Born in 1839 in New Haven, Connecticut, Sarah’s parents saw to it that she had a good education. She spoke several languages and was musically inclined. In addition to her smarts, she was pretty and charming making her a favorite with the local boys. One in particular, William Wirt Winchester, son of Oliver Winchester who owned the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, fell madly in love with her.
William married Sarah in 1862. Four years later, they had a daughter, Annie who died as an infant. Sarah never had another child and the happy-go-lucky girl she once was disappeared forever. Her father-in-law passed away in 1880 and the following year tuberculosis claimed her husband leaving Sarah miserable despite the $20,000,000 she inherited along with half of the Winchester Company, which brought her one thousand dollars every single day.
Sarah sought comfort in psychics. One soothsayer told her that the Winchesters
were cursed by all of the souls who had been killed by their rifle. These spirits demanded revenge. According to the psychic, Sarah’s dead husband
wanted her to move west and build a home in order to escape the family
curse. But there was a catch—once she
started building, she must never, ever stop.
If she did, the evil spirits would claim her just as they had her baby,
her father-in-law and her husband.
Sarah sold her home in Connecticut and
moved to California where she found property in what is now San Jose. Convinced that this was where her dead
husband wanted her to be, she began building her home in 1884. The construction continued non-stop for the
next 36 years.
Sarah began with an unfinished farmhouse
that stood on a little more than 160 acres.
She hired a team of carpenters to work around the clock. Every night at 12:00, Sarah held a séance to
summon only good spirits who provided the next day’s building plans. The house grew daily as rooms were built
around rooms; stairways leading to nowhere rose up; doors that opened to walls
or nothing at all were installed.
By 1906, the house stood seven stories
high. Then on April 18th, a
powerful earthquake struck San Francisco.
The top three floors of Sarah’s home collapsed trapping her in a
bedroom. After she was freed, Sarah
believed that the entire incident was the spirits’ way of telling her that didn’t
like her home improvements. To appease
them, Sarah boarded up 30 rooms in the front of the house. She did not, however, stop building. She installed secret rooms, trap doors,
upside down stair posts and chimneys that didn’t work—all in an attempt to
confuse the evil spirits that were after her.
Then on September 4, 1922, the
hammering, sawing and construction halted when 83-year-old Sarah Winchester
died in her sleep. As they learned of
her death, the workmen immediately quit whatever they were doing. Some even left half-pounded nails in the
walls.
Today, Sarah’s home, rumored to be
haunted, is known as the Winchester Mystery House and has been designated a
national historical place by the U.S. Government. Visitors can tour the place and see for themselves
the 160 rooms; 467 doorways, 950 doors, 47 fireplaces, 17 chimneys, 40
bedrooms, 40 stairways, 367 steps, three elevators, two basements and two
ballrooms—only one of which is complete.
I remember touring the Winchester Mystery House when I was a kid, which was quite a few years ago. I scared the heck out of me. Thanks for the memory.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping in, Jim! Glad you enjoyed the post.
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