Haunted History...The Winchester Mystery House

 I personally have been fortunate to take a tour at the following home. It does indeed live up to the name of "Mystery House". There have been reports from staff and visitors alike, especially after the sun has gone down to hearing strange noises, seeing things from the corner of your eye to only take a full look and the apparition is gone.

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

The "livliest" 'Ghost Town' you will ever step in to...

Let's take a small trip. Back in to another time. Another realm. Another way of life. To the past.

For a few years in my teens, I had lived in the Reno/Carson City area of Nevada. It was quite nice, to tell the truth. Barely any humidity. Air quality was nice, too.

Back in the 1960's on television, there was a Western "shoot 'em up" show called 'Bonanza'. It centered around a man and his three sons back in the late 1800's, during the Gold Rush days in the Sierra Nevada's. Including a city called Virginia City.

Yes, there REALLY IS a town named Virginia City in Nevada, out in the hills of the Reno/Carson basin. And it's still lively today, as it was in it's hay day. Although it is considered a tourist attraction these days. But many upon many of the ORIGINAL structures (including their "birth" names) are still up and in use today in our modern age.

And it is said to be a Ghost Town. Not in the abandoned since. Not in the least bit. But in the literal since. As in the ghostly realm and hauntings since.

Including the town primary cemetery. And the town's cathedral. Oh, and don't forget the Art School that was once a hospital for the wounded and dying Civil War Soldiers. Then, there are a couple of haunted Saloons and restaurants. Pretty much anywhere you go in Virginia City, you will hear tales of the Spirit kind.

Now, sit back and relax. Watch a few videos from my old "home town" of Virginia City and gawk at a few pictures. Take that trip back in time. Where the West was wild and the women were fast (not necessarily easy).









***This is a 4-part-series, and I am providing the first two. If you wish to view more, then go over to YouTube and type in Haunted Nevada. Virginia City *IS* covered in this show's episode. Just watch and keep an eye out for it.

I've been inside many of the places, including the church and the cemetery when I lived there, and visited on trips back home. I've also on more than one occasion felt eyes peering at me when no one (living) was around. I felt presences. I've heard voices and things while in certain buildings that shouldn't be there. Even in broad daylight. Especially in areas where it was not allowed for (living) people to go. They were restricted, cordoned off areas.

Maybe one day soon, I will tell my tales of all I have seen and heard. But for now, just relish on the trip you had taken back in to another time. And maybe even watch a bit of 'Bonanza'. Gotta love Little Joe!

Do you have a haunting in YOUR home? See if you have any of the signs.

So, you think you may have a haunted home, huh? And it happens in not only old, decrepit, run-down homes that were abandoned long ago. Nor does it only stay to land that has been occupied over the centuries. A haunting can happen ANYWHERE, in pretty much any kind of setting. A home, a piece of land, a building or even within possessions. Especially antiques from long ago.

So what are the signs of a possibly haunted home (or other place)? Let's find out.

http://paranormalactivityinvestigationteam.com/signs-of-a-haunting.html

• Unexplained noises - footsteps; knocks, banging, rapping; scratching sounds; sounds of something being dropped. Sometimes these noises can be subtle and other times they can be quite loud. Doors, cabinets and cupboards opening and closing - most often, these phenomena are not seen directly. The person experiencing the event either hears the distinct sounds of the doors opening and closing (homeowners get to know quite well the distinctive sounds their houses make) or the person experiencing the event will return to a room to find a door open or closed when they are certain that it was left in the opposite position. Sometimes furniture, like kitchen chairs; are perceived to have been moved. Very rarely will the person experiencing the event actually witness the phenomenon taking place.

• Lights turning off and on - likewise, these events are seldom seen actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the person experiencing the event knows they were not left that way. This can also happen with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items.

• Items disappearing and reappearing - this phenomena, has been dubbed the “DOP effect” (Disappearing Object Phenomenon). Others have called this "the borrowers" phenomenon, and it's the familiar experience of not being able to find a regularly used item - say, your set of car keys - which you believe you placed in a spot you routinely place them. But they're gone and you look high and low for them with no success. Some time later, the keys are found - in exactly the place you normally put them. It's as if the object was borrowed by someone or something for a short time, then returned. Sometimes they are not returned for days or even weeks, but when they are, it's in an obvious place that could not have been missed by even a casual search.

• Unexplained shadows - the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows, usually seen out of the corner of the eye. Many times, the shadows have vaguely human forms, while other times they are less distinguishable or smaller.

• Strange animal behavior - a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely. Dogs may bark at something unseen or at a wall, cower without apparent reason or refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be "watching" something cross a room. Animals have sharper senses than humans, and
many researchers think their psychic abilities might be more finely tuned also.

• Feelings of being watched - this is not an uncommon feeling and can be attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a particular time.
Those are some of the most common experiences of those who think their houses are haunted. Yet even stranger things can happen...

Stronger Evidence
The following phenomena are rare, but could be stronger evidence of a haunting:

• Mild psychokinetic phenomena - hearing a door open or close is one thing. Actually seeing it happen is quite another. Similarly, actually seeing a light turn on or off by itself is greater proof that something unexplained is happening. Do you see the TV or radio turn on? Or perhaps you're present when a child's powered toy begins to operate on its own. Doors and windows are locked or unlocked. Some people report that when they are in bed they can feel and/or hear something sitting on the bed.

• Feelings of being touched - the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or "a hand" on the shoulder. Some feel a gentle poke, push or nudge.

• Cries and whispers - on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it's music from some unknown source. People hear their names being said. This phenomenon, as is true for the one above, gains more credibility if more than one person hears or sees the same thing at the same time.

• Cold or hot spots - cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence.

• Unexplained smells - the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne that you do not have in your house. This phenomenon comes and goes without any apparent cause and may accompany other phenomena, such as shadows, voices or psychokinetic phenomena. Foul odors can happen in the same way.
Rarer still are more extreme phenomena, some of which have been called poltergeist phenomena, and can be quite strong evidence of a true haunting:

• Moving or levitating objects (severe psychokinetic phenomena) - dinner plates sliding across the table; pictures flying off walls; doors slamming shut with great force; furniture sliding across the floor.

• Physical assault - scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing.

• Other physical evidence - unexplained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints.

• Apparitions - physical manifestation of a spirit or entity. These phenomena are also very rare and can take many forms: human-shaped mists or forming mists of some indistinguishable shape; transparent human forms that disappear quickly; and most rarely, human forms that look as real and solid as any living person, but that disappear into a room or even while being viewed.

I myself have had several of the above things happen to me and around me throughout the years. I have experienced hearing crying, hearing my name being called or shouted at. I have been touched and have had 'someone' sit on the edge of my bed. I have even been kissed on the forehead, and have felt eyes staring at me from the corner of the room. I have also been "tossed" down a flight of stairs (here in this home I currently reside in), have seen apparitions, had smelled odd fragrances (including coffee and cooking on the stove when neither were even on). And that is only the tip of the iceberg for me and what I have seen, heard, and felt.

Please feel free to tell YOUR tale of living in a haunted home or working, playing or just visiting a haunted location. I WANT THIS ONE TO BE INTERACTIVE!