The Haunting of Whaley House (2012): Indie Horror Movie with a Real-Life Twist

The Haunting of Whaley House is about a girl named Penny who works as a tour guide at a Haunted House in California. Penny doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she starts to get worried when the tourists who come to the house have weird experiences. Her boss tells her not to let anyone into the house at night or call out to the ghosts. But, what does Penny do? She let’s a group of film students sneak into the haunted house in order to try to disprove it for thier dissertation. They discover that there might be more to the legend of The Haunting of Whaley House.

Buttonface Says…

I’m either getting old, have seen too many movies or, most likely, both…

I’m starting to get a little confused as to if I’ve seen a movie or not. I had this issue with this movie.

Turns out I hadn’t, but the marketing for the movie suffered from “coattail” marketing. The cover, the description, and such all seemed to be modeled after other popular and/or successful horror movies. Once I got past that and settled in to watch, it ended up being pretty cool.

It’s your typical haunted house flick. That’s not to say it’s boring, it just fits the genre well. It should, because it is based on a real location and events. But, don’t get too excited. For some reason it was filmed at the historic Bembridge House in Long Beach, CA instead of the actual Whaley House.

There’s a lot of subtle ghost ambiance but, not a lot of gore or violent parts. It does have a fun interesting twist of having teenager humor at the beginning… sorry, my old man disillusionment that “this is all the world has to offer” is showing…

All in all, I was ultimately impressed by this film. The cinematography was very good and the story was interesting enough. I always find it odd that the acting in these low budget rehash movies is very shady at the beginning, but by the time the scares start to happen shit gets real. The actors seem to be decent at the freak out scenes but, not so hot at the dialogue. I don’t imagine that I would be a good actor, but I would have guessed it easier to deliver a line than to freak out like a ghost is eating your face or whatever.

In the end this movie gets a minus for acting in the beginning, a plus for acting in the end, and a plus for dialogue. So that puts it on the plus side… kinda. The beginning acting might get two strikes.

The Haunting of Whaley House is worth checking out… I guess. You have to remember that, like most things, it is what it is. For a low budget, indie, ghost story movie it clocks in somewhere way above The Tooth Fairy and way below The Innkeepers.

The Whaley House is a real place

What happened at the Whaley House?

Tucked away in Old Town San Diego, the Whaley House carries a reputation that borders on legend—some even call it America’s Most Haunted House®. Long before its foundation was ever poured, the land itself was steeped in grim history. It was here that Yankee Jim Robinson, a convicted horse thief, met his end on the gallows—a shadow that seemed to cling to the place even as Thomas Whaley laid plans to build his family home atop it.

Not long after the Whaleys settled in, sorrow struck. Their infant son, Thomas Jr., succumbed to scarlet fever within the very walls that were supposed to shelter new beginnings. Since then, countless visitors and caretakers have spoken of uncanny sounds: the soft patter of unseen feet, the distant sob of a child, and, eerily enough, bursts of faint laughter echoing from empty rooms.

Others insist they’ve felt something heavier—a presence, maybe two. Thomas and Anna Whaley are said to linger still, joined perhaps by other souls caught in the web of the house’s troubled past. Lights flicker for no reason, crystal chandeliers sway gently in still air, and ghostly shapes have been spotted gliding up the stairwell. Whether you’re a skeptic or a true believer, the Whaley House has a way of unsettling even the most rational minds—a lasting monument to the restless echoes of San Diego’s past.

Pictures from 2012’s The Haunting of Whaley House