Haunted Whaley House II: A History and Paranormal Guide to America's Most Haunted House

Haunted Whaley House II: A History and Paranormal Guide to America's Most Haunted House in Old Town San Diego, California, by Robert Wlodarski and Anne Wlodarski. 2004 softcover. 204 pages, very nice condition. SIGNED.

Presents an account of paranormal events at The Whaley House, a Greek Revival style residence, California Historical Landmark, and museum located in Old Town, San Diego, California. Wealthy entrepreneur Thomas Whaley built the house in 1857 as a residence for his family. In 1885, his twenty-two-year-old daughter Violet committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest with Thomas's 32-calibre pistol. Her suicide note contained a passage from 'Bridge of Sighs,' a poem by Thomas Hood: “Mad from life's history, swift to death's mystery; glad to be hurled, anywhere, anywhere, out of this world.”

Since then, the house has frequently been cited as haunted, based on strange noises or sights reported by some visitors. In 2005, LIFE magazine called Whaley House "the most haunted house in America." Shortly after the Whaley family moved in, they told the San Diego Union that they heard heavy footsteps in the house which they believed to be the ghost of James "Yankee Jim" Robinson, who had earlier been hanged on the property for stealing a boat. Some visitors have reported seeing apparitions of Thomas Whaley or Anna Whaley. This is an updated version of the Wlodarski’s original book on Whaley House, with an expanded history, new stories, and numerous spirit photographs.