Do you believe in the paranormal? Visiting these destinations may leave you feeling spooked. With long records of reported ghostly encounters, these historic sites are considered the most haunted in California.
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The Whaley House
The Whaley House was built in 1857 by a businessman named Thomas Whaley who wanted to move his family from New York to San Diego. The two-story Greek Revival was the first of its kind in San Diego and one of the grandest in Southern California. In addition to housing the Whaley family and the Whaley General Store, other businesses also rented rooms because of its prime location in the center of town. Over the years the building held the first commercial theater, a billiard hall, the County Courthouse, a polling place, and more.
While the Whaley’s were financially fortunate, they suffered a series of misfortunes over the years. The youngest child, Thomas Jr., died of scarlet fever. The Whaley Store caught fire and was severely damaged shortly after. The Whaleys moved to San Francisco for ten years before returning to repair the house and begin new business ventures. Shortly after returning, the eldest daughter, Violet, was wed to a man who left her on her honeymoon. He was a con artist only interested in obtaining a large dowry. Returning in social disgrace, Violet fell into a depression and took her own life three years later. Again following a tragedy, the family vacated the home. It fell into despair for several decades until the oldest child, Francis, refurbished it and opened it as a museum of local history.
The Whaley family believed their house to be haunted immediately after moving in. Thomas Whaley even gave an interview to the local newspaper, The San Diego Union Tribune, saying he often heard the footsteps of a large man in boots throughout the house. Whaley believed it to be the ghost of a man named James “Yankee Jim” Robinson who was hanged on the property after being sentenced to death for stealing a boat. Thomas Whaley not only knew the property was previously used by the county for hangings, but had even attended the hanging of “Yankee Jim” when he was considering buying the property. He thought the man he saw that day fit the physical size of the footsteps he heard. Visitors of the Whaley House still occasionally recall hearing these footsteps today. The ghosts of Whaley family members have also been sighted over the years, most often those of Thomas, Thomas Jr., and Violet.
The Whaley House is still open to the public for tours and paranormal activity is still reported. The Travel Channel’s America’s Most Haunted even called the Whaley House the most supernatural place in the United States. Ghost tours are offered at night at the end of every month, with more frequent tours in October.
Alcatraz Island
The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary served as a high security prison from 1934-1963. Located on an island just over a mile off the coast of San Francisco, the United States government considered Alcatraz to be escape-proof because of the strong winds and choppy waters of the surrounding San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz earned the reputation of being brutal and inhumane with harsh treatment from guards and violence among inmates. While it is debated exactly who is haunting the prison, paranormal investigators agree they are inmates who died within the prison walls and are attempting to seek revenge for their suffering.
Prison guards were the first to experience strange occurrence at Alcatraz, recalling sounds of cell doors slamming in empty halls, the smell of smoke or cigars, and distant voices calling out. Occasionally visitors will experience similar hauntings. A recurring claim is the sound of someone strumming a banjo. This is attributed to be the ghost of infamous gangster Al Capone. He spent his last days playing the instrument in the bathroom to avoid being killed by other inmates.
Alcatraz Island is now a National Park and one of San Francisco’s largest tourist attractions. The penitentiary as well as other attractions, such as the guard’s houses, the West Coast’s oldest operating lighthouse, and tide pools are also open to explore.
Winchester Mystery House
Following the death of her husband in 1884, Sarah Winchester inherited over 20 million dollars and nearly 50 percent of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. She moved from New York to California, purchasing a farm house in San Jose that would be under near constant renovation until her death in 1922. Some sources claim Sarah Winchester was instructed by a psychic channeling her late husband’s spirit to build a house for herself and the spirits of those who died by Winchester rifles. Others claim she moved for a fresh start and was building the house not for the spirits, but to escape them.
Regardless of her reasons, Sarah Winchester directed the construction of what became a seven-story mansion with no architect or master plan. Following the 1906 earthquake, the house was badly damaged and repaired into a final structure that was 4-stories tall with 160 rooms. The massive mansion has 40 bedrooms, 47 fireplaces, 47 staircases, six kitchens, two ballrooms, three elevators, two basements, and 13 bathrooms. Staff of Mrs. Winchester said she slept in a different bedroom every night and only used one bathroom, using the other rooms as decoys to confuse the spirits.
The Winchester House was a local sensation over the course of its construction. Following Sarah Winchester’s death, it was sold outside the family and turned into a museum. People flocked to see the peculiar house and the surrounding property and gardens were turned into Winchester Park. Stories of ghostly encounters by those who visited the property began to spread and soon the Winchester House had gained national attention as a haunted attraction. Magician Harry Houdini visited on Halloween in 1924 with intentions of dispelling rumors. Instead, he left saying he now had more questions than answers and gave the house the name “The Winchester Mystery House.”
The Winchester Mystery House and Winchester Park are still operational today. Even those who don’t believe in the paranormal will find the architecture of the building both fascinating and eerie. Hallways are like mazes, staircases lead to nowhere, and spider-web windows and the number thirteen are a recurring pattern throughout the design.
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