The Spirits Of The Whaley House

**The Spirits Of The Whaley House** is a video made by Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej, uploaded onto YouTube on January 13, 2017. It was the sixth episode of the first season of BuzzFeed Unsolved: Supernatural, and the fifteenth episode overall. You can find it here.

## Description

Rated the #1 haunted house in America by Travel Channel. Were they right?

## Notable Events

This episode sparked the creation of Ryan's alias "Ryan Bergara: Ghost Cop." It was also the first *BuzzFeed Unsolved* episode released in 2017.

## Background

On October 5, 1823, Thomas Whaley was born in New York City. In September of 1855, Thomas bought land in Old Town, San Diego, California.

In 1857 Thomas constructed a two-story brick home for him and his wife Anna, using bricks from his personal brickyard. The result was the infamous Whaley House. Since being built, the Whaley House has been used as many things, including a courtroom and San Diego's first commercial theater―both of which still remain in the house today. However, its most famous use was as the home of Thomas and Anna Whaley, and their children, who moved in and out of the house throughout the late 1800s and early-to-mid 1900s.

Thomas and Hannah Whaley had three children within the first few years of living at the Whaley House: Frances Hinton; Thomas, Jr.; and Anna Amelia. Thomas, Jr. tragically died at eighteen months of scarlet fever in the house. In that same year, Thomas, Sr.'s nearby general store burned down in a case of arson.

Devastated, the family moved to San Francisco, where they had three more children: George Hays Ringgold, Violet Eloise, and Corinne Lillian. However, an earthquake in 1868 forced the family to return to live in the Whaley House in San Diego.

Tragedy continued to follow the Whaleys. Violet Whaley would kill herself in 1885, shooting herself in the heart in the backyard outhouse due to grief over her failed marriage. Thomas Whaley found her dying and brought her inside the house, into the back of the parlor, where she passed away fifteen minutes later. Over the next sixty-eight years, three members of the Whaley family would die inside the house: Anna Whaley in 1913, Frances in 1914, and Lillian in 1953.

Two ghosts often seen are Thomas, Jr. and Violet Whaley. Infant cries are often heard in the house, an experience likely attributed to Thomas Jr.'s early death of scarlet fever. On the second floor of the house, in the back room, people have seen a young woman and report feeling a profound sorrow in the area, likely due to Violet's suicide.

Other unidentified ghosts could be apparitions of former tenants, as Lillian would rent out the house to various people. These include a little girl in the dining room, vaudeville music heard in the theatre room, and an active courtroom that is often visited by psychics, where a woman is sometimes seen in the back corner of the jury box. Paranormal investigators claim this back corner is a "spiritual vortex."

A police officer also had a paranormal experience just outside the house, more than thirty years ago. The officer had responded to a 911 call from a concerned citizen, reporting a woman crying outside the Whaley House. What he witnessed was something he would only reveal in his confidential retirement letter, decades later: when the officer came onto the property, he saw "a woman at the back of the house crying," and mentioned she was in period clothing. The officer asked "Ma'am, are you all right?", causing her to then turn around and smile. When the officer shone his flashlight on her, the woman vanished.

The house also sports the rare instance of a ghost dog and a ghost cat, both of which the Whaleys owned at the time. Two other, human, ghosts that haunt the house are Thomas and Anna Whaley themselves. Many reports say that Thomas Whaley is seen on the upper landing, where one person claimed he wore a frock coat and pantaloons. Some have reported that he blows tobacco smoke in visitors' faces. Anna Whaley is typically seen in the garden, or in one of the downstairs rooms. Anna has also been spotted wearing a green gingham dress, sipping tea in the parlor, a place where Thomas has been seen as well.

Anna has also apparently had a run-in with San Diego police: one night, Whaley House tour guide Victor Santana was setting the alarm. As he was punching in the code, he heard a woman ask "Why are you here?", which scared him to the point that he ran out the front door without completing the code―setting off the alarm. Shortly after, a San Diego police officer responded to the Whaley House's alarm. Santana recalls the officer "claimed there was a woman in a green dress in the parlor," but by the time backup arrived, the woman in green had disappeared.

However, the final and most feared ghost of all is the spirit of Yankee Jim. Before the house was constructed, in 1852, James "Yankee Jim" Robinson was sentenced to hang to his death for attempting to steal a boat. He was hanged on the gallows, off the back of a wagon, on the land where the Whaley House is today. Thomas Wayne apparently attended the hanging, but still bought the land. Later, he and his family would report hearing heavy footsteps in the house, which he would attribute to Yankee Jim. Anna Whaley also believed the house was haunted, calling it "cursed" and believing that it was responsible for the many tragedies befalling the family.

Ryan and Shane hold an EVP (electric voice phenomena) session in a room attributed to Violet. Ryan admits that he does not want to talk to Violet, as she scares him. Shane reaches out to Violet, saying they will be quiet, and that if she wants to communicate, she can "whisper it faintly into one of [their] ears, or, or something... or make Ryan's tummy grumble."

They also visit the theatre room, where Ryan invites the ghosts to "do a little dance for [him]," the back of the house, and the upper landing. In the courtroom, Ryan says he feels as though "[he's] being watched... but [he doesn't] mind it." Shane tells the spirits that "if [they're] angry... Ryan would would like to feel a shiver up his spine." Shane's flashlight goes out, and he is unable to turn it back on. Ryan senses there is creaking in the chair next to him, but explains by saying "maybe it's just creaking 'cause it's old wood." Ryan suddenly feels "weird" and "dizzy," and receives a shiver up his spine. When Shane sits in the same spot, he does not feel anything strange.

Ryan and Shane visit Yankee Jim's grave, where they express discontent over the fact that Yankee Jim was hanged for attempting to steal a boat. They speculate that Yankee Jim is "riding a speedboat in heaven," pay their respects, and then leave.

They also visit the parlor, and explain it is one of the most active areas in the house: not only is it the spot where Yankee Jim was hanged, it was where Violet died after shooting herself, and where Anna Whaley was seen by the policeman. Shane suggests that he and Ryan spend time separately in the parlor for five minutes at a time, which they do.

In his time alone, Shane remarks that "it's awfully quiet" and attempts to talk to Yankee Jim, saying, "I hear you're a fan of boats... I, myself, would love a boat!" He also gives Yankee Jim permission to "make it stink, or change the temperature... give [ Shane ] goosebumps... whatever [he's] feeling... maybe [he'd] like to... appear to [ Shane ] now and... sing a little song about boats."

In his time alone, Ryan addresses the ghosts, saying he is more scared of them than they are of him, and warns that if a ghost appears to him, he will "urinate all over [the] carpet." Ryan also says he does not want to see or talk to anyone. Later, he hears a whisper in his right ear from behind him. When he gets up to turn on his flashlight, there is no one there. Ryan and Shane then conclude their investigation, and leave.

Anna Whaley, Thomas Whaley, and their children: Frances Hinton, Thomas, Jr., George Hay Ringgold, Violet, and Corinne Lillian are all buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego, California, with the exception of Anna Amelia, who is buried in Modesto Citizens Cemetery, in Modesto, California. After being dedicated as a historic house on May 25, 1960, the Whaley House has received over 100,000 visitors per year. A countless number of those visitors report paranormal experiences as well. But whether the Whaley House is truly haunted by spirits will remain unsolved.

## Theories

There were no official theories in this episode.

## Quotes

* Shane: "Do you think, because you believe in all this stuff, that you have a higher chance of being a ghost?"
	+ Ryan: "Oh, yeah, I would think so. I would be a pleasant ghost, I'd, like, pour people tea and stuff like that."
	+ Shane: "What?"
	+ Ryan: "Or I'd do chores around the house. They'd be, like, 'Whoa! All my laundry's folded! How about that! Thanks, Ryan!' And I'd tip my cap and tap dance out of the room."
	+ Shane: "You sound fun!"
	+ Ryan: "Yeah, right? Doesn't that sound great, wouldn't you like to be haunted by me?"
* Ryan (narrating): "Bizarrely, the house also sports the rare instance of a ghost dog and a ghost cat, both of which the Whaleys owned at the time."
	+ Shane (laughing): "Then are there also ghost *ants?* Are there―is there, is there ghost *trees?"*
	+ Ryan: "No, there's no ghost trees, I'm sorry."
	+ Shane: "I―you―you're not telling me, someone's never walked through the forest and seen a tree, like, 'Huh? B-b-b-but, wait a minute, that tree was there, I swear, there was a tree there, a second ago!'"
	+ Ryan (laughing): "You know what, I changed my stance on ghost trees, that's actually pretty cool."
	+ Shane: "Ghost bacteria, et cetera."
	+ Ryan: "Stop it."
* Ryan: "How do you arrest a ghost? You can't. You handcuff them―"
	+ Shane: "I guess you would have to be a ghost cop."
	+ Ryan: "You know what, I rescind what i said earlier. I won't pour tea and, uh, fold clothes, I'll be a ghost cop."
	+ Shane: "Yeah. That's actually pretty badass."
	+ Ryan: "Ryan Bergara―"
	+ Ryan and Shane: "*Ghost cop.*"
* Ryan (narrating): "However, the final and most feared ghost of all is the ghost of Yankee Jim."
	+ Shane (laughing): "You better watch out, or Yankee Jim'll give you some *taffy!* Some folks say they hear him playing a jolly little kazoo tune in the middle of the night!"