SAN DIEGO – September 11, 2008. Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), which operates the historic Whaley House Museum in Old Town, has some “spirited” fun in store for visitors this Halloween season. With extended hours, period lighting and music, exclusive guided tours, a lecture on local cemeteries, and after-hours ghost hunts, guests will be sure to “get their ghost on” at the Whaley House.

“The Whaley House is one of the most actively haunted mansions in the world today,” says famed ghost hunter Hans Holzer, who has written more than 120 books on the subject. Its reputation has brought visitors from around the globe and in recent years has lead to numerous televised ghost investigations by shows such as Most Haunted and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2005 Life Magazine declared it “the most haunted house in America.” Spirits believed to inhabit the historic home include Thomas Whaley and his wife Anna, their daughter Violet, their great-granddaughter Marion, their fox terrier Dolly Varden, and of course “Yankee Jim” Robinson.

Robinson, a desperado convicted of attempted grand larceny, was hanged on the grounds where the Whaley House now stands in September of 1852, a few years before the building was constructed. Legend has it that his spirit never left the spot where the gallows stood and now roams the halls of the Whaley House.

The Whaley House was built by San Diego pioneer Thomas Whaley to house his growing family and his general mercantile store, and is believed to be the oldest two story brick building in Southern California. When completed in 1857, The San Diego Union called it the most elegant home in San Diego. The building served at various times as the county seat and courthouse, San Diego’s first commercial theater, a granary, store, kindergarten and Sunday school, party venue and ballroom, polling place, and meeting place for both the City Council and County Board of Supervisors. Former California state senator James Mills has said that the Whaley House “has sheltered more history than any other building in the city.”

Visit the Whaley House this Halloween for some hauntingly good fun!

Halloween Schedule

Events that require no advance reservations:

Friday, October 24 & Saturday, October 25
Open 10am-Midnight

Monday, & Tuesday, October 27-28
Open 10am-10pm

Wednesday, October 29
Open 5pm-10pm

Thursday, October 30
Open 10am-10pm

Friday, October 31
Open 10am-5pm

Daytime Admission (Before 5pm)
$6 for adults; $5 for seniors (55+); $4 for children (3-12); 2 and under are free.
Evening Admission (5pm to closing)
$10 for adults; $5 for children (3-12); 2 and under are free.

Halloween Night Admission (5pm-Midnight)
Period music, historic lighting, and tales of paranormal encounters are sure to raise your spirits.
$15 per person

Special Events that require advance ticket purchase:

Due to limited attendance, advance purchase for the following events only is strongly recommended. Tickets for these events only may be purchased online at www.whaleyhouse.org, by calling 619-297-7511, or in person at the SOHO Museum Shop, 2476 San Diego Avenue in Old Town.

Whaley House Ghost Hunt
Friday, October 24 & Saturday, October 25 (12:30 am – 1:30 am, after museum closes at midnight Friday and Saturday)
Join the Whaley House Museum staff and the San Diego Ghost Hunters for an exclusive hour-long paranormal investigation of “America’s Most Haunted.” Attendance is limited to 20 each night, so advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.
$25 per person.

Exclusive Oil Lamp Tours
Monday, October 27, Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29 (10:30pm-11:30pm)
Join us for a special hour-long, guided oil lamp tour of the haunted Whaley House, and learn about the history and the mystery of one of San Diego’s most historic and most haunted attractions. Attendance is limited to 20 each night, so advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.
$25 per person.

Third Thursdays Author Series Presents Cemeteries of San Diego
Thursday, October 16 (6pm-7:30 pm)
At the Old Adobe Chapel, 3963 Conde Street, one block from the Whaley House in Old Town San Diego.  $15 for lecture only; $25 for lecture and book in advance; $35 for lecture and book at door. To make reservations for this event, please call 619-297-7511.

Coauthors Seth Mallios and David M. Caterino will present a photographic record of the city’s historic graveyards over the past three centuries. They present the results of the San Diego Gravestone Project and include the discovery of many lost San Diego cemeteries that have been unceremoniously erased from the current landscape. San Diego has a rich and unique cultural history that can be effectively told through the commemoration of its dead. Local cemeteries throughout the city reflect San Diego’s multiethnic cultural dynamism. Graveyards, with their individually detailed and hauntingly beautiful monuments, offer an unrivaled historic yet continuous glimpse at the essence of our diverse community.

Seth Mallios is Associate Professor and Chair of the Anthropology Department at San Diego State University, and David Caterino, a Registered Professional Archaeologist, is the coordinator of the South Coastal Information Center, the archaeological archive for San Diego County. Volume II will be published by the date of this lecture and both will be available for sale and autographing.

Purchase tickets at the SOHO Museum Shop at 2476 San Diego Avenue, right next door to the Whaley House. Each Halloween, the SOHO Museum Shop boasts one of San Diego’s largest selections of reproduction vintage Halloween collectibles. Details about the Whaley House and all events can be found at www.whaleyhouse.org.