A merchant watched a man hang on a plot of San Diego land, then built his family's dream home on that very spot. Generations of grief followed, and visitors say the family never fully left.

EPISODE NOTES

● The Whaley House in Old Town San Diego is the oldest brick building in Southern California and was officially recognized as haunted by the U.S. Commerce Department in 1960.

● Documented phenomena: Thomas Whaley's apparition on the staircase, Anna's French perfume in the parlor, a crying baby, the family dog, a woman in the courtroom, and the choking sensation near the old gallows point.

● Violet Whaley's 1885 death by suicide inside the house is part of the documented family record.

● Lillian Whaley lived in the house until her death in 1953, having never left.

● Scripture: Joshua 24:15 (KJV).

SOURCES

● Whaley House Museum historical record and Thomas Whaley's journals

● The 1960 U.S. Commerce Department haunted-house designation

● Sybil Leek's published account of her investigation

● Regis Philbin's televised visits and interviews

● San Diego Union-Tribune historical archives