Winchester Mystery House: Discover the Curious History of This Infamous Mansion in San Jose, California

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For almost 40 years, the Winchester Mystery House was under a state of constant construction. What was once a simple farmhouse in San Jose, California, slowly grew into one of Time magazine’s top 10 most haunted places in the world and one of HGTV’s 12 scariest homes in America. With an abundance of bizarre architectural details (like staircases that lead to nowhere and a séance room), plus plenty of ghost stories to go around, the historic landmark built by Sarah Winchester is peculiar to say the least. Was the home built for ghosts, or was Sarah just an admirer of unique architecture? Read on to find out why the rifle heiress built such a spooky home.

About Sarah Winchester

Sarah Lockwood Pardee was born in 1839 in New Haven, Connecticut. At the age of 23, she married William Wirt Winchester, the heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, a once prominent American firearm and ammunition manufacturer. After the death of their only child, Annie, and the death of William 15 years later, the now Mrs. Winchester inherited her late husband’s vast rifle fortune of $20 million dollars, plus nearly 50% of the firearm company’s stock.

Devastated by the deaths of her husband and daughter, the rifle heiress reportedly consulted a medium. The spiritualist informed the widow that the ghosts of victims killed by Winchester rifles were seeking revenge on the family, according to the National Park Service. The medium also informed Winchester that the spirits had placed a curse on her, saying that “if she wished to live, she must appease them by moving out west and constantly, without ceasing, build a house for them night and day.” So that is exactly what she did.

With her fortune in tow, Winchester moved to San Jose, California, and purchased a two-story farmhouse, which she named Llanada Villa in honor of her love of the Basque countryside. It was later renamed Winchester Mystery House, one of most mysterious and bizarre mansions in America.

The construction of Winchester Mystery House

Renovations on the farmhouse began in 1886 and lasted for the next 36 years. Reports claim the property was constantly under construction. It’s rumored that her carpenters worked around the clock, rotating in shifts to meet her ever-changing demands. According to Little Things, however, Sarah generously paid her workers 50% more than the average wages of the time, It wasn’t until September of 1922, when Sarah died, that construction finally ceased. Despite having no professional training, Sarah was the sole architect and visionary behind the home. “That she took it seriously is supported by the fact that she subscribed to the Architectural Record while living in California and building her home,” Janan Boehme, a historian at Winchester house, tells AD.” Boehme started as a tour guide at the mystery house in 1977 and has worn many different hats throughout her years at the property, serving as operations manager, cafe manager, and tours manager before becoming the house historian. “I always come back. It’s like home to me. I became fascinated by the place as a very small child, when I saw it as we passed on the way to my grandmother’s house in San Jose.” One of her grandmother’s brothers actually worked for Sarah back when the house was still Llanada Villa, probably as an orchardist.

Looking at the Winchester mansion now, it is almost unfathomable to think it was once a modest eight-room farmhouse. Today, the 24,000-square-foot Victorian mansion has endless twists, turns, and oddities. There are a total of 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 160 rooms, 52 skylights, 47 stairways and fireplaces, 17 chimneys, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens. Some of the staircases lead to nowhere, while doors open to nothing but air, supposedly in an effort to confuse and mislead the rumored murdered spirits around the haunted mansion. Legend has it that Winchester would conduct séances and communicate with spirits in her Blue Room.

Up until 1906, the crown jewel of Sarah’s home was a seven-story tower. That was until the great San Francisco earthquake rocked the sprawling home, causing the tower to partially collapse. It was determined the tower could not be salvaged, which led to its deconstruction and removal from the skyline of the mansion. Some remnants of the tower—like the top finial—can now be seen in the attic of the home.

According to the official website of Winchester Mystery House, the home has over 10,000 panes of glass—more than the Empire State Building. One of the great mysteries that surrounded the mansion for many years was the origin of its stained glass window collection. “My absolute favorite thing to see and learn about there was the stained glass windows and the secrets that Sarah added to her house along the way as the home was being built,” Skylar McCollough, a student from California who visited the home this spring, tells AD.

The fate of Winchester

On September 5, 1922, Sarah Winchester passed away at Llanada Villa, her life’s work. Her niece, Marion “Daisy” Merriman, inherited $3,000 from her aunt, as well as her personal possessions, the contents of Winchester house, and a trust fund worth $200,000. A few short months after Sarah’s death, the auction of Llanada Villa and its surrounding acreage was finalized, leading to the division and sale of the property. In April of the following year, a couple named John and Mayme Brown moved onto the estate and its surrounding grounds with intentions of creating a park and a wooden roller coaster. Due to local restrictions, and overwhelming public interest in the house, the family shifted their focus and instead opened the home’s doors to curious locals and tourists alike.

Famed magician Harry Houdini even paid a visit to the mansion around Halloween in 1924, hoping to debunk paranormal stories. He is said to have left the home with more questions than answers, thus famously referring to the home as “the mystery house.”

With the sale of Winchester and all of Sarah’s possessions, the museum had to take creative liberties when it came to bringing the house back to its original appearance. “We don’t have a single photograph showing the interior of the mansion during Sarah’s lifetime, making it virtually impossible to know how she had it furnished,” Boehme tells AD. “We do try to pick up hints from the finished work in the house. When I realized that a pair of lacquered Japanese-style mantels must have belonged in the morning rooms, I had them reinstalled there and started collecting other pieces in the same style to add to the rooms.”

Visiting the home today

The Winchester Mystery House is located at 525 South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose, California. The home opened its doors to the public in 1923 and has since offered guided tours of the mansion. The 65-minute mansion tour takes guests through 110 of the 160 rooms. “I’ve known about this house for years. I have always wanted to visit and see everything the house had to offer,” McCollough tells AD. “I was surprised to learn about the fate of the house after Sarah had passed and how what we see in the house today are just period pieces. We don’t know how the house looked during Sarah’s time of living there.” McCollough already has plans to visit again in August.

For those especially eager to experience the paranormal side of Winchester Mystery House, a visit around Halloween is a must. Spooky activities range from an indoor theatrical paranormal investigative adventure to a family-friendly jack-o’-lantern trail through the Victorian gardens. There is also a flashlight tour being offered for those who dare.

So, is Winchester a true haunted house?

There is no right answer, but there are plenty of ghost stories to go around. Boehme recalls a day in the ’90s when she was an opening manager at the Winchester Mystery House. “Early one Sunday morning, I was alone on the estate with one janitor, who was sweeping the parking lot in preparation for the day’s visitors,” Boehme tells AD. She recalls hearing footsteps on the roof above her while watering some potted plants. “I quickly looked up, as there was a huge pyramidal glass skylight directly above me. Of course I saw nobody, and convinced myself that it had probably been a raccoon or some other animal.” But just a few short minutes later, the stomping footsteps were back. “Not even thinking, I ran at top speed up a nearby staircase, taking the most direct route to the roof access over the conservatory. It couldn’t have taken me more than six seconds to get up to the third floor room that commanded a full view of the conservatory roof. As you’ve probably guessed, it was completely empty.” The morning’s events left Boehme speechless as anyone on that roof would have had to pass through two latched doors coming directly towards her. “I walked the entire perimeter of the flat-roofed area to make sure nobody had fallen off,” she tells AD. “There was nothing to be seen.”

Boehme isn’t the only employee to encounter strange occurrences in the home. She has heard of sightings of a mustached man standing at the bottom of a staircase wearing old-fashioned overalls, as well as stories from handymen working on the house feeling incessant taps on their shoulders, only to turn around and see nobody. “This is a phenomenon that I and a number of guides have experienced over the years,” Boehme tells AD. “Sometimes, if you’re alone on the third floor, you’ll hear someone whisper your name, but there’s never anyone there. Believe me, it’s impossible to move silently in a house of this age, and nothing is ever heard but the whisper.”

The Winchester movie

With so much lore surrounding the home, a movie about Sarah and the story of the Winchester mystery house comes as no surprise. Winchester hit the big screen in 2018 and starred Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester and Sarah Snook as Sarah’s niece, Daisy. The house closed its doors to the public for a whirlwind 72-hour film shoot of exteriors, aerials, and a few interior rooms. “Scenes showing the ballroom and a few other spots in the house, as well as a nighttime scene of carpenters working up on the roof [were filmed on the premises],” Boehme tells AD. “It was very interesting to be able to have a small part in such an exciting event. Attendance at the mansion was definitely boosted by the release of the film.”

Mirren did extensive research prior to the role, visiting the estate privately to better understand Sarah’s story and immerse herself in her world. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2018, Mirren explained, “She went into mourning and stayed in mourning for the rest of her life, a bit the way Queen Victoria did when she lost her husband. It was a kind of Victorian thing to do, wasn’t it? When you lose someone, the losses can be so unbearable, so difficult. That the only way you can deal with your grief is by feeling they are still with you in some way or another.”

FAQ

How much does a tour of the Winchester house cost?

Ticket prices for adults range from $40 to $50.

How many rooms are in the Winchester Mystery House?

Winchester Mystery House has 160 rooms, 110 of which guests can visit on the mansion tour.

What are the visiting hours for the Winchester Mystery House?

During the summer, the home is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.

Does anyone live in the Winchester House today?

Some of the last residents recorded to have lived on-site at Winchester House were a night watch couple in the 1980s. It seems that nobody has called the mansion home since the ’90s. Except, perhaps, some ghosts.

How far is San Jose from San Francisco?

San Jose is about 55 miles south of San Francisco, or a one hour and 10 minute drive.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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