Ghosts, Gravestones, and Mexican Hot Chocolate: Our Spooky Night in San Diego

If you’re looking for a night filled with eerie history, ghostly tales, and just enough spine-tingling moments to make you clutch your ghoul gang for dear life, then the Ghosts & Gravestones Trolley Tour in San Diego is a must.

We braved the haunted streets, armed with Mexican hot chocolate and a determination to make it through the tour without embarrassing ourselves too much. Spoiler: Mixed results.

Pro Tips for Your Paranormal Adventure

• Arrive 30 Minutes Early – They say spirits linger in this town, but the trolley? It definitely doesn’t.
• BYO Snacks & Drinks (No Booze!) – You can bring food and non-alcoholic drinks onboard, which was a lifesaver because it got a little chilly. (A ghostly chill? Maybe.)
• Pre-Trolley Pit Stop – The closest restrooms are around the corner on the third floor—highly recommended before the tour because getting spooked on a full bladder is not ideal.

A Hauntingly Good Start: Mexican Hot Chocolate at Santos Café

Before diving into the world of the undead, we took a quick detour down the street to Santos Café, where we grabbed Mexican hot chocolate—aka, the liquid gold that kept us warm and happy. If you’ve never had it, imagine the richest, most cinnamony cup of cocoa that ever graced your taste buds. Delicioso.

Kelsi: This is the most indulgent, soul-warming drink I’ve ever had.

Katherine: My soul was cold. Now it’s wrapped in a cinnamon hug.

Meet Our Ghoulish Guides: Myra & Jesse Shepard

Our driver, Myra, safely chauffeured us through San Diego’s most haunted sites, while our tour guide, playing the role of Jesse Shepard, regaled us with ghostly tales.

Fun Fact: Jesse Shepard was a real-life musician and spiritualist who once lived in the Villa Montezuma, which is open on weekends if you want to see where séances and Victorian-era drama once unfolded.

Katherine: Nothing says “we’re in for a night” like being greeted by a tour guide who fully embodies a ghost from San Diego’s past.

Kelsi: *wide-eyed nods in agreement

Also, in case you were wondering: No jump scares. Just chilling ghost stories, eerie locations, and an occasional moment where you question if that cold breeze was just the wind… or something else.

En Route Revelations: Old Town’s Haunted History

As our trolley rattled toward the first stop, Jesse, our spectral storyteller, delved into Old Town’s rich past, painting a vivid picture of its haunted heritage.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel: Spirits in Residence

As we drove through town, our guide turned our attention to the Cosmopolitan Hotel, located at 2660 Calhoun St, San Diego, CA 92110. This landmark is steeped in history and mystery. Originally constructed between 1827 and 1829 by Don Juan Bandini as a single-story adobe home, it was later transformed into a two-story hotel by Albert Seeley in 1869.

Legend has it that the spirits of Ysidora Bandini, Juan’s daughter, and other apparitions linger within its walls, with Room 11 being particularly notorious for paranormal activity.

La Llorona: The Weeping Woman

No exploration of haunted folklore would be complete without mentioning La Llorona. This legendary figure, known as the Weeping Woman, is said to have drowned her children in a fit of despair and now wanders near bodies of water, crying for her lost offspring. Many have reported hearing her mournful wails or glimpsing her ghostly figure, a chilling reminder of her tragic tale.

Katherine: So, La Llorona just… wanders around crying? Relatable.

Kelsi: She drowned her kids, though.

Katherine: Okay, less relatable. But still—a new level of ‘emotional baggage.’

With these stories swirling in our minds, we arrived at our first destination: Pioneer Park.

Pioneer Park: A Casual Stroll Over Thousands of Graves

As our trolley rolled up to Pioneer Park, Jesse handed us lanterns—because apparently, nothing says relaxing evening like wandering through a dark park with lanterns, knowing full well there are thousands of bodies beneath your feet.

Jesse led us to a collection of tombstones, neatly arranged off to the side like a historical art installation. These weren’t just any tombstones, though—they belonged to the founders of San Diego, because apparently, when the city decided to build a park here, they relocated the markers… but not the bodies. (Classic.)

Meet the Formerly Prominent, Now Possibly Annoyed Residents

• Reverend A.D. Ubach – Known as the Last of the Padres, which sounds like a cool band name but actually means he was one of the final old-school Catholic leaders in San Diego.
• James McCoy – An Irish sheriff who didn’t drink and somehow kept the job for ten years. The real supernatural element here might be that level of self-restraint.
• Cave Johnson Counts – A West Point classmate of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, which means he probably spent his school days debating Civil War strategies with future history book icons. He also married Ysidora Bandini a name that seems to pop up in nearly every haunted story in this city.

And then, of course, the real showstopper fact: Pioneer Park was originally Calvary Cemetery, home to an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 burials. The markers were removed, but the bodies? Still here. Just… somewhere. No one’s totally sure where, but Jesse pointed out that some areas of the park have suspiciously sunken-in spots where the ground seems to be low-key collapsing into old graves. Cool. Cool.

Armed with that unsettling knowledge, we tightened our grip on our lanterns and prepared for the next eerie stop on our tour.

El Campo Santo Cemetery: Where the Past Refuses to Stay Buried

After loading back up on the trolley and Jesse’s unsettling tavern ballad about premature burial (just the vibe we needed), we arrived at El Campo Santo Cemetery. Established in 1849, this historic graveyard is the eternal home to 477 souls, though many graves remain unmarked—a recurring theme tonight.

Katherine: So, we’re just casually strolling over unmarked graves again?

Kelsi: At this point, I’d be more surprised if we weren’t.

Anita Gillis: The Watchful Child

Our first stop was the grave of Anita Gillis, a young girl who tragically succumbed to scarlet fever. Visitors often leave coins or trinkets on her grave, believing that these offerings ensure her favor and ward off potential hauntings.

Katherine: So, leave a token, or risk being haunted by a child? Noted.

Kelsi: I’ve never thrown a penny into the dirt faster.

Antonio Garra: The Defiant Leader

Next, we visited the resting place of Antonio Garra, a prominent Native American leader who orchestrated a revolt in 1851 against unjust taxation imposed by local authorities. Captured and executed by firing squad, Garra’s final moments were marked by a maniacal, defiant laughter, unsettling his executioners to the point where they hesitated multiple times before completing their grim task.

Kelsi: Laughing in the face of death? That’s not bravery, that’s just a commitment to making things awkward.

Katherine: Some people leave a legacy. This guy left a vibe.

Yankee Jim Robinson: The Unlucky Outlaw

Our final stop was the grave of James “Yankee Jim” Robinson, a notorious horse thief convicted of grand larceny. Standing at 6’4”, his execution by hanging was particularly gruesome; the gallows weren’t designed for someone of his height, leading to a prolonged and agonizing death. To add insult to injury, his body was unceremoniously….um…’folded’ to fit into a too-small coffin.

Katherine and Kelsi: *silently stared wide-eyed at the ground* No notes

The Whaley House: America’s Most Haunted Home

Our final destination led us to the Whaley House, often hailed as America’s Most Haunted House, located at 2476 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110. As we approached, Jesse pointed out the unmarked grave markers along the sidewalk—grim reminders of the bodies interred without tombstones.

Thomas Whaley: From Gold Rush to Gallows

Thomas Whaley, originally from New York, ventured to California during the Gold Rush, seeking fortune. In 1857, he constructed the Whaley House on a plot of land that had once been the site of San Diego’s public gallows. This decision would later intertwine his family’s fate with the spirits of those executed there.

Katherine: Building your dream home on former gallows? Bold choice, Mr. Whaley.

Kelsi: Because nothing says ‘fresh start’ like breaking ground on a former gallows.

The Haunting of ‘Yankee Jim’ Robinson

Let’s be clear: Thomas Whaley knew exactly what he was signing up for. He didn’t just buy haunted land—he personally watched that same Yankee Jim Robinson struggle through a prolonged, agonizing hanging because the gallows weren’t built for someone his height. And yet, somehow, he was still caught off guard when things started to go bump in the night.

Katherine: I bet even the ghosts were like, ‘You sure about this, dude?’

Kelsi: Yeah, even Yankee Jim was probably like, ‘Bro, I wouldn’t.’

Family Tragedies and Lingering Spirits

The Whaley family endured numerous tragedies within the home’s walls:

• Violet Whaley, one of Thomas’s daughters, suffered from depression following a scandalous divorce and ultimately took her own life in 1885. Some accounts suggest she shot herself in the chest; others mention she used a razor to slit her throat.
• Thomas Whaley Jr., the family’s youngest son, died of scarlet fever at just 18 months old. Visitors have reported hearing a baby’s cries and tiny footsteps, believed to be his lingering spirit.

When the Tour Ends, but the Haunting Doesn’t

As our Ghosts & Gravestones adventure wrapped up, we all thanked Jesse, our theatrical, lantern-wielding tour guide, who had successfully walked the fine line between educational and mildly terrifying. We had braved unmarked graves, locked eyes with historical tragedy, and learned that San Diego is essentially a real estate developer’s nightmare—because surprise! every park, street, and charming old building is apparently built on dead people.

With our tour officially over, the group dispersed into the night, presumably to process their life choices, sage their homes, or sleep with the lights on.

But the ghosts? They weren’t quite done with us.

As we stood outside the Whaley House, waiting for our Lyft ride to safety, Kelsi heard scraping? Or scratching? on the front window glass. Maybe the shutters?

She turned around, fully expecting to see a very normal, very alive human standing at the window. Nope.

The window was empty. No one had exited. No one was there.

At this point, we made the executive decision to GET. OUT.

Katherine: Nope. No. Absolutely not.

Kelsi: I’ve seen this movie, and we do not make it to the end credits. We need to leave now.

And with that, we power-walked away from America’s Most Haunted House and straight into our getaway car. No follow-up questions. No lingering. No looking back.

Because if there’s one thing this tour taught us, it’s that the ghosts of San Diego do not play around.