Mystery History
By Jennifer Childs
29 Sep 2008
The Winchester Mystery House, a famed Victorian mansion in San Jose, California is a widely popular tourist destination and is best known for it's round the clock construction that spanned nearly four decades and also, of course, for it's reputed ghosts.
After the death of her daughter in 1866 and then her husband in 1881, Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester and heiress to said $20,000,000 fortune, sought the advice of a medium in Boston who told her to move West and build a home for herself and all of the spirits killed by the Winchester Rifle. She was told that if she ever stopped building, she would die. Heeding the advice, Sarah found her way to San Jose and in 1884 commenced construction on a house that would not cease for the next 38 years until her death in 1922.
The mansion, four stories tall, seven prior to the earthquake of 1906, has around 160 rooms (the figure comes back differently every time they are counted), 47 fireplaces and 10,000 window panes. It is filled with bizarre features, such as spiderweb designs, items reflecting the number 13, which Sarah considered to be lucky, and doors and stairs that lead to nowhere, which some believe were built in an effort to confuse the ghosts pursuing her.
The story of this unusual place has been altered ever so slightly throughout the years, most likely to appeal to the masses, but no one, not even those who work there, are completely sure of it's actual history. One thing is not a mystery however, and that is with billboard ads as far as 80 miles away, The Winchester Mystery House is a major tourist attraction and gravitational force for those fascinated by the paranormal and entertained by the peculiar.
Despite the "Snacks" stand, gift shop, video arcade and monotonously guided tours, the house is strangely alluring, undoubtably eccentric and evokes a sort of sympathy for a woman who was clearly haunted be it by her own imagination or the truly unexplainable.
2 responses
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Kristin Charles gave props (1 Oct 2008):
I've always wanted to go to the Mystery House. Now I feel like I've been there. Your photos remind me of ones I would take. When I eventually get there, I'll be sure to share my story with you.
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Mal Stewart gave props (31 Mar 2009):
Top story Jennifer. I knew nothing about this place while I was over there, and Probably travelled right past it. Stories like this really make me want to get out on the road again.
