Personally, I had seen (during the daytime tour) what I had thought was an indentation in one of the beds. In fact, it was supposedly in the same room that Sarah Winchester was said to have passed away in. I also had feelings of being watched and followed. Also, there were cold spots. Especially in the Blue Room.
Come and take a virtual tour with me through the history of one of the most famous, and reportedly haunted places in the United States... The Winchester Mystery House, in Santa Clara, California (the area that I originally hail from).
The Winchester Rifle. One of the first rifles to be mass produced in the United States. And one of the deadliest of its kind as well. The gun had made it's way in to America's hands in 1866. It's creator, Oliver Winchester.
After Mr. Winchester's death in 1881, as well as the death of their only daughter, Annie, in 1866, Sarah Winchester had set out to see a Psychic Medium in Boston. This Medium, preying on Sarah's grief, claimed that the deaths of her only child and one and only husband were brought upon by a curse from the spirits of the dead American Indians that were shot to death during the Civil War.
What was the only way to appease these poor souls? Why, to build a home, of course! And to NEVER stop building. For if Sarah Winchester stopped construction, then her death was surely to happen. But, if she kept on building for all time, twenty-four hours a day, every single day, with not a single break, then death would not touch her. But, this home of the spirits was to be built out West.
After moving West, as told, Sarah Winchester had found a beautiful spot of land in Santa Clara, California. She knew then, that this would be where her great mansion was to sit.
By the time that the 1900's came around, already, the eight-room home became a sprawling seven-story mansion. Her monetary status was unscathed, seeing as she had unlimited amounts of money from the on-going sales of the Winchester Rifles at her late husband's company to spend to make the spirits happy. What began as an unfinished farmhouse, that came along with the land, was completed to be one of the grandest Mansions of our time.
For thirty-eight years straight, twenty-four hours a day, with not a single break in the construction, Mrs. Winchester made the spirits happy. She would go nightly to the "Blue Room", which was her Seance Room to converse with the ghosts and to ensure that what was being done was up to par with them.
There were also stair cases and doors that were built in the oddest of places. Stairs that lead to the ceiling. Doors that opened to a wall behind it, or to a hole where if you step through, you either end up on the pavement, after falling from two stories up, or you land in the kitchen sink.
Also, Sarah had an odd fascination with the number 13. Everything from the window panes, to the holes in the sink drains had no more than thirteen pieces to it. Even the chandelier glass.
Sadly, Mrs. Winchester's promise of eternal life never came to pass. After suffering with ailing arthritis for several years, on September 22, 1922, having had heart failure. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. At the time of her death, the home had engulfed six acres of land.
Construction ended with... 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens. The carpenters had even left nails half driven when they learned of Mrs. Winchester’s death.
All of the original furnishings were sold off, via auction, through a niece. Today, with turn-of-the-century-like furnishings in place to show the beauty of what it once was, the Winchester Mystery House is now a museum dedicated to the life and legacy of Sarah Winchester. As well as to her devoted servants and employed construction workers.
(The door that leads to a two-story drop, outside)
(Front view of the mansion)
Links...
The Sarah Winchester Mystery House
The Winchester Rifle
3 comments:
I have always been fascinated about this stuff. I think this story is the one Rose Red was based off of, or something similar. You should look up Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Lousiville Ky
For starters, no this was not the home that was the basis for Rose Red (Stephen King novel, turned movie). That was a now-torn-down mansion in Oregon or Washington State that was the model.
And second, Waverly Hills is on my list of haunted places to write about, also...So, be on the lookout. It could be the next installment. (=
I have always wanted to visit this haunted spot. Seeing your pictures makes me only want to go more. Thanks for this post on one of my favorite haunted spots.
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