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| True California Ghost Stories
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Winchester Mansion
San Jose, California
In 1884, Sarah L. Winchester, wife of William Wirt Winchester and heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune, began construction on what is now know as the Winchester mansion. The Victorian mansion was built on 162 acres, had seven stories, 160 rooms, modern heating and sewer systems, gas lights that operated by pressing a button, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces. There were two basements, over 1200 windows, 950 doors and staircases which led nowhere. On September 30, 1862, William Wirt Winchester and Sarah Pardee were married in New Haven, Connecticut. Four years later, Sarah gave birth to a daughter who they named Annie Pardee Winchester. A short time later, the first disaster struck for Sarah, as her daughter contracted an illness in which the body wastes away. Annie died shortly after contracting the illness. Sarah was so shattered by this event that she withdrew into herself and teetered on the edge of madness for some time. Sarah and William would never have another child. Not long after the death of her daughter another tragedy struck. William was struck down with pulmonary tuberculosis. He died in 1881. As a result of his death, Sarah inherited over twenty million dollars. Sarah grieved deeply for the loss of her husband and her child. A short time later, a friend suggested that Sarah speak to a Spiritualist medium about her loss. Acting upon her friend’s advice, Sarah sat with a medium who contacted the spirit of her dead husband. Through the medium her husband told her that there was a curse on her family because of all the lives that were taken with Winchester firearms. She was also told to sell her property in New Haven and head west. The medium said she must start a new life and build a home for herself and the spirits who have fallen from the gun. She was told that as long as she was building the house she would live and if she stopped she would die. Shortly after moving to the Santa Clara Valley in California, Sarah found a six room home under construction which she purchased and began her building. For the next 36 years she kept 22 craftsmen at work day and night. Sarah believed she could control the spirits who came to the house for evil purposes or to destroy her life. The house had been designed into a maze to confuse evil spirits. The third and most tragic event occurred within the house when the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 struck. The fireplace located in the Daisy Room where Sarah was sleeping the night of the earthquake collapsed, shifting the room trapping her inside. She was convinced the earthquake was a sign from the spirits who were furious that the construction was nearly completed. To ensure the construction on the house would never be finished, she decided to board up the front 30 rooms of the mansion. She also believed that in doing so the spirits who fell when portion of the house collapsed would be trapped inside forever. On September 4, 1922, Sarah died in her sleep at the age of 83. There have been a number of strange occurrences reported at the Winchester House. A couple can be seen lingering in the corner of one of the rooms, the sound of organ music can be heard emanating from the room where Sarah died. There have been reports of hearing footsteps, doors opening and slamming shut on their own; the smell of soup coming from a kitchen that hasn’t been used in years, windows that slam shut so hard the glass shatters. Cold spots are felt in Sarah’s bedroom and some people have even reported seeing the spirit of Sarah Winchester. Mysterious red moving balls of light are seen and doorknobs turn seemingly on their own.
Whaley House
San Diego, California
In 1849 during the gold rush, Thomas Whaley left New York City and headed for San Francisco. The Whaley family business was woodworking and hardware, and with his partner George Wardle he opened a store from which he sold items made in New York. Whaley was very successful in San Francisco. He erected a two story residence near the bay and established a prosperous store. In 1851 an arsonist torched his buildings on Montgomery Street so he relocated to Old Town San Diego. There, he setup many businesses and made enough money to return to New York to marry Anna DeLaunnay. When the newly married couple returned to San Diego Whaley purchased some property that was used as the public gallows and in 1856 he began construction on a single story granary. This had been the site of the hanging of the infamous Yankee Jim Robinson three years earlier. In 1857 Whaley had completed another building, a two story Greek revival style brick house in which he would later establish his general store. In 1868 the Tanner Troupe Theatre used the front upstairs bedroom of the house to operate their business. This lasted until 1869. The San Diego County Courthouse used the granary and three upstairs rooms in 1869 for storing records. In 1868, after the establishment of New Town San Diego, there was a conflict as to where the courthouse should be. Whaley wanted to keep it in Old Town. In 1871, while Thomas Whaley was away on business, his home was raided and courthouse documents were taken while his wife was being held at gunpoint. In 1882, Violet Whaley, one of Thomas’ daughters, married and after two years was divorced. The divorce humiliated Violet and she fell into a great depression. In 1885 she shot herself through the heart. For the next few years after his daughter’s death, Thomas ran a real estate office and built a home for his family in downtown San Diego. In 1890 after a long struggle with health issues Thomas Whaley died. After Thomas’ death, the old Whaley house fell into disrepair until Francis Whaley restored it. Francis lived there along with Thomas’ widow, a musician named George and a woman named Lillian until 1913. That is when Anna died in the house. In 1914, Francis and Lillian also died in the house. The house has been listed by the U.S Department of Commerce as an authentic haunted house as it is now home to several ghosts one of them being the spirit of Yankee Jim. The hanging back in 1852 did not go very smoothly. The gallows were made for people of average height. Yankee Jim was a tall man, so when the pulled the wagon out from under him his feet touched the ground and he strangled to death, proclaiming his innocence. People have reported feeling their throat tightening and breathing restricted while in the house. The ghost of Thomas Whaley has been spotted on the second floor. In the room that was leased by the city a chain swings on its own and heavy footsteps can be heard tromping around upstairs above this room. There have been reports of cold spots in the area where Anna was held at gunpoint. There are sounds of “old time” music emanating from one of the rooms along with the smell of a woman’s perfume and an old cigar. Lights in the house turn off and on seemingly on there own. A young girl, who died tragically in the kitchen, has been seen in that room and outside the house. Dishes in the kitchen move on there own. It has also been reported that the windows would open and close on their own, sometimes smashing, and a figure can be seen in the upstairs window from the outside of the house late at night. The cries of a baby can be heard coming from young Thomas Whaley’s bedroom. He was the first to die in the house and it is believed that his spirit is still there. The spirit of the Whaley’s dog has also been seen entering and leaving this room and also outside in the yard. There is a rocking chair in one of the bedrooms upstairs that rocks on its own and people have reported seeing faces, other than their own, looking at them from the mirror.
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