour but they must have been asleep..... Neat thing for something to do. Only 6 bucks to enter.
-
Review from Felicia L.
Long Beach, CA
9/20/2011
BORING!!! Not a place to expect any cool spooky things. It's more of a historical site/museum that you pay $6 to go in and walk around for like no more than 10 minutes.
But they do have cool stories... if you have the patience to really read everything. I really wanted to see something spooky. What you should really go see is the cemetery nearby, for real there is a cemetery with crazier stories.
I remember when I went there, I was so bored I was messing around with the lights to scare off the tourists... then one of the staff ratted my little joke off... Terrible. At least let me have some fun in this boring place!
2 stars! -
Review from Emi T.
9/18/2011 2 Check-ins Here
If you're expecting "ghosts" jumping out of corners to "frighten" you, no, this is not your Disneyland-haunted-house.
I visited the Whaley House after my cousin had told me about her experiences there when she visited (a feeling that she was being followed by someone, chills, etc.) I went there on a busy sunday night, and was told that there was a 40 min wait until the next available tour. No problem, my family and I ventured around Oldtown and killed some time. Once the tour was about to start, we headed back and was greeted by our docent, Dan. I have to give major props to Dan, he was super engaging, fun, and his jokes definitely helped ease us. He was also highly knowledgable to say the least, and was open for questions. I could tell that he was very passionate about what he does, and took the time to answer any questions that people had- he also gave us tips to go visit the old cemetery on our way out, with lots of info about it too.
I see a lot of people complaining about the prices, but I'd say it's decently priced- the museum is worth a visit if you're into history and want to see some cool stuff (and if you're lucky, get to experience some paranormal activity), and the money goes into conserving a valuable history of San Diego, and the staff definitely do a lot to conserve the artifacts and history of the house. -
Review from Teresa L.
Atlanta, GA
7/16/2011
A local told me that she was disappointed because the house had been totally remodeled and the furniture had been replaced. She said that the theater used to be a bedroom. She had visited the house since she was a child and she told us that the previous owners had apparently taken the furniture when they lost the house. The tour is not guided and the cost is $6.00. I've seen a ghost, but not at this place. I didn't even find the house to be interesting.
They encourage you to take a lot of photos when you purchase your ticket in the store next door, since you might capture a ghost, but the only ghost you might capture is a reflection of yourself or a light in the plastic shields that keep you from entering the rooms. -
Review from Emily R.
4/18/2011
This place claims to be the most haunted house in America. I've been a couple of times and had one experience of my own. As far as museums go, the Whaley House is pretty cool. The staff is knowledgable and friendly, admission is fair and the house itself is well preserved and a part of history that is maintained to a T.
You can wander around, take pictures and read a little hand out about the history of the Whaley House and it's occupants. If you are in San Diego as a tourist you should definitely go. Support our history! -
Review from Catherine W.
La Jolla, CA
6/2/2011
As the Whaley House is reputedly the most haunted house in America, we figured we'd take a self-guided tour of the museum one Saturday morning while out in Old Town.
Not gonna lie, exploring a "haunted" house in broad daylight doesn't really do it justice, but as far as San Diego history goes, it was kind of neat. The house is pretty small but there were some local artifacts on display and the history of the family who lived there was interesting.
I think however, the title of most haunted house in America, or at least in San Diego County, will have to go to the Paranormal Activity House. Time for a new museum... -
Review from Shy A.
5/10/2011 2 Check-ins Here
The BFF and I came here a few months ago when I first moved to SD. Having been in Old Town several times before, I always wanted to check it out. We're a bit of ghost geeks so we couldn't pass up a chance to possibly see a ghost!
We missed the tour but we had free range to tour the house at our leisure. They had quite a few display cases downstairs that had some historical family items that were pretty neat. We were able to tour all the rooms and the bedrooms upstairs. I found the old courtroom to be the most fascinating room-it gave me the creeps! I can't really explain why but there was a really heavy feeling in that room for me.
My initial review of this place was a solid 3 star but I was pretty disappointed that the "tour guides" that were just standing around the entrance seemed really inconvenienced when we attempted to ask them questions about the history of the home. They were dressed in character but were totally out of character. They were too busy talking about how smashed they got the previous night to make the experience memorable for us. We got more info from the printed hand-outs about the house than the actual tour guides-fail! And the fact that they say it's the most haunted house in America? Hmmm...Not when you have those dorks up front ruining the experience with their squawking.
BFF/SDListed in: So now I'm in San Diego...
-
Review from Zildheam D.
San Diego, CA
6/13/2011
Frigin' scary.
Do believe the hype, this place is old, cold, strange and will cost you ten dollars. Small and full of stories, it made me think I was in DEADWOOD and Sheriff Bullock was going to walk in any minute, I loved the original furniture down stairs and the tea set, not somewhere I want to be at night but worth a try if you are ever in old town. -
Review from Amy T.
Las Vegas, NV
10/22/2011
I was so excited to visit The Whaley House. I had missed it on our first trip to San Diego. I was determined not to miss it this time. Because both the Whaley House and Legoland are closed on Wednesdays (why??) We had to rearrange our plans to fit everything in. So, on Friday morning I drove with my two oldest boys to The Whaley House. We arrived 10 minutes before they opened so we walked around a bit. About three minutes before opening we went and stood in front of the building where you purchase tickets. A woman walked up and said she would open in a minute; it wasn't quite 10. She seemed put out that we were standing there. I told her it was fine. We knew we were early and didn't mind waiting. She came out and was sweeping the steps and then said for us to go ahead and come in; but still had an attitude like we were bothering her for being early. She would not sell us a ticket until exactly 10am and she still had to get her register set up, etc. I did not mind having to wait since we were early but I did not appreciate her attitude. And honestly, if you are open to the public at 10am then you need to be there to set up at least 15 min before. You can't just show up at almost 10 and then be all upset that people are waiting.
After we paid to get in, we walked over to the house. The front door was wide open but the woman working wouldn't let us in. It is after 10. She was braiding the other girls hair and so she made us wait on the porch until she was done. This irritated me. Are you open or not? I just thought it was very rude. She did apologize.
The house is charming. I love historic places. I love antiques. I love the paranormal. I absolutely loved the house. The history was fascinating. But it is a very small house. We were in and out in about 20 minutes. I might have stayed and read more of the displays if my 8 yr. old hadn't been with me.
The one thing I did not like is that there were plastic partitions over all of the bedrooms. I'm not sure what the point is with that since they didn't do it for all of the rooms. The problem with the plastic is that it is very easy to take pics and think youre getting apparitions due to reflection. The partition at the children's bedroom had scratches in it. So when you go to take a pic, the scratches appear on your pic and look like anomolies. I also found it interesting that the docents encouraged us to use our flash. That will only increase the chances of anomolies that are not paranormal due to light flare, etc. I
They pulled out a book of paranormal photos taken at the Whaley House and I was not impressed. Honestly, all the pics could easily be explained. I do believe in the paranormal and I think it is highly likely that The Whaley House is haunted but I don't appreciate people who think EVERYTHING is paranormal. Those pics do more to fuel the skeptics and make us believers look bad, more than anything else.
My other gripe with the house was that they are not clear on what is part of the tour or not. On our way out the docent said to make sure we visit the rest of the grounds as the house isn't the only thing haunted. So, we went around to the yard. There are several other buildings on the property and they are mentioned on the sheet you get at the start of the tour. But it isn't clear if these are meant to be viewed as well. I had to ask someone and I was told that the larger building out back is full of private offices. Not a big deal but I think they should be less vague about that. I'm sure we were not the only ones wondering if we could see the other buildings.
As we were leaving we went back to where you buy tickets because it is also a gift shop. As we walked in the woman said, "Oh, hello....again." In a rather snotty tone. She wasn't happy we were back. I should have walked out right there. But my boys had seen the books on hauntings and were hoping to look.
Overall...I was rather disappointed. I had been waiting years to check this place out. While I did love the house, I hated the rudeness of the staff and felt the place was just too gimmicky. It totally detracted from the intergrity of the place.
I did have a weird feeling when we first walked into the room that served as a store. Out of nowhere I felt nervous, lightheaded and kind of sick. The air felt very heavy. It followed me into the courtroom but once we were back in the store I felt fine and felt normal the rest of the tour. Of course, maybe it was just a physical reaction of having to deal with the rude staff. ?? Either way, it was interesting. -
Review from Laura H.
San Diego, CA
3/13/2011
I enjoyed touring the Whaley home and reading about its spooky history. The docents had been quite friendly and informed along with the grounds/house quite well kept. The home was smaller than I thought and I was somewhat disappointed I couldn't in fact walk into a number of the rooms, even though I see the barriers had been there to safeguard the authentic items from becoming damaged.
I was also disappointed with how a lot of individuals had been allowed to wander by means of the home at one time. Perhaps it was just the group I was in, however it was quite loud with people talking and stomping on the wooden floors. Having said that, the home is worth an a visit plus the ghost stories were entertaining. Make sure to check out it on Halloween. It gets even spookier. -
Review from Jamie W.
5/5/2011 5 photos
Here's a little (maybe well known) secret... Glass + camera flash = potential "ghostly" images... Orbs = dust. Or is that really the case?
I'm a skeptic who desperately wants to believe.
But seeing is believing, n'est-ce pa?
So, I've been to Whaley House before and even on my second visit; five+ years later, I still enjoy the prospect of maybe seeing something otherworldly. The house itself is not creepy. By most accounts it appears to be a very well preserved 1800's house. It's history is interesting. Ask any of the docents here and they are willing and ready to give you an amusing snippet from the past.
In my opinion $6 is a deal to gain access to the house. Apparently the money goes towards it's preservation too, which I totally dig.
Check out a few of my pictures... Mostly standard pics, but there's this one of a headboard that I'm kinda curious about. Kind of looks like a head/shoulders and below it... ? Hmm... could it be... an image of the great beyond?
I'll let you decide! -
Review from Tara P.
Irvine, CA
4/23/2011 3 photos
I went to do another tour of the Whaley House today with my better half, and I have to say I was a little disappointed this time. We did go during the day, which was probably our biggest fault, but the tour guide was really awful.
She was more concerned with people liking her jokes, then telling the true story about the home. She kind of rushed us all around the house and really didn't give us too many of the curious details that the other tour guide did. The home was still just as creepy, but the guide could have made for a better scary story :-( -
Review from Alma P.
12/2/2010 1 photo
This review is for the Whaley House Ghost Hunting Tours that they do at night.
So first off, I'm not a 'ghost hunter' but occasionally, I get drawn into an episode of 'ghost hunters' or 'paranomoral state' and start to wonder, is that stuff really true? Hmmm...so when we saw an episode that mentioned the Whaley House in SD as the country's most haunted place we figured why not check it out. They have several tours available but we opted for the actual ghost hunting tour where you go into the house at night and essentially get to act our your 'ghost hunting' dreams. ;-)
We did the 10:30 Ghost Hunting Tour -- not cheap at $50 BUT it does go to the historical preservation of the house so how can you argue with that?
The tours are run by the San Diego Ghost Hunters which is a purely investigative group. They don't charge the Whaley House and they don't do it for publicity. They were all super nice and answered a ton of questions from all of us ghost hunter wannabees. They also let us use their energy field tracker devices and set up a couple of cool demos in some of the rooms.
My bf and I had a blast taking pics and going from room to room listening for anything that could be a ghost. They basically let you have free reign of the place to take pics, audio, etc. Of course, a lot of the rooms are set back w/rope or glass so you can't actually touch stuff or anything.
The creepy part is that you do actually feel things in the house and when I looked at my 200+ pics I saw a few suspicious things and one of my audio recordings also had some strange sounds on it... so who knows.
Was it worth the $50? DEFINITELY... scratching 'ghost hunting' off the bucket list as I type this. ;-) -
Review from Heather W.
San Diego, CA
1/28/2011 7 photos
I've passed by the Whaley House Museum several times, and when my friend and her ghost-obsessed nine-year-old came down from the OC for a visit, we decided to do a nighttime tour.
Part of me has a lot of respect for any establishment who is about preserving and promoting history. Especially when children are welcome to be a part of it. Part of me is sad that they've turned Mr. Whaley's home into a tourist trap.
The nighttime pricing was reasonable. $5 for children and $10 for adults. The tour was about a half hour, much less time than we were told by the woman we posed our questions to earlier in the day.
We saw nothing, other than a single red rose petal in the thresh hold of one of the bedrooms. Our tour guide made a big deal about it, insisting no one had been in the house with roses, but I think that was more for the benefit of my friend's son.
We got a lot of orbs (or perhaps light reflections) in our photos, but saw nothing other than that. I am not a skeptic. In fact, I've been seeing apparitions for years, but I felt nothing in the Whaley House.
That's not to say it's not haunted. I'll go back for one of their more in-depth tours. In the meantime, I'm uploading a few shots from our time there. You all be the judges. -
Review from Angel F.
San Diego, CA
9/29/2010
It was a Saturday afternoon: no Sunday when i arrived at the Whaley residence. I had been wanting to go and today seemed like the day since i had another victim along the ride with me.
We bought our tickets next door at the little shop where we were greeted and told the rules before entering the house.
Upon entering the house we were welcomed by a fine young gal in little house on the prairie-ish getup. Nice. Creepy.
We picked up the self guided tour packet and I decided i wanted to be the host for the event and i did. I guided us through each of the rooms and even managed to scare myself like the brave devious person I am while going through one of the children's rooms.
The walk through was more than i expected and the paper had enough detail to keep me wanting more. The history of the family and the house were very interesting and made me feel just a tad bit more San Diego.
All in all i say the tour was about 30-45 minutes not including the time i spent lingering in the rooms as if I lived their myself.
If you are in Old Town I believe you NEED to make at least one pass through The Whaley House instead of buying trinkets you don't need and getting drunk while you eat. Well at least go though the house first. -
Review from Debbie C.
Las Vegas, NV
10/23/2010
Good tour, to me kind of pricey at 10.00 PP. it was 30 mins. The guide was good. Pleasant, knew the history of the house.
It was fun. No ghosts. -
Review from Lee D.
11/7/2010 1 Check-in Here
The Whaley House sits on a busy area - but once you're inside, depending on how sensitive you are, you would feel something. I'm not sure if it's just my occasional lightheadedness or whatever, but I did feel a certain unease and heaviness while I was there. Especially when we went up the infamous staircase where it's been rumored/proven that a certain entity(/-ies) has manifested itself at the top of the landing.
All over the house you would see artifacts, actual objects that belonged to the Whaley family. So it's no wonder that spirits still roam the place as explained by the docent, as they remain tied to these objects, to the house, to the land that the house is erected on.
Our tour guide did point out a lot of creepy happenings that have occurred in the house which made my jaw drop. However our group didn't see, hear or smell anything but learning about some history was interesting enough.
Would've been nice if we could explore the house a little bit longer, but tours run every thirty minutes so we had to shuffle out as soon as we possibly could. We were able to take pictures with our docent after the tour though, and she was taking in questions. So yeah, it was alright. Agreed that the tour was a little pricey especially at night, but if that's what it takes to keep this place going, then I guess that's fine with me. -
Review from PJ S.
Fairfax, VA
8/21/2010
Pros:
- Excellent Tour Guide. Very informative and personable. I don't remember her name but she was a cute blonde, studying law, and she admitted to enjoying Battlestar Galactica (So Basically, all she needed was an XBOX controller and a box of Magic Cards to be every nerds' wet dream)
- I took A picture of the Whaley House with objects in them that I can't explain. I took them seconds apart. (pictures will be posted)
1. Top row, left window, you see two faces (one resembled a woman who committed suicide at the house as described on our tour)
2. Top Row, Middle Window, bottom left-hand side: white steam or fog. I did some research and it's referred to as ectoplasm
3. Top Row, Right Window, bottom right-hand corner: random bright red dot. Once again, did some research and it's referred to as a red orb.
- The tour guide helped me out with the picture I took and she explained that every object I pointed out were all common when taking pictures of a "haunted house"
Cons:
- $10 for admission (I went at 9 PM) was a little pricey for such a relatively short tour. But when you consider the cost of maintaining a historical home and paying for the tour guide, I understand why.
- Tour should be a little more interactive for $10. Maybe have games or activities on the lawn that were popular in the 19th Century
- The cars parked in front of the house killed both the historical and "haunted house" vibe. Annoying as hell. There should be no parking in front of the house.
Suggestions:
- Give out a piece of paper with a map of the house describing 2 historical facts and 2 paranormal facts with each room. If you charge, don't make it cost more than $5 and definitely give it after the tour.
- When the tour ends, give us 10 min to wander around the house. Unexpected stuff tends to happen when people are alone.
Bottom Line:
With a nice balance of history and "paranormal events" from the illustrative story telling of our tour guide, it's hard to not be entertained. Whether you're a believer or a skeptic of ghosts, there's enough interesting history for you to enjoy the tour (and I'm from the DC Area...we generally have history covered). Please, don't expect a Scooby Doo Adventure. People like that tend to take a crap on the experience.
Overall, I'm glad I went and I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting SoCal.
Well Done... -
Review from Jessica C.
Burbank, CA
7/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
$6.00 to entrance for a 5 minute walk Thur the Whaley house and you are given a piece of paper to read what each room is... BOOOO!!!
where's the ghost? where's the chills up my spine? where's at least someone telling us what happened in this room?
I was bored. I sat and tried to call out ghost, they must have been bored too.
Took lots of pictures hoping to catch images of orbs or some images.. Nada!
You really do have to be here during dead time which is between 3am and 5am when most ghostly activity happens...
One weird fact, my camera stopped working since we left the Whaley house! -
Review from Jessica I.
San Diego, CA
9/27/2010
The history of the Whaley house in San Diego is interesting. However, I never had the opportunity to see or feel spookiness first-hand. I can even scare myself sometimes when nothing is going on, so that's saying something...
I worked near the Whaley House for two years and I would cut across it just to see if I would get the heebie-geebies. Nope, it always felt like a walk in the park.
I should let you know, however, that I went there with my mom once and she felt all kinds of action. In fact, she had to leave the place and she threw up in one of the Old Town keg barrel trash cans. I've never taken a tour, but I don't think I need to...
I'm sure I've been in more places in the Whaley House than most regulars... and done more things. I guess the ghosts there just like me :)
Everyone else: Be afraid!! -
Review from Edelisa C.
San Diego, CA
5/2/2010 1 photo
I have a great respect when it comes to history and I give this place 5 stars just for the simple fact that the Whaley house is a historic landmark with a rich past that is naturally haunted. If you like any of the above, then you would appreciate touring a bit of San Diego history. Read up on the Whaley House online (http://whaleyhouse.org...) or just go in person and soak it all in.
FYI, other than it being haunted don't expect the little kiddies you bring getting much out of this experience unless they are over 10 years old and taking the paid Haunted Ghost Tour listed on this website http://www.hauntedsand.../ If you're a tourist, the Ghost Tour is a must because there is a Tour bus that takes you around the haunted places in San Diego with entrances to each site in the evening. Don't fall for those "walk only" tours JUST in Old Town. Rip off. Believe me, been there done that. Okay now, I'm getting sidetracked....I just hate seeing people getting ripped off.
What else....what else....like I said the younger kids (or ignorant adults) might think the museum is "boring" only because they may be expecting something to come out at them. This is no "Haunted Mansion" in Disneyland folks. It is what it is. A preserved home turned museum rich with history. I brought my 2 kids along first thing in the morning and I should have known, they were "disappointed".
However, I took as many photos as I could thinking nothing much at all and what do you know, when you least expect something, you get something in return. I took a slightly blurry photo of the living room at 10:10am and I was able to capture the Whaley House's fox terrier dog Dolly Varden located on the lower right hand corner which is freakin' awesome. I uploaded a photo for you all.
In closing, just enjoy touring this historic landmark with an open mind. You might get a surprise in return. I did. =D -
Review from Joe S.
Alpine, CA
5/2/2010
Last time I was here I got into an argument with one of the people working there who stated that the room layout (what is inside each room) had always been as it is now. We were specifically talking about the theater room on the upper level. At one time it was set up as something other than a theater. Since this person probably had not been working there more than a year, and was about half my age I just let it go. But they need to get some people in there who have a clue. Anyone who visited the place back in the 80's and visits now will know that the place has changed on the interior here and there.
Anyways.... I've never seen anything weird here other than someone doing some cleaning in one of the rooms unexpectedly popping out from behind a curtain or door and scaring some school kids. If you can't scare the crap out of kids then what good are you?
It's also a good place to take people from out of town if you want to put a little scare into them, but nothing ever really happens and as far as being haunted, I think people have big imaginations, and it's more hype than anything else. I have been to places that seem a hell of a lot more haunted than this.
For example, there is a house in Harbison Canyon that I have seen send 6'8" 280 lb construction workers into fits of weeping. Words being written in the steamed up mirrors, cabinet doors taken off and placed in neat stacks in the span of about 2 mins while you leave the room and come back, beds being moved from one wall to another over night while you are sleeping in them, weird apparitions of a girl running up the stairs, and the creepiest upstairs bathroom I have ever taken a crap in, just to name a few of the flavors of weirdness you may encounter there.
Aside from that, The Whaley House is an interesting bit of history, make sure you visit the cemetery down the road too. -
Review from Valerie L.
Pasadena, CA
I love haunted anything and I love historical places. I was here with some girlfriends and we decided to give it a go. To buy tickets, you have to go next door into a gift shop to get them, and I suggest you use cash to make life easy ($6 adults when I went). The gift shop also features books, candles, and various items about San Diego and the Whaley House. It is a self guided tour, and the gift shop gives you a couple of pages for background reading. There are volunteers, in period costume, who are there to answer questions you have. You are able to tour the entire house, but be warned-it is incredibly narrow, so you need to pay attention. It is two stories tall, with a general store, courtroom, kitchen, pantry, and entertaining area downstairs, and the master bedroom, two guestrooms, and the theater upstairs. You are encouraged to take pictures, and there is even a book with pictures from fellow tourists of "paranormal activities" within the house. Some of the rooms have glass to prevent you from going in, others have rope, and others you are welcome to wander. They are trying very hard to restore more of the property in the style of the period, which I think is exciting. I am happy to visit and happy to pay the small fee to keep the house open.
As to the claim of the most haunted house in America, I call shenanigans. I've been to other haunted places, and I wouldn't call this one haunted. Granted, I visited at noon on a Saturday in broad daylight, but I visited the Winchester Mystery House in broad daylight, and that place felt haunted. Whaley House seemed more of a quaint this-is-how-people-lived kinda thing, especially since it is a mix of things that are original to the house and things that have been brought in that were period appropriate. In any case, I'd recommend going, take a leisurely pace, and be advised the house is rather small compared to what we are used to seeing, and very narrow, but interesting nonetheless. -
Review from Wanugee N.
Pleasant Hill, CA
1/2/2010
The Whaley House offers a great bit of San Diego history smack dab in the middle of Old Town San Diego.
The Whaley family lived here almost 150 years ago. But the legends of ghosts started in 1853, when "Yankee" Jim (Santiago) Robinson was hanged on this spot for stealing the only row boat in San Diego at the time. Pretty severe penalty for grand theft.
Thomas Whaley bought the land in 1855, built several structures and businesses here. The house was used as the first theater in San Diego, and was also temporarily used as a court house, which you can see on the tour.
Many have seen apparitions and ghosts here, including Regis Philbin. Maybe it wasn't a ghost, but Kathy Gifford looking for her husband Frank?
A lot of great period furniture, artifacts, historical facts, and legends here in this two story building. The staff is very friendly and nice.
You have to buy tickets next door ($6/adult) at the store before taking the tour. No food or drink are allowed inside.Listed in: Wanugee! San Diego, Wanugee! Nature, Art, Science
-
Review from Melvin S.
San Diego, CA
7/13/2008
I love this place. I have never seen a ghost, but I like to sit in that upstairs theatre and give myself the creeps. I do this for a while, then get too scared to move and actually get up and walk back downstairs. It's fun!!
The least fun I had here was when I took my Mom who was visiting. She thinks she is a ghost hunter. When a docent came up and asked us if we had questions, I cringed. I knew what was coming. She started asking about EVP and all this wacky bullshit. I pretended not to know her. It worked until she told the docent she was the secretary of the Southern Indiana Ghost Hunter's Association and as the docent looked at her confused (probably trying to stifle insane laughter) she yelled to me, "Tell her, I am ain't I!" and then she turned back to the docent and said, "That's my daughter"....then I suddenly, and like never before, found the power to get right up and leave the upstairs theatre without fear and walk far away from the woman who somehow pushed me from her uterus and into the world, only to do THIS to me.
If you go just before the cut off for the ticket price (they raise the price of tickets in the evening hours) you pay the lower price, but can stay in the house as long as you want and wait for the dark, the spooky spooky dark. -
Review from Thomas H.
Chino, CA
7/22/2010 9 photos
This is my first review that isn't a restaurant or bar! But I had to do it! So here I go!
First of all, I don't believe in ghosts. But when I see a scary movie, you bet your @$$ that I quiver with fear every night for the next few days, thinking that there are ghosts in my house. So do you have to believe in ghosts to have fun here? No. With that said, I had a GREAT time here! I took tons and tons of photos trying to capture ghosts. When the hosts talk about the paranormal things that happened here last night, I get the chills! They said the doll in the chair will sometimes blink at people. Even though you're not allowed to take video footage here, I went ahead and filmed the doll anyway because I'm a rebel like that. It didn't blink. The video footage still looked sooooooo creepy though!
I'll upload photos as soon as possible. I did my best to capture ghosts. I think I did a better job than a lot of the other photos I've seen. Some of the photos people upload are just reflections from the glass.
Overall, the price was decent to have this much fun. It's a great story to tell people that I've actually been to a real life haunted house.
There were other customers who obviously don't believe in ghosts who spend the whole time there saying how fake everything is. It's kind of like those people who sit behind you in movie theaters and talk about how unrealistic everything is. Ummmm, of course it's not real! I'm trying to enjoy this and you're taking a huge dump on my happiness. Can you just shut up?
Go. Have fun! -
Review from Jocelyn B.
Long Beach, CA
7/31/2011
I came to the Whaley House for the monthly ghost hunt. Having a small amount of ghost hunting experience, I was very excited about this investigation and the working with San Diego Ghost Hunters. What I liked about the investigation was the presentation the sdGH showed the group of past evps, pics, etc. and they allowed people to use their equipment. What i disliked, it was way too short! An hour and a half is not enough time to really do much ghost hunting at all. Just when things started to happen, we had to leave. Did cool, creepy stuff happen? Yes! Was it worth $50 and a trip to San Diego, maybe.. but definitely could have been better.
-
Review from Heather R.
Redondo Beach, CA
In honor of Halloween, it only seems appropriate to write about the Whaley House in Old Town, San Diego.
Going here around this time of year seems to have become my tradition. Each year we go - not just for the thrill of being in a "confirmed haunted house," but also to feel a little bit of history. It has become a highlight of our San Diego visits. The Whaley House features what was the first commercial theatre in San Diego and the first courthouse. Additionally, there are still the historic furnishings and daily necessities of the time the home was lived in.
This year was different. Apparently between a feature on the Travel Channel as the number one "haunted house" in America and an episode of the ridiculous (yet strangely entertaining) "Most Haunted," the docents of the Whaley House are beginning to believe their own press. The gift shop/ticket sales office was filled with t-shirts, water bottles and other items printed with the slogan, "Got Ghosts?"
OK - that was cute. However, $6 per person later, we entered the house to the sound of screaming teenage girls. We thought maybe it was some tourists trying to scare themselves, but we were wrong. They were part of the new Whaley experience.
Next we entered the courtroom. There was a new, large display of suspicious pictures of "ghosts" taken by visitors. Never mind that most of the pictures are simply blurs of light that were taken in front of the plexiglass barriers in front of the bedrooms.
We also noticed another new aspect: a kitchen stocked with fake food. "Oh good," we noted sarcastically, "Now they're going Disney."
As we took our self-guided tour of the home, we traipsed upon the teenage girls again in the theatre. There they sat on the raked stage in period costume, attempting to act macabre. We commented on the clocks draped in black.
"The house is in mourning," one of the girls intoned.
"Mourning?" I asked.
"Yessss...." she quietly hissed.
I probably rolled my eyes. Undaunted, I asked why the house was in mourning. Finally she dropped the act and said it was because of the fires. OK - I could buy that. Still, the experience was now officially ruined for me.
We left feeling disappointed. We always loved just being able to enjoy the house, its stories and its raw history. This time we felt watched, toyed with and finally patronized.
I guarantee if the docents are up to their current tricks next year, I won't be back. -
Review from April B.
11/6/2010
EH. Haven't been here since elementary school. I could've sworn this place was bigger. I think reading about the history is so much more interesting than taking the tour. We came here for the Dia de los Muertos celebration and it was interesting. Kinda boring.
It its a little pricey to see the tour. Don't think it's worth it to come again but I think if it's your first time it's worth it. The house is a little creepy. Wish I saw a ghost :[ -
Review from Brian R.
San Diego, CA
7/28/2009
If there's something strange in your neighborhood
Where's it gonna be?
Not the Whaley House
If there's something weird and it don't look good
Where's it gonna be?
Not the Whaley House
I ain't seen no ghost
I ain't seen no ghost
If you're seeing things running through your head
Where's it gonna be?
Not the Whaley House
An invisible man sleeping in your bed
Oh, were's it gonna be?
Not the Whaley House
I ain't seen no ghost
I ain't seen no ghost -
Review from Frank L.
12/5/2009
I ain't afraid of no ghosts!
Girlfriend is working all day so I was left to my own devices. I originally thought I would go on a brewery crawl across San Diego, but I didn't feel like drinking today--I know, I must be coming down with something! I decided to check out the Whaley House in Old Town. It's regarded as the most haunted house in the United States by people who are supposed to know about those kinds of things.
I used to live in a haunted house, so I wanted to see what kind of vibe I'd get from the Whaley place. Here's the story in a nutshell: The house was built atop the site of an old gallows. The ghost of "Yankee Jim", a bandit hung at the site, supposedly haunts the place, along with a host of other unhappy spirits. Here's a link to the ghostly legends:
http://whaleyhouse.org...
The self-guided tour cost me a mere six bucks. The three young docents I met at the entrance were very friendly and also quite matter-of-fact about their paranormal experiences at the house. One fellow recounted the story of smelling strong perfume when he opened the place, only to discover that the only female in the building wasn't wearing any fragrances. The young female docent (wearing a period costume) told me that she is regularly followed around by the ghost of a little girl who likes to tug at the hem of her dress.
I didn't experience anything spooky during my tour. I have to say that I did get a creepy feeling while exploring the second floor on my own. I took a bunch of pictures and will inspect them for any signs of specters after I download them.
This place isn't a Disneyland attraction. It's a modest museum that is supported by donations and tour fees. Don't expect spooks to jump out at you. It is a cool old house and I think it's amazing that it's still standing. Old Town is tourist-y, but a fun area for a history buff to bumble around. Check it out. -
Review from Edward D.
La Jolla, CA
7/11/2011 9 photos
My friends and I were not ready to experience the hanging, the little girl try to get someone's attention, "dolly" lick a group member's leg, or the general spookiness of hearing about all that went on in the Whaley House. If you are so inclined, bring your imagination, your own spirited fun and have a great time! ;)
-
Review from Chris V.
San Diego, CA
2/13/2009
Im giving this place 5 stars because im afraid if i give it anything less, the ghosts are going to get ME!!
I meannnn, I aintt no punk or nothinggg namsayin namsayin namsayin.. but there is justtt somethinggg creepy about this place that makes a buff bronco /beefcake like myself wanna get the fax outta there asap!
Overall, this place gives me the Heebie-Jeebies forreal forreal. -
Review from Michael S.
San Diego, CA
2/10/2009
Ghostbusters...
If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood
Who ya gonna call (ghostbusters)
If it's somethin' weird an it won't look good
Who ya gonna call (ghostbusters)
I ain't afraid a no ghost
I ain't afraid a no ghost
If you're seein' things runnin' thru your head
Who can you call (ghostbusters)
An' invisible man sleepin' in your bed
Oh who ya gonna call (ghostbusters)
I ain't afraid a no ghost
I ain't afraid a no ghost
Who ya gonna call (ghostbusters)
If you're all alone pick up the phone
An call (ghostbusters)
*Cebo's favorite song* -
Review from Mike H.
San Diego, CA
7/9/2008 1 photo
The most haunted location I've ever come across.
I've been to the Whaley House well over 50 times now and that's because the place is filled to the brim with supernatural activity.
The only downside is that the price is way too high for a walk through of a house. When I first went there, it was $2 and last time it was something around $10.
If you have any interest in spirits or supernatural activity, this is by far the best place to start. There are over five spirits that roam through the halls and I have well over a dozen stories of experiences I've had in that house. From seeing a young girl in the back yard smelling the flowers, to a dog on the front porch. Unfortunately this isn't Casper the friendly ghost and the spirits seem extrememly upset... so be warned.
Here is a bit of useful information: You don't have to pay to go into the back yard and there is usually a good deal of supernatural activity going on back there. Keep your nose peeled for the scent of Mr. Whaley's Cigar and Mrs. Whaley's Floral Perfume. The majority of the activity is upstairs in the bedrooms and on the staircase. I haven't experienced anything downstairs with the exception of Halloween where there were at least 10 orbs in the courtroom. -
Review from Amanda B.
Elk Grove, CA
9/24/2011
No, didn't see any ghosts. But I loved the history of the property, and I could tell the staff/ owners? absolutely love the house and are proud to show it. Also loved the surrounding shops and restaurants of Old Town.
-
Review from Nick T.
San Diego, CA
4/15/2008
I aint afraid of no ghost ! Or a family of ghosts in an old spooky mansion.
I'm more afraid of tourists asking me what they should eat and where they should go that would really give them a lasting impression of San Diego.
I always tell them to go to Lips Restaurant for fine dining, after dinner drinks at Rich's then movies from F St.
