Spooky Trip: San Diego's Whaley House

Whaley House, long ago.

Whaley House, not so long ago.

The Whaley House, a rather unassuming brick structure located in charming Old Town San Diego, has a reputation that belies its unremarkable facade: It is commonly known as "the most haunted house in America." Now I'm not sure how, exactly, one can quantify the "haunted-ness" of a locale, but in any case, I had been eager to check it out for years. When I heard that the Whaley House was offering free admission for Museum Day, I knew it was my chance to offset the cost of the 4-hour round trip car ride down to San Diego and back, and Mr. Spooky and I seized the opportunity.

No, we didn't see or hear any ghosts - surely there were too many tourists (and too much daylight) for that. But you know that feeling you get in some older buildings or other places that are said to be haunted - that feeling like the air itself is oppressive, like you're slightly seasick even though you're standing on level ground, that sense that history is closing in around you? That uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach? Yeah, parts of the Whaley House definitely had that - something that I also felt the first time I set foot on the decks of the Queen Mary.

After exploring the house itself, we walked around Old Town San Diego, ate the most amazing fish tacos and sweet, chewy churros I'd ever had in my life, and finished off by taking a stroll by the eerily lovely Victorian homes in nearby Heritage Park. If you're in southern California and you're looking for a fun and affordable spooky day trip, a jaunt to the Whaley House is highly recommended.

Spooky Trip: Bodie, CA.

When I was a kid, I was a little let down when I found out what a "ghost town" was. The name sounded delightfully ghoulish, but the reality was a little more complicated: Rather than towns full of ghosties, the term actually referred to places that were abandoned, frozen in time. As I grew up, I came around to the notion of the ghost town, and now I can safely say that I absolutely love them.

The first one I ever visited was Calico, a California ghost town on the way to Las Vegas, and it was amazing. According to many, however, Calico is not "authentic." It was owned by Walter Knott (of Knott's Berry Farm, of course!) and many of the buildings are replicas, rather than true relics. Thus, it was decided that I had to visit a real ghost town. Our choice: Bodie, California. Bodie has a rich and storied history that epitomizes how we think of "the Wild West," and I highly recommend a visit - but hurry, before the Governator closes the park! (Now that's scary.)

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our trip:

The road to Bodie.

Abandoned cars. (People lived in Bodie until the 1930s!)

The church, where a scroll featuring the Ten Commandments was stolen.

Horse-drawn hearse.

Two interior shots of the town mortuary.

The old schoolhouse.

The old stamp mill.

Yes, they celebrated Halloween in Bodie! The interior of the schoolhouse is enjoying an eternal October.

If you can make the trip, don't hesitate. Bodie is certainly a fascinating, spooky place.