William Heath Davis House

In the Gas Lamp district of San Diego California is the last of a group of houses which can attribute its existence to a man named William Heath Davis.   He was born in Honolulu Hawaii in 1822.   He was however the heir to a family from Boston Massachusetts.   Much like another famous father of San Diego , Thomas Whaley, Davis came to California and worked in San Francisco.  While a merchant in San Francisco Davis visited San Diego many times and eventually fell in love with a daughter of the Estudillo family.  What is known as Old Towne these days where the Estudillo House and the Whaley House now sit was apparently not close enough to the water front to suit Davis.   He believed that the water front area had to be built up to attract commerce and trade to San Diego.   He bought 160 acres near the waterfront and he along with four partners laid out a waterfront city and built a wharf for ships to dock at.   Economic hard times thwarted Davis's dreams of New Town San Diego.  Davis eventually moved back to Northern California and died in Heyward in April 1909.

The house which is named after Davis is the last example of what is known as a Salt Box Cottage. The house was pre-fabricated on the East Coast and then shipped around the Cape of Good Horn.

Over the years the house served as head quarters to the United States Army then, as a hospital and as home to several families and persons up until the 1980s.

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/online_resources/davis.html


I first investigated the house in September of 2011.  It was a night I'll never forget.  On that night I encountered the spirit of a little girl named Lillian.   Coincidently, Davis had a daughter named Lillian who like her father never lived in this house.  She too died in Heyward California at the age of 83.  Also it is believed that Corrine Lillian Whaley, the youngest of the Whaley children and the last member of the family to live in the infamous Whaley House, may have known one of the families to call this house their home.   Corrine Lillian worked as a librarian for many years in downtown San Diego.   Ironically both Corrine Lillian Whaley and Lillian Davis were born and perished about the same time at about the same age.  We can only assume they never met or knew each other.

In September 2011 it was during an investigation with the San Diego Paranormal Research Society and their founder Nicole Strickland, the mysterious Lillian made contact with us.   We had set up a vigil in the parlor room of the house and as we sat quietly an energy field at the door of the parlor room which lead to the back hallway and kitchen area was seen by the investigators.  This eventually progressed to us seeing what looked like a dark form in the kitchen seemed to be moving around.   The form was about the size of a child.  The team leader told me she was hearing a child, a girl in the kitchen and hallway.  We attempted communication.  At the time nothing was heard.  Upon review of the team leader's video the girl spirit calling herself Lillian was clearly heard. 

A couple of years later I had the pleasure of investigating the house again.  This time with Maritza Skandunas and her cousin Colleen Rose and a lady named  Julie Haney.  These are the San Diego Ghost Hunters.  For this investigation I was with Maritza again along with her sister Linda and the museum docent Sandy. 

 Maritza told me that they have determined there are 60 spirits within the house.  Prominent are Dr. Stockton who worked at the hospital which operated in the house.  Also the soldiers who were headquartered in the house.   The lady in Black who stays at the top of the stairs, George who loves hamburgers and who lived in the house for a while and many others. 

When we made our way from the basement area and up the stairs to the main house, I was told about Matt the civil war soldier who remains on the stairs near the door leading to the house.  The energy on the stairs is considered to be different than what resides in the house so, while investigating the house the door to the stairs is kept closed.  Matt by the way has been recorded making a kissing sound which is directed towards Maritza's cousin Colleen.    

Like any very active location I have a personal belief that there are what are referred to as walk-ins.  Spirits who in life were not associated with the location but are drawn to it by its natural energy.   And I think maybe the basement area and the stairs is where the walk-ins enter the house from. 

Other spirits who we have learned by name are present are Esther, Edwin, Richard, Grandpa, Captain Reynolds, India, Mr. Horton, Madam Raoul, and Ah Quinn who was the honorary Mayor of China Town.
 

 

September 2011, I was part of an investigation of the William Heath Davis House along with Nicole Strickland and the San Diego Paranormal Research Society.  It was during  a vigil as we sat quietly in the Parlor Room.  Observing and listening to see what we could detect.  It was during this time we noticed a dark mass about the size of a child moving in the kitchen area.  Nicole said that she heard a child.  We called out to her and this resulted in one of the best EVP / Spirit communication captures I've ever heard. This little girl named Lillian answering us.  Telling us she was trying to talk to us and her name is Lillian. To this day we still do not know who she is.  Lillian Davis, who's picture hangs in the hallway never lived in this house.  She never visited San Diego either.  She passed away at the age of 83 in Hayward California in the early 1950s.   Corrine Lillian Whaley, the last of the Whaley children to live in the Whaley House worked as a Librarian downtown near the Gas Lamp District and we believe she may have known one of the families who lived in this house.  She also passed away about the same time as Lillian Davis.  So, who is our mysterious Lillian?  Wear your head phones and turn up the volume.  This recording inspired an episode of My Ghost Story Caught on Camera which aired in May 2012.

During an investigation at the William Heath Davis House in May 2015 we were using the Echovox ITC application.  I heard a woman say "Ah Quin".  Quin was one of the leaders in the Chinatown section of San Diego in the early 20th Century.  Sandy, one of our investigators and a docent for the William Heath Davis House was very familiar with his story.  She told me Quin was a very good man and a leader in his community.    Quin was  from China and learned English in a American missionary school.   Quin traveled to the United States and lived in Chinese missions within California.   Quin was a hard worker and he had jobs in a coal mining camp in Alaska and, as an overseer for the California Southern Railroad in San Diego.


Later he became successful in real estate, farming and merchandising.  His strong leadership skills and his ability to speak both Chinese and English allowed him to act as a spokesman for the Chinese community.  He was know as the Unofficial Mayor of Chinatown in San Diego.

Learn more about Ah Quin at  http://www.sdchm.org/portfolio/ah-quin-life-leadership-legacy/

Above here is the audio of the Echovox responses.  A woman saying Ah Quin and then what may be Mr. Quin saying his own name.

Baseball fans and in particular Dodgers fans are everywhere.  Even in the here after and in San Diego.  I wonder if the Padres know this?   During the investigation this past May 2015, during an PSB-7 Spirit Box session in the Parlor Room of the William Heath Davis House a spirit named Raymond was coming through.  I asked him who is favorite baseball player was and what the told me was he liked the Dodgers and Lasorda.  Of course Tommy Lasorda was the Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s and 1980s and maybe Raymond was  fan sitting in Dodgers stadium during those years.  One cannot say for sure.  Here is the captured audio from that exchange.  It is repeated three times.

As the investigation continued there were several references to a particular red pipe.  A fellow named Matt apparently took it according to what the spirit was saying.   They were trying to tell Maritza who could only be Maritza Skandunas the founder of the San Diego Ghost Hunters who was present this night.  Matt is the name of the civil war soldier normally encountered near the door which leads from the stairs that come from the basement and to the main part of the house.  Later the Spirit would tell us the red pipe contained Opiate.  Also known as Opium.  Opium dens were places that were well known during the late 1800s and the early part of the 20th century.

Opium Pipe. Could this be what the red pipe looks like?

In March of this year while visiting the William Heath Davis House we were doing some EVP in the Parlor Room and it sound like someone or something either stepped into the room or left it.  There was a strange discernible sound.  I took several random photos with my Nikon D90.

I took two photos of the area the noise was heard.  As you can see this first picture is normal looking.

This second picture it appears the plant in the hallway is giving off a double image.  Possibly the camera moved while the photo was being taken.

In this zoomed and cropped version of the 2nd picture we look past the hallway and into the kitchen. Taking into consideration that images could be matrixing, it appears there may be two images in the kitchen.  On the left the face of a woman and on the right a man wearing a coat and perhaps a beanie knit cap and what appears to be a mustache.  This has and the others like it did sit near the waterfront of San Diego originally.  So this man could have been dressed for the cool evening sea air. 

Here I have placed a box around male figure and also the face of the female.

Other Audio Captures

On the above audio, we were coming up the stairs and Maritza asks the civil war soldier Matt to blow Colleen a kiss.  You will here the EVP and then what should like lips smacking.