Whaley House — America's Most Haunted Home Authenticated by Government

The Whaley House in San Diego, California was built in 1857 on the site of a public gallows where a man named Yankee Jim Robinson was hanged in 1852. The house served multiple purposes over the years including as a courtroom, a granary, a polling place, and a family home for the Whaley family, several of whom died within its walls.

The US Commerce Department has officially designated the Whaley House as one of only two authenticated haunted houses in the United States. The designation is based on the volume and consistency of documented paranormal reports spanning over a century.

The ghost of Yankee Jim is reportedly heard and occasionally seen walking the halls, his heavy footsteps described by guides and visitors as if a large man were pacing the upper floor. Thomas Whaley himself has been reported in the upstairs study, and his wife Anna appears in the garden. The couple's daughter Violet, who committed suicide in the house in 1885, is one of the most active presences.

The house is now a museum that conducts regular paranormal investigations. Staff have documented hundreds of reports from independent visitors describing the same entities in the same locations. A 2005 television investigation captured what appeared to be a full-body apparition on thermal imaging cameras.