The Terrifying San Pedro Haunting

Posted: 10.14.2025 | Updated: 10.13.2025

In the late 1980s, a young single mother, Jackie Hernandez, packed up what little she owned and moved her two children into a small bungalow in San Pedro, California. After a rocky marriage and a lifetime of hardship, Jackie hoped this would be a new beginning: a safe place to raise her family. But sometimes, new beginnings can awaken old spirits.

Soon, Jackie realized that her new house was haunted by a dark presence… or several. And at least one spirit did not hesitate to make its presence known. The ordeal transformed this family’s life into a true horror story.

The Hernandez case is nearly in a class by itself, said Barry Taff, the parapsychologist who led a team to investigate her claims. Armed with cameras, investigators recorded the whole ordeal, making the San Pedro haunting one of the best documented paranormal cases in history.

You can still find the footage online today… if you dare.

Keep reading to learn what happened and judge for yourself. And if you’re feeling brave enough to see haunted places in Los Angeles in person, book a ghost tour with LA Ghosts today!

What Happened to Jackie Hernandez?

Single mother Jackie Hernandez moved into a small house in San Pedro, California, seeking a fresh start. But what awaited her was a nightmare that became one of America’s most documented hauntings.

Experts said two spirits haunted the home: one benign, one malicious. The latter fed on Jackie’s fear, growing stronger as terror consumed her life. Manifestations of the San Pedro Haunting include:

• Vanishing objects, disembodied footsteps, and a cat reacting to moving shadows.
• The apparition of an old man looming over an infant’s crib.
• Blood-red ooze seeping from the walls as orbs and pounding noises emanate from the attic.
• Investigator Jeff Wheatcraft strangled by an unseen force, caught on camera.
• The haunting follows Jackie, even after she moves.

History of the Hernandez Case

In 1988, Jackie Hernandez was at a crossroads in her life. She was pregnant with her second child and unhappy in her marriage. Ultimately, she decided the best thing to do was to leave her husband.

A pregnant Jackie took her daughter, Jamie, and moved into a small place in San Pedro. It was a chance for a new start, but also a stressful time for a single mother. She worked multiple jobs well into her pregnancy.

Jackie later confessed that she felt some kind of presence in the house when she first moved. At the time, however, she didn’t think much of it. The excitement of a new start and the obstacles she had to overcome occupied her mind.

Manifestations of the San Pedro Haunting

The haunting began slowly, as if just warming up. The cat hissed and swiped at empty air, chasing shadows that slithered across the walls. Small objects vanished and reappeared in odd places. Footsteps echoed through the attic when no one was up there.

One day, a pencil holder leaped off Jackie’s desk, sending the writing instruments flying in her direction. They intentionally targeted her. It’s just stress, Jackie told herself. Maybe she was having hallucinations due to her pregnancy.

But after her daughter, Samantha, was born in April 1989, the strange activity only intensified.

Experts say the house was loaded with psychic energy. They say at least two spirits dwell there: one benign, the other malicious. Perhaps it was the benign ghost that led Jackie to his grave. She found the marker 13 blocks from the bungalow, where he had died in 1913.

The other entity “took my fear and got energy from it,” Jackie has said. “The more scared I got, the stronger it got.”

Apparition of an Old Man

One evening, after putting the children to sleep, Jackie heard a faint wheezing sound coming from Samantha’s room. When she opened the door, the sound grew louder. Raspy, labored breathing. Her heart froze.

Looming over her daughter’s crib was an old man, his eyes sunken, skin like gray wax, a leering grin twisted across his face. His clothes were tattered, soaked in something dark. For a long moment, he just stared at her… then vanished.

Jackie screamed. The baby woke, her cry piercing the night. But there was no one there.

Get Out

Terrified, Jackie confided in a friend named Susan. Susan contacted a group of local priests, who agreed to visit the home. They hoped the religious men could get rid of whatever plagued the home.

But the priests were no help. Instead of blessing the place, they told her that her house wasn’t haunted. Before leaving, however, they made their beliefs clear: Jackie was possessed by the devil.

The next day, Child Protective Services “randomly” showed up to determine if Jackie was using drugs while pregnant. The priests had apparently called the government agency, believing she was on hallucinogens. Humiliated and betrayed, Jackie must have felt very alone in her fight.

A few days later, another chilling event occurred. While Jackie was bringing in groceries, she noticed that her magnetic refrigerator letters were deliberately arranged. They spelled the words “Get out.”

With nowhere else to go, Jackie remained in the haunted San Pedro house. At least for a little while longer.

From the Attic

While doing chores one evening, Jackie saw a foul-smelling, dark red substance oozing from the walls. It disappeared after a while, but recurred over time again and again.

Strange puddles of thick, blood-red liquid kept appearing on the kitchen floor and dripping from the walls. The stench was unbearable: metallic and rotting. Jackie would mop it up, only to find more the next morning.

Jackie also said that around this time, she began to see ghostly orbs flying across the room. This was sometimes accompanied by sounds coming from the ceiling above. Heavy footsteps, dragging sounds, and a slow, rhythmic pounding, as if something were trying to claw its way down. All the activity seemed to originate from the attic.

Jackie later admitted that this was the point when she thought she was losing her mind. But her friend, Susan, had another idea.

The Final Investigation

Susan connected her with a well-known parapsychologist, Dr. Barry Taff, who had investigated hundreds of hauntings across the country. Taff assembled a small team, including cameraman Jeff Wheatcraft and photographer Gary Boehm, to document what was happening in San Pedro.

The moment they entered the house, the atmosphere changed. The temperature dropped. The odor of decaying flesh filled the air. Then the banging began. Loud, violent crashes came from the attic that shook the ceiling beams.

“We kept hearing what sounded like a 200-pound rat running around up there,” Taff later said.

Wheatcraft and Boehm climbed into the attic to investigate, cameras rolling. They expected rats, or maybe a raccoon. But what happened next defied explanation.

Without warning, something unseen ripped Wheatcraft’s camera from his hands. Then, as Boehm watched in horror, an invisible force wrapped a clothesline around Wheatcraft’s neck and yanked him upward, attempting to strangle him.

Boehm snapped a photograph just before cutting him down. The photo shows the moment Wheatcraft dangled helplessly, choking, in midair. The incident was captured on video and later featured in the documentary An Unknown Encounter.

You can watch it for yourself. But remember: Once you see the footage, you can never unsee it.

Taff and his team fled the house that night. Jackie packed her belongings the next morning. She gathered her children and left San Pedro behind, vowing never to return.

Haunted Los Angeles

However, the nightmare didn’t end there.

The haunting followed Jackie, first to a trailer in Kern County and then several other homes over the next few years. Whatever was in the house specifically targeted Jackie and went with her wherever she went thereafter.

To this day, no one knows exactly what haunted Jackie Hernandez. The San Pedro case remains one of the most thoroughly documented hauntings in American history, backed by photographs, video, and eyewitness testimony.

And yet, there are no answers.

But there are tons of other ghost stories from the City of Angels. Are you ready to discover haunted places in Los Angeles for yourself? Book a ghost tour today with LA Ghosts!

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Sources:

• https://houseofgeekery.com/2023/01/06/creepy-mysteries-the-san-pedro-haunting/
• https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-23-vw-14352-story.html
• https://www.ranker.com/list/jackie-hernandez-haunting/jacob-shelton
• https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanormalEncounters/comments/12g6bqn/in_1989_jackie_hernandez_experienced_a_horrific/
• https://tubitv.com/movies/100005762/an-unknown-encounter-the-true-account-of-the-san-pedro-haunting