SAN DIEGO – The tour guide asked me to stand in a certain spot in the upstairs hallway, close my eyes and wait for the paranormal energy to take over.
I sincerely followed her suggestion since it had happened to her so many times before in that same spot. I have always approached such things with an open mind whenever visiting a place that is considered haunted. And the place where I was visiting on Saturday, Sept. 26 is one of the most famous haunted houses in the world.
Located in San Diego's historic Old Town, the Whaley House is one of the city's and southern California's most important historical landmarks. Built in the late 1850s, the brick structure was for many years the home for the Thomas Whaley family. During its long history, it also housed a granary, the county courthouse, San Diego's first commercial theater, Thomas Whaley's general store, a ballroom, a school and a polling place. It is central to the history of beautiful San Diego, just as the Carson House is central to the history of McDowell County.
But this Victorian era house has acquired a reputation that is unlike few others in the nation. The Travel Channel declared the Whaley House to be the "No. 1 most haunted house in the United States" and it has been featured on The History Channel. The alleged hauntings in the house have been featured in numerous other television documentaries, books and magazine articles since it first opened as a museum in 1960. Famous psychics and paranormal investigators have checked out the site hoping to contact its restless spirits. When I was a boy, I first heard about the place through reading the 1970s book "Haunted Houses." Since then, I have always been intrigued by this place and its sinister reputation.
Some would say that the Whaley House was destined to be haunted. That is because the house was built on the site where criminals in San Diego were hanged for their crimes.  Full Article