Every historic property holds its own fascinating story.

Whether it’s a residence, hotel, a gathering hub, or any other structure that has managed to withstand multiple decades, or in some cases centuries, not to mention countless generations, these captivating relics deserve their earned appreciation.

But of all the fabulous architectural gems out there, and the extraordinary stories they tell, none can compare to the most bewitching of them all: an epic Victorian mansion located in San Jose, California.

Known as The Winchester Mystery House, this residence can easily be described as the longest, most expensive, and most peculiar house renovation in world history.

You see, this twenty-four thousand square foot edifice was once a modest eight-room California farmhouse and now spreads over six acres.

But before we travel out west to explore the mysteries of this incredible California mansion, let’s head across the country to New Haven, Connecticut, and learn about the lady responsible for this baffling reconstruction.

The History

The story of this massive expansion, from the original humble farmhouse to the mind-boggling colossal mansion, credits the vision, imagination, and unexplainable rationality of Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, who designed each and every aspect of the home’s mysterious architectural additions herself.

Sarah Pardee was well-educated, an accomplished pianist, and was fluent in multiple languages.  In 1862, Sarah married William Wirt Winchester, who would eventually become the 2^nd president of The Winchester Repeating Arms Company, a renowned American producer of repeating firearms and the ever-popular Winchester Rifle.

Sarah’s life of turmoil began when the couple’s first and only child died within weeks of her birth. Fifteen years later, she faced another tragedy when William’s short-lived presidency of the firearms company ended with his sudden death of tuberculosis. The widowed Mrs. Winchester then became an heiress to a considerably large portion of the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune.

Still grieving the loss of her only child and now her husband, legend has it that a distraught Sarah consulted with a medium for guidance. It’s been said the psychic informed Sarah her family had been cursed by those killed by The Winchester Rifle. The medium explained to Sarah that in order to escape this unfortunate fate, she was to move out west, buy a home, and build onto it continuously to avoid the havoc of these angry spirits. Sarah followed this advice, leaving her home in New Haven, Connecticut, and traveling clear across the country to California. Sarah found and purchased the San Jose farmhouse and began construction immediately, continuing the building process for an uninterrupted period of thirty-eight years.

Sparing no expense on the reconstruction, the newly added rooms, halls, and wings of the house were done so with intricate plans. The walls were wrapped with embossed Lincrusta wall coverings, custom stained glass from the Tiffany Company inserted window panes, while other posh details such as a hand-painted sink from Venice and bamboo fireplace accents from Japan fashioned the house in remarkable splendor.

During this continual erecting, neighbors became curious. Still, Mrs. Winchester, consumed with her ongoing construction, focused intensely on the planning and building of the home, avoiding all social interactions except for her servants, her niece who eventually moved in with her, and of course, the spirits themselves.

The Haunts

In the center of this monumental manor is the séance room.

It was in this room where Mrs. Winchester supposedly conferred nightly with the spirits and where she received their instructions on building this ever-growing house. Bars line the windows in this ominous room, there’s a secret passage, and there’s only one entrance, despite the three non-returnable exits. Mrs. Winchester held the only key to the séance room and was the only (living) person allowed in it.

Mrs. Winchester took the existence of these spirits very seriously. When the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 occurred, this deeply frightened Mrs. Winchester when she found herself temporarily trapped in one of the bedrooms. Damage occurred to the front part of the house resulting from the earthquake, but Mrs. Winchester believed it was a warning sign from the spirits that she had spent far too much money on the front portion of the house. Mrs. Winchester then had thirty of the front rooms boarded up, and continued building onto the backside of the house. Those thirty rooms remained sealed until her death. The hammers finally stopped in September of 1922 when she died.

Inside the house are many bizarre features that were believed to be built by Mrs. Winchester to confuse the spirits.

Among the unexplained oddities in Mrs. Winchester’s mystifying architectural design are staircases that lead to ceilings, doors that open to walls, a forty-four step switchback staircase leading only to one floor above, windows installed in floors, upside down posts, spider-web patterned windows, and doors and a shower only feasible for a person a little over four feet high, which happened to be Mrs. Winchester’s height.

You’ll also find that the number thirteen is very prominent in the house, citing the number of stairs, ceiling panels, windows in particular rooms, drain holes in custom-made sinks, and dazzling stones in an elaborate Tiffany stained glass spider web window. Mrs. Winchester even installed a thirteenth gas lamp on an ornamented twelve-lamp chandelier imported from Germany.

In addition to the numerous spirits derived from The Winchester Rifle, others are known to haunt the one hundred and sixty rooms of The Winchester Mystery House. Among them are those of Mrs. Winchester’s devoted house servants and workers that helped her establish and care for this phenomenal estate.

But don’t take my word for it. Take a tour yourself, and from the comfort of your own living room!

In response to the temporary closure of the mansion in order to maintain the safety and well-being of their guests and staff, a free online virtual tour of the house is being offered until the mansion is able to reopen.

But of course, nothing can compare to seeing this magnificent mansion with your own eyes!

In addition to the virtual tour, The Winchester Mystery House is also offering exclusive ticket vouchers valid through May 1^st, 2021.

From the spellbinding Door to Nowhere, to the mesmerizing swinging chandeliers, The Winchester Mystery House remains at the top of my bucket list!

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To experience the wonder of The Winchester Mystery House!