A good chunk of Sarah’s possessions would be sold for a pretty penny–and moving the stuff out of the mansion reportedly took more than a month of full work days.Įventually the estate was bought and down the line has become open to the public as a tourist attraction. After passing away, all of her stuff, aside from the estate itself, was given to her niece and secretary. Of course, Sarah Winchester isn’t around today to read this article (at least in a physical form). The Winchester Mystery House is also big on valuable things–it even has a stained glass window designed by Tiffany. With some 40 bedrooms, she would sleep in a different one every night for the same reason. There are over 10 bathrooms, but only one has plumbing–Sarah decided the others were to confuse spirits. While logically, simply not looking ahead and planning out the mansion may explain why it’s so funky but many blame Sarah’s belief in ghosts.Īnd it turns out, those claims are by no means unfounded. The mansion today (earthquake damage has reduced the place to about 4 stories), has some 160 rooms and like 17 (maybe 19 at one point) chimneys. This probably goes on to explain what the house is known for–namely how weird of a layout the place has. Sarah Winchester was not herself an architect–and she neglected to hire one for herself as well. Once she’d acquired the land, she had a crew working day and night to make what would become a 7-story mansion. With the funds in place, Sarah started her project in 1884, purchasing an incomplete farmhouse in San Jose, California. It also probably didn’t help that Sarah Winchester herself believed in ghosts. To put it quickly it’s been said that the place is haunted by those killed with Winchester rifles. We’re talking over $500 million in now money (it was about 20.5 million back in the 1880s). It probably helped that she received almost 50% of the firearms company, which gave her the equivalent of $25,000 per day in today’s money (back then it was like $1,000).Īside from the hauntings being associated with Winchester, there isn’t much more to it. He died of tuberculosis, netting Sarah a pretty neat inheritance. However, the Winchester Mystery House (why not mystery mansion?) was not constructed while William Wirt Winchester was alive. The latter was the treasurer for the firearms company, hence the connection. The place was the residence of (and constructed under the order of) Sarah Winchester, widow to William Wirt Winchester. It is, though, tangentially related to the Winchester Repeating Arms company. But alas, the Winchester Mystery House is not an armory, as interesting a setting it may be. Like seriously, they were once marketed as “The Gun that Won the West”. You might recognize the name “Winchester” from that rifle used by cowboys. So what’s up with this place? Can you actually go there? What is the Winchester Mystery House exactly?įurther Reading: Why do People Like Haunted Houses? The Name Winchester For those who have not heard of this ghostly abode, it’s the place that helped inspire Walt Disney to create his famous Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland. This post is all about the Winchester Mystery House, perhaps the most famous haunted house of them all. If you’re in the mood for weird haunted houses, you’ve come to the right place.
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