Welcome to Haunted Road, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky.

Listener discretion is advised.

Thomas Whaley seemed destined to be a historic figure in one way or another.

His ancestors arrived from Northern Ireland in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1722.

They specialized in business, particularly gun smithing.

His great-grandfather played a role in both the Boston Tea Party and the Revolutionary War

by arming soldiers in quartering General Washington for a time.

Thomas was born in New York City on October 5, 1823. Before Thomas was 10 years old, his father died.

In his will, he stipulated that Thomas would have a robust education. He would attend boarding

school, university, and post-grad studies with a tutor in Europe. But another source has a different

take, saying Thomas's mother Rachel noticed the aptitude her son showed for business so she

decided that he would be given the best possible education available at that time in order to one day

manage the affairs of the family. In 1849, Thomas joined the Rushtick, California in pursuit of gold.

As a businessman, Thomas set up a shop in San Francisco where he sold goods to prospectors.

At the time, he wrote to his mother,

the circumstances under which I am going are indeed very favorable and should I not succeed,

the cause can only be attributed to myself. That certainly sounds like foreshadowing.

In 1851, an arsonist burned down his store.

Little did Thomas know that this was just the beginning of a series of unfortunate tragedies and

deaths that would be fall Mr. Waley and his family. Events that many believe have culminated in a

home so haunted, employees have quit mid shift, tourists have fled the property, and many refuse

to even set foot within its doors. So join me as we head to Sunny San Diego and into the corridors

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