I used to work across the street at The Olde Town Mexican Cafe. I was 17, so it must have been 1990. I remeber one night, after getting off work around midnight, I decided to go across the street to the house. Oddly enough, I grew up in San Diego (now reside in Sacramento) and had never heard of the Whaley House until I worked across the street. I digress...I went to the house, walked around the outside, peering in where I could. On the backside, through a lightly laced curtain window, I saw what appeared to be an old German war helmet come off of some sort of shelving to the back right (what would have actually been the front of the house.) It turned toward my direction and headed toward me, I swore I saw a face bearing that helmet. Shocked, and a bit derailed, I left. I had never been in the house before, so I do not know of it's contents, and I have not been in there since that time. Am I crazy? Has anyone else seen this, or something similar?
Last Edited by Jade73 on Nov 04, 2004 1:16 AM
I am so glad that someone else has experienced the "German Soldier." Honestly, I thought he was some sort of a prop that the Whaley folks put out to scare people. Here's my experience: I arrived at the Whaley house in the morning before it opened, so I decided to go sit in the back yard. As it turned 10 am I decide to go buy a ticket and on the way over I glanced inside the back window. To my utter amazement I saw a soldier with what looked like an old WW1 German helmet on, just standing very still and stoically. I also remember that he had a rather large handle bar moustache. He was too frightneing to keep looking at, so I walked on! I tried to rationalize him as a life-sized dummy that was stored in the house. I figured that he was put out at night to scare trespassers away. I also expected to see him in the house on the tour, and inside was looking to find him "stashed" somewhere in a room. But your story has given credence to the idea that this really was some kind of creepy specter. Another thing: at the top of the infamous stairs I became very dizzy, nauseous, and had a pain in my upper abdomen. It was a very unpleasant feeling, and thank God the docent was a very nice lady who engaged me in some reassuring conversation.
The German is a not too well-known story of Whaley House. As I recall from our 8 year continuous investigation, he only was reported twice that we verified. I had almost forgotten him. I'm glad you found someone to comfort you. Such sightings can be a bit disturbing if you are unprepared for them (or for that matter, even if you are!)
Wow! Thank you for your input! I still can't believe what I saw, and I haven't told a soul besides you guys because it's such a bizarre sighting. Do you think he was a boarder? Why does he manifest himself so rarely? Does everyone see him wearing the helmet with the pointy spire at the top? The helmet could also be Prussian, and there were a few Prussians in California at that time. I do not claim to be psychic, however, never in my life have I "felt" so many trapped souls then at the Whaley House. I get the impression that these people can't leave, which is so unlike many other "haunted" locations, where souls choose to stay out of attraction to the location. I feel that the Los Rios district is a location where you see residual hauntings but truly no one is trapped there. That is a happy place. But for the Whaley House, all I feel is terrible sadness. I look forward to your comments.
Can't recall if we ever got to the level of detail of the background of the individual you mention.
The 'feeling' of Whaley House could be due to a number of factors. I personally have noticed a change since the late 1990s, as have others. The Whaleys themselves have made their opinions known. What you experienced is consistent with their expressions.
If you live in San Diego you might want to check out a couple of hotels in the area. Not many know this, but Horton House has quite a history. It has been renovated, but the back section of the hotel appears to be intact. Often when you find intact fabric of a place, you'll find activity. Another is the Hotel Del Coronado. Besides the legendary Beautiful Stranger whose story could (and has) consumed several books, there are apparently hundreds of others present there ranging from the 19th century right through a few decades ago. For example, we encountered one individual who passed in 1969 there. His story has been verified, even though he was a 'drop-in' communicator.
Whaley House is busy though, make no mistake about it. Many people lived there, with great drama, laughter and tragedy, all of which often seem to make for interesting phenomena.
