Walk San Diego's most haunted locations. 13 stops, self-guided. 3 stops free. No guide, no schedule — just you and the dark.
"Yankee Jim" Robinson was hanged on September 18, 1852, on the plot of land where Thomas Whaley would build his family home five years later. Whaley knew. He built anyway. The Whaley House earned its reputation as America's most haunted house the hard way. On November 24, 1892, a woman checked into the Hotel del Coronado under a false name; five days later she was found dead on an exterior staircase, and no one has solved it since. El Campo Santo Cemetery, established in 1849, has graves paved over by the street — and the dead make their displeasure known. This self-guided tour covers 13 free stops across San Diego's Old Town, Gaslamp Quarter, and Coronado, where sunshine meets centuries of unfinished business.
The Horton Grand Hotel is actually two hotels — the Horton Grand and the Brooklyn Hotel — dismantled brick by brick in 1986 and reassembled into a sin...
guiding ships safely to shore. This historic beacon has weathered storms and time itself, yet whispers of its past still linger in the air. pacing the...
"Yankee Jim" Robinson was hanged on this very ground on September 18, 1852 — five years before Thomas Whaley built his family home here. Whaley knew a...
The Cosmopolitan has operated under many names since Juan Bandini built the original adobe casa in 1827, but death has been a constant tenant. Albert ...
On November 24, 1892, a young woman checked into the Hotel del Coronado under the name Lottie A. Bernard. Five days later, on November 29, her body wa...
William Heath Davis shipped this prefabricated saltbox house from Portland, Maine, around Cape Horn in 1850, making it the oldest surviving structure ...
Ulysses S. Grant Jr. envisioned a grand hotel worthy of his father's legacy. The eleven-story US Grant Hotel opened on October 15, 1910, at a cost of ...
José Antonio Estudillo, commander of the San Diego Presidio, built this sprawling twelve-room adobe around a central courtyard in 1829. The Estudillo ...
The San Diego ghost tour includes 13 documented haunted locations.
The first 3 stops are completely free — no account required. To unlock all 13 stops, a History Nearby premium subscription is $4.99/month or $49.99/year.
No. This is a self-guided walking tour. Each stop includes the address, a map pin, and the full haunting story. Walk at your own pace, start anytime, and take any route you like.
Plan for approximately 2.5 hours. This accounts for walking between stops and reading each haunting story. You can also split it across multiple evenings.
The most visited stop on our San Diego tour is Horton Grand Hotel at The Horton Grand Hotel, 311, Island Avenue.
3 stops free in San Diego. No guide, no schedule — walk at your own pace after dark.
Last updated February 22, 2026. Researched by the History Nearby editorial team.