The Whaley House
The legend of the Whaley House begins with the hanging of Yankee Jim Robinson in 1852, according to the Whaley House Web site http://www.whaleyhouse.com. Soon after, Thomas Whaley bought a lot in Old Town and built his house right where Yankee Jim was hanged. Legend has it that Robinson’s presence was there haunting the house even while the Whaleys were residents. The Whaley House was never sold and remained in the family until Corinne Lillian, the last member of the Whaley family died in 1953, after which the house was left to deteriorate. The house is now a museum, where workers complain about hearing footsteps and unexplained sounds coming from all over the house after hours.
Inside the house, there are many antique furnishings that have been collected from other pioneer families along with other precious heirlooms from San Diego’s past. The piano from “Gone With the Wind” is in the living room of the house. The courtroom, which has been used as a ballroom and a jail, is said to be the most haunted room in the house. According to most visitors, hauntings will begin with the onset of eerie chills and feelings of uneasiness. This is usually followed by a variety of paranormal activities, such as pots and pans and other kitchen utensils clashing together violently, footsteps pounding in empty halls, furniture moving on its own, small children’s ghostly laughter coming from the walls and sudden waves of intense fear at certain spots in the hotel. The latter is said to occur especially on the ninth step of the main stairway, where Anna Whaley was once robbed at gunpoint by intruders. Some guests even claim they have smelled cigar smoke and seen thick plumes of it circling Thomas Whaley’s chair in the parlor. Many seances have been held there by mediums from all over the country to try and contact the mischievous spirits and find out why they still haunt the halls of the hotel.
Thus far, little contact has been made, but the house’s noteriety shows no sign of waning. The Whaley House, at 2482 San Diego Avenue in Old Town, is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day except Wednesday. Admission for the hotel tour is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children.
Hotel del Coronado
Next is the Hotel del Coronado, at 1500 Orange Avenue on Coronado Island. Many movies have featured the hotel inspiring presidents and movie stars alike to visit in hopes of witnessing the fabled spirits that are said to roam it. The most talked-about ghost legend involves Lottie A. Anderson Bernard, also known as Kate Morgan. Her story begins in late November 1892 when she and her husband Tom Bernard were on a train heading to Coronado. Tom got off in Orange County and told her to go on without him, promising he would return soon. Morgan waited for her husband at the Hotel del Coronado in room 502, now room 3502. She waited for five days and he never returned to her. Finally, out of desperation, she bought a gun and committed suicide. She was found dead on the steps leading to the beach, dressed elegantly in black.
The most recent known encounter with a ghost at the Hotel del Coronado occurred in February 2004. Christine Donovan, director of Heritage Programs, was interviewing a group of “ghost-sighters,” who were part of a British film crew covering the hotel’s ghost story for a long-running television series called “Dead Famous.” According to Donovan, while the crew was filming in Morgan’s room, the film crew’s skeptic Gail Porter became sickly, eventually feeling too shaken to stand up or even remain in the room. Later, Porter admitted that this had been her first paranormal experience ever, saying that she had been overcome by a frightening sense of Morgan’s final moments.
Other recent encounters involve a guest who reported seeing Morgan’s initials being drawn in the steamy bathroom mirror, and another guest and was kept awake by spooky “whisper-yelling” from a source he could not identify. Donovan has also reported that a Coronado resident spotted a ghostly male figure in the Babcock & Story Bar.
“She saw a very, very tall man, pencil thin, with a long neck, small face and beard, dressed in 19th century attire,” Donovan said. Some claim the ghostly figure was Morgan’s husband, returning to search for her.
Strange phenomena have also occurred in room 3312. A pair of dark, feminine eyes has been known to stare at guests from the TV screen, and maintenance men have had to replace the TV many times because it would fall onto the floor for no apparent rea-son. Also, a little girl named Melissa, who died in the hotel in the 1950s from
an illness, has been said to roam the halls of the hotel with dead, gray eyes and pale, bluish skin, lifelessly holding a doll at her side.
Point Loma Lighthouse
Last but not least is the Point Loma Lighthouse, at the Cabrillo Monument on the south end of Catalina Boulevard, Point Loma. History proclaims that in 1854, the lighthouse became a working site and saw 10 different housekeepers. In 1871, Captain Robert D. Israel became the most well-known of the housekeepers and ran the lighthouse for 20 years with his wife and four sons. Israel’s duty was to fire his gun into the air and warn ships that were getting too close to the coast. The house was abandoned in 1891 and remained so for 40 years; in 1913, President Woodrow Wilson declared the lighthouse a national monument. In 1933, the land was bought to erect a monument to Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo and work began to restore the lighthouse to its original condition.
The building, which stands 422 feet above sea level, evokes a sense of mystery and loneliness. Some think the ghost of Captain Israel still wanders the lighthouse aimlessly. It has been reported that the alarm, installed for security reasons, goes off sporadically at night and officials who rush to the lighthouse never find anyone at the scene. Off the cliffs, it has been said that Israel’s gunshots can still be heard and the smell of fresh-baked bread can be detected outside the house. A rocking chair and the sound of Israel’s wife’s knitting needles have been heard on the ground floor of the lighthouse. On a foggy night, witnesses have seen swirls of red mixed in with fog coming from the lighthouse as it still shines off the coast of Point Loma. The lighthouse hours are 9 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. (summer through Labor Day) and 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. (winter hours). Access to the lighthouse is through the Cabrillo Monument entrance; admission is $5, and it is open seven days a week.
All of these interesting and spooky historical landmarks are deeply rooted in San Diego’s rich history and provide a plethora of information for guests. For further information about San Diego’s haunted hot spots, check out Gail White’s “Haunted San Diego: A Historic Guide to San Diego’s Favorite Haunts.” Happy haunting.
