![]() ![]() Before she passed away, rumors circulated that a wealthy and eccentric woman was building a mystereous, sprawling estate. What Sarah Winchester left behind is still a mystery. The original modest farmhouse grew into the world’s most unusual and sprawling mansion, which currently, at 24,000 square feet, has: It was once the personal residence of Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester and heiress to a large portion of the Winchester® Repeating Arms fortune.įrom 1886 to 1922, construction seemingly never ceased. The Winchester Mystery House® is an architectural wonder and historic landmark in San Jose, CA. These Are The Facts from the Winchester Mystery House Website Some of the tour guides refuse to use the 3rd floor corridors after dark, as they have heard footsteps or a voice calling their name, even when they are completely alone. Per the Winchester Mystery House’s website, “a number of employees-and a few visitors-claim to have crossed paths with ‘Clyde,’ a mustached man sometimes seen pushing a wheelbarrow in the basement, or trying to repair the fireplace in the Ballroom.” Guests have said “We really like the actor who was ‘repairing’ the ballroom fireplace, wearing white overalls and a Victorian boater hat!” To which the staff reply “huh? We didn’t hire an actor.” You might feel Clyde tug on your pants or shirt as you’re winding through the tour. ![]() ![]() Less officially, both visitors and employees have encountered some ghostly sightings. Called ‘ Who’s Whooooo‘, the brochure gave details of several allegedly haunted locations in the US, including the Winchester House. The US Travel Service, part of the Department of Commerce, published it abroad in the late 1960s. Some sources make the wild claim that the Winchester House is “Certified as Haunted by the US Department of Commerce.” This tale probably originated from a brochure aimed at promoting foreign travel to the US. Since Houdini’s visit, subsequent investigations of the Winchester Mystery House read like a list of who’s who in the paranormal world, including Zak Bagans from Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, renowned psychic Sylvia Browne, and famous medium James Van Praagh. New since Diana’s visit, there is now a Houdini-inspired escape room on the Estate: Houdini‘s Spirited Escape! We hope we can review it for you soon. His visit elicited more questions than answers. He wanted to disprove Spritiualism by debunking the lore that surrounded the recently-deceased Sarah Winchester’s massive, mysterious mansion. Legendary magician Harry Houdini stopped by the Winchester Estate during his 1923-1924 tour. The Victorian-style mansion was declared a California historical landmark and is currently privately owned and serving as a tourist attraction.Winchester Mystery House, Photo courtesy of Travel + Leisure The Haunting There was also only one working toilet for Sarah but all other restrooms were decoys to confuse spirits. It has 160 rooms including 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms, 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys, two basements, and 3 elevators. The Winchester house was worked on daily until Winchester's death in 1922. It is believed that these additions were added to confuse the spirits haunting the property. Without the use of an architect, Sarah directed the construction of the house in a haphazard fashion, adding doors that led nowhere, windows overlooking other rooms and stairs with odd-sized risers. Since its construction in 1884, it was rumored that the house was haunted. Sarah moved from Connecticut to San Jose where she purchased an unfinished farmhouse using the funds from her inheritance. It was at this time that a medium told Sarah she needed to move out and buy a home for herself and the spirits of people who had fallen victim to Winchester rifles. Shortly after his death, Sarah's infant daughter also died of tuberculosis. William Winchester was a gun magnate and left his wife, Sarah, a widow when he succumbed to tuberculosis in 1881. The Winchester Mystery House is a Victorian mansion in San Jose, California, formerly owned by the prominent Winchester family.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |