Whaley House — haunted_place in San Diego, CA
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Whaley House

Haunted Place · Historic Building · San Diego, CA

4.5Google· 2462 Reviews

4.5Google· 2462 reviewsRead reviews

Next open

Open year round · Hours vary

Admission

See website

Location

2476 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA 92110

Added by HCMapsLast updated September 10, 2026
Whaley House atmosphere

The story

About Whaley House

The Whaley House in San Diego is one of California’s best-known historic homes and has long been associated with ghost stories and paranormal reports. Built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley, the brick residence later served several purposes, including a family home, courthouse, theater, and general store. Its location also added to its darker reputation, as the property was built near the site where the notorious thief “Yankee Jim” Santiago had been executed years earlier. Over time, visitors, staff, and paranormal investigators have reported unexplained footsteps, voices, cold spots, shadowy figures, and apparitions inside the house. Some accounts describe members of the Whaley family, while others are linked to the property’s earlier history and former uses. The Whaley House now operates as a museum in San Diego’s Old Town, offering daytime historical tours along with haunted evening experiences and paranormal investigations. Its combination of preserved 19th-century history and generations of reported activity has made it one of the most famous haunted landmarks on the West Coast.

What you'll find

Reported Activity

  • Apparitions
  • Cold Spots
  • Footsteps/Sounds
  • Voices/EVP

What visitors are saying

★ 4.5 on Google · 2462 reviews · A selection of reviews provided by Google

Sharon B

a month ago

We went here on a Monday evening for their 5pm tour with a docent. It's great to walk around Old Town to visit the souvenir shops beforehand too. We were able to find a parking spot after driving around a bit so buffer extra time for that. We had purchase our tickets in advance online and that was easy to do through their website. Check in was a breeze at the museum store. This is my fourth time doing this tour. It's a fun tour to bring out of town guests to. There is the history of Old San Diego with a little bit of haunting spice to it. This time we were with a young man who was doing stuff to make us jump which was annoying. My last few tour guides offered more info about the house. For example, they spoke more about how the stage was tilted, the performances there, etc rather than tell us a few details about the troupe renting the space and then leaving is to explore the upstairs on our own.

Review from Google

Tabitha Keifer

6 months ago

My daughter and I love history, especially anything with “haunted” attached to it. This was a great tour and the tour guide was awesome! Doesn’t take that long to get through, but lots of fun facts about the history of the house is shared.

Review from Google

Kaelyn Dodds

a month ago

Had a great experience at Whaley House for an evening tour! Our guide, Ghoulie Julie, was amazing and had everyone on their toes the entire time. Might have captured someone watching us from the entry into the parlor room......had some strange upper back pain standing in there too. Overall awesome experience and recommend if you're in town!

Review from Google

Sandy Ryan

3 months ago

Got clear noises coming from upstairs on our tour but when our guide checked we were all accounted for and down already and no other guides were in the house. I have been many times but there has always been too many people to hear distinct noises and get real-time reactions from the guide from any noise so that was cool. We visited May 20th 2026 and Maud was great.

Review from Google

Chris Caro

2 months ago

The evening tour was awesome. Maud ( our guide) was great. She brought the history to life. The house is incredible and the architecture and artifacts are all fascinating. I definitely recommend taking the tour

Review from Google

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San Diego, CA

2476 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA 92110

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