Thomas Whaley

Thomas Whaley (October 5, 1823–December 14, 1890) early settler of San Diego.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaley_House_%28San_Diego,_California%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Whaley

Ghostly Encounters

In the 1960s, The Whaley House was designated as an official Haunted House by the United States Commerce Department. The only other official haunted house in California is the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA. According to the Travel Channel's show America's Most Haunted, out of all the haunted houses in the United States, the Whaley House is the number one most haunted. The Whaley House grounds was reportedly haunted even before the house was built and the family moved in. The first ghost to be reported was the ghost of James "Yankee Jim" Robinson who was hanged in 1852. He was hanged on the property that was the site of a gallows before Thomas Whaley purchased the property and built the house. According to the San Diego Union, after the Whaley family moved in, they heard the sound of heavy footsteps moving around the house and concluded that these footsteps were made by "Yankee Jim". Years later, many visitors to the house said that they saw the ghost of Thomas Whaley. A former keeper of the house mentioned that a little girl waved to a man who was standing in the parlor, but others did not see the man.

Moreover, four members of the Whaley family died in the house, including Anna Whaley. The ghost of Anna Whaley has been reported by visitors in the garden or in the rooms located downstairs. Furthermore, some visitors claimed that they have seen an apparition of a woman in the courtroom, but the description of her did not fit any of the Whaleys. In the 1960s, psychic, Sybil Leek, felt a presence of a girl. She was described as the great grand-daughter of Thomas Whaley, Marion Reynolds, who ingested ant poison. She is known to grab people's arms. Not only is the Whaley House a home for the family even after they had died, it is also a home for their dog. A spirit of a dog was captured; the apparition of the dog was caught running into the dining room in the house. The Whaley family used to own a terrier named Dolly Varden. The dog died of natural causes and is said to lick the bare legs of women and is mostly seen by children.