In the Sherman Heights neighborhood of San Diego stands a red, Queen Anne–style mansion known as Villa Montezuma. It was built in 1887 for renowned composer Jesse Shepard (also known as Francis Grierson), who was heavily involved with Spiritualism. He was convinced to relocate there by the brothers William and John High, wealthy ranchers and members of the Spiritualist group to which Shepard belonged. They were also the ones who built the mansion, which was named after the ship that had brought Shepard from Britain to America. Two years later,…
