Winchester Mystery House
Winchester House Located in San Jose, California, Winchester House is one of a few supposedly haunted houses to be turned into a major tourist attraction, largely because it has unique architectural features. For example, it features secret passages to hidden rooms, windows backed by solid walls, and staircases that go nowhere. It is also rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of its original owner, Sarah Winchester.
Winchester began construction on the 160-room mansion in 1884 and continued adding rooms until her death in 1922. Her compulsive building was based on her belief in spirits. As the daughter-in-law of the man who invented the Winchester rifle, she became convinced that her construction projects would in some way appease the ghosts of those killed by the rifle her father-in-law had invented and that if she did not appease them she would die. For most of her life she tried to contact the spirits at séances that she held at Winchester House, and she incorporated the number thirteen into her building projects because she thought that this number was naturally appealing to ghosts. Some of her stairways, for example, have thirteen steps, and her chandeliers have thirteen lights. There are thirteen bathrooms in the house, and one room has thirteen windows.
In the years since Winchester’s death, visitors to the mansion have reported hearing mysterious footsteps and slamming doors. A tour guide reported hearing his name whispered in a room where no one else was present, and a caretaker heard breathing behind him when he was alone. Other people have felt cold spots in an otherwise warm room and have smelled soup cooking in a kitchen devoid of pots. Others who work at Winchester House have reported finding locked doors inexplicably unlocked and lights spontaneously turned on and off.
One employee, the director of food and merchandizing, came to work to find his desk, chair, and the surrounding floor soaked with water, even though the room’s ceiling and walls were dry.
SEE ALSO:
- Haunted Houses and other Structures
SOURCE:
The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning