San Diego Whaley House Museum – Haunted or Not?

Like millions of other people around the globe, we have watched many TV shows, movies and documentaries on paranormal activity. Having had a few experiences ourselves this has been a family interest for several years. We often laugh and tease one another during our travels if we are visiting a place that is supposed to be haunted. Recently, we visited Old San Diego and our flexible itinerary included a visit to the Whaley House Museum. We were fairly surprised when we read a sign that stated the Whaley House Museum had been featured on TV as a truly haunted location. We decided to visit the other Old Town offerings, restaurants, candy store, and shops before deciding whether or not to visit this haunted, historic location which required a small admission to enter.

We enjoyed time shopping and stopped to read the historic photos and information provided for visitors. The town square and the olive oil shop were favorites. The people were extremely friendly and we were blessed by beautiful weather. But the question still nagged my brain – Should we visit the Whaley House Museum or merely snap a few photos outside to share with our family? We were already there, so we decided to take a chance and learn something about this family of early settlers and the history of the house and grounds. After all, neither of us had watched any paranormal shows about this specific location so we wouldn’t be carrying any preconceived notions about the place. Right? Right!

We purchased our tickets and made our way to the museum entrance. As always, we snapped photos and read through the information provided for visitors. A few of the museum staff answered our many questions and pointed out a few additional items of interest The visit was truly like walking back in time. The furniture, musical instruments, and toys were fascinating to look at, but the two rooms that really stood out to us were the theater and courtroom.  

Inside the theater we snapped a few photos and sat down in one of the chairs, talking about what it must have been like to have a small theater in your home. The window was open and there was a light breeze causing the curtains to billow. At one point, my mother commented that she saw someone at the rear of the theater, behind the curtains. I jumped up to take a look, but we were alone in the room. Paranormal? Probably not, but it gave us a moment of respectful laughter. Next we made our way downstairs to visit the courtroom. 

Many lives had been changed in this room. What verdicts and associated consequences had been handed down to the guilty? Could emotional energy still linger here? I pondered these questions as I snapped a few photos, feeling frustrated that I couldn’t get the entire courtroom in the pictures. But, wait! I own a phone that can take panoramic photos. So I quickly changed the camera settings and captured a few panoramic images, then snapped several other photos around the courtroom and in the few rooms that were attached to it. 

As our day came to a close, I opened my phone to review the photos. Interestingly enough, one of the panoramic photos did not turn out very well. The lighting and color were definitely off and deep shadows filled the courtroom without any reasonable explanation. Normally in a room with very low light, such as the one above, the photos come out just fine.

The picture in question is below. What do you think? Paranormal or not?

When we returned home and shared that photo, several people commented that they weren’t surprised, coming from the Whaley House Museum. Was anything paranormal about the photo? It certainly wasn’t typical, but paranormal? It’s hard to say, but I now check my photos before I leave a location to make sure the images are of good quality. My phone had never created an image like the one in the courtroom, nor has it produced one since then.  

Our visit was definitely worth the time to tour such a historic location and I would highly recommend a stop there while visiting San Diego in the future. There are haunted tours for those who are interested in a more ghostly experience. And, who knows, perhaps you’ll capture something truly out of the ordinary in your photos and video too. Happy walking!