Ghost Tours: More Adventures in California

HangmanAnother interesting part of my holiday was  the Old San Diego Ghost Hunting Tour.  Our guide, Michael Brown, was very knowledgeable and used EVP and EMF devices throughout the tour.

We started at the Whaley house which is considered to be one of the most haunted houses in America.  The house was owned by Thomas and Anna Whaley.  Their daughter, Violet, had committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest.  She was only 22.

When we walked up to the house, my first thought was, I don’t like this home.  Then, as we walked to the back of the home, my throat started to ache.  It felt scratchy and sore and it became hard to swallow.  I started to develop a headache.

Michael began telling us about the history of the house and described how the daughter had shot herself.  By this time, I felt very off and was steadily getting worse but I kept thinking   That can’t be it.  It has to do with my throat.  Then Michael  told us that Mr. Whaley had bought the land for only $1.50 – it used to be the gallows.  In fact, one time a man took 45 minutes to die there from hanging.  I had an aha! moment.  That was the connection.

CemetaryOur next stop took us to the cemetery and as we walked around, Michael indicated that certain gravesites will not allow your camera to work.  That did happen to us.  My partner, Jon, was trying to take a picture at a little girl’s gravesite and he could not get his camera to work.  Some other spirits were more willing and we were eventually able to get the picture you see here.

We also went to the Cosmopolitan Hotel which was featured in the tv series Ghost Adventures.  According to rumour the original property owner, Mr. Bandini, killed his wife and buried her where the hotel now stands.  Apparently the wife disappeared without a trace.

CosmopolitanI did see a woman walking around in the bedroom that he took us to.  I cannot remember the room number, but I did see a woman there dressed in 1800s attire.  Her clothing was dark and I felt that she was an unhappy woman who could also be quite harsh.

In all, if you get a chance to go to San Diego, you should definitely check out Michael’s tour – with so much history in the area, there is a lot of spiritual activity and Michael is a great host.

As we get closer to Halloween, check back for some real life ghost stories closer to home!