![]() According to this theory, her passion for quirky architecture, desire to help others, and expansive fortune culminated in the Winchester House. The House’s Conflicting HistoriesĪn alternative and far less spooky theory about the Winchester House is that Sarah was simply an eccentric philanthropist who kept her workers employed during the economic depression of the late 1800s. In 2018, Winchester, a horror movie starring Helen Mirren, glamorized Sarah Winchester’s story and familial tragedy, with a solid dose of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. The Winchester House story has even been depicted in pop culture. ![]() Still, the Winchester House is a wonder to behold and it’s easy to get lost in the seemingly endless loops of hallways, trick doors, and concentric rooms. The Winchester House once had nearly 600 rooms and towered seven stories tall, but it was partially destroyed in 1906 when an earthquake decimated the upper floors. The massive mansion spans over 24,000 square feet and contains 160 rooms.Īnd believe it or not, the mansion actually used to be taller and grander. Staircases end abruptly at the ceiling, doors open to nowhere, rooms are built inside rooms, doors are built in all shapes and sizes, and skylights have been installed in the floors. Some of the most intriguing features of the Winchester House are those that defy logic. Lee Boxleitner / The Strangest House On The Planet Apparently, Sarah conducted nightly seances with the dead and had her workers carry out their strange construction requests during the following day. According to legend, the souls who lost their lives at the end of the barrel of the Model 73 haunted Sarah until her death, prompting her to implement extravagant, and often confusing, renovations. Its popularity was unrivaled in the expansion years of the late 1800s. The Winchesters got rich from the Model 73. ![]() As such, the Model 73 was a new breed of weapon that claimed the lives of many people around the turn of the century. In 1873, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company revolutionized the gun industry with its Model 73, nicknamed “the gun that won the West.” It was one of the first repeating rifles and could fire with expert precision with very little lag time between shots. Dragon Jovanovic / Renovating To Appease Restless Spirits ![]() She accepted this as her only option a way to quiet the spirits and save herself from the Winchester family curse. The only way to save herself, according to Coons, was to endlessly build onto her San Jose mansion. He confirmed what she had long suspected: that the Winchester family was cursed by the legions of people who were killed by the gun that won the West. Allegedly, a desperate Sarah turned to Adam Coons, a prominent psychic of the time. Annie Pardee Winchester was born in 1866, but lived less than two months, wasting away from marasmus, a type of malnutrition.įifteen years later, when he was in his early 40s, William Wirt died suddenly of tuberculosis, leading Sarah to question if the Winchester family was cursed. Shortly after they were married in 1862, they had a daughter. Sarah and William Wirt Winchester endured several tragedies during their brief marriage. But the story of the mansion isn’t all charming redecorating and opulent additions. With nearly half a billion dollars by today’s standards, plus plenty of company stock, Sarah was able to keep her eccentric mansion under constant renovation for nearly four decades. Sarah Winchester was an extremely wealthy widow who inherited $20 million from her husband, William Wirt Winchester, heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company fortune. Sarah Winchester started renovating the property in 1884 and continued nonstop until her death in 1922.įor 38 years the Winchester House underwent dramatic, and occasionally bizarre, construction. Over the next several decades, she transformed it into a peculiar, spooky, and incredible work of architecture. The Winchester House, located in San Jose, California, was purchased by Sarah Pardee Winchester when it was just a modest farmhouse. The Golden State is known for Hollywood glamour, astonishing miles of coastline, and a mysterious peace offering to those whose lives were cut short by the gun that won the West - that is, the Winchester Model 1873 Repeating Rifle.
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