A House That Was Under Construction for 38 Years: The Story Behind The Winchester Mansion
Article by David C
This California mansion, owned by Sarah Winchester, the wealthy widow of gun magnate William Winchester, was built in 1884.
The 160-room Victorian mansion, known as the Winchester House located in San Jose, California, was under construction continuously for 38 years. Early reports alleged that after the deaths of her daughter and years later her husband, Ms. Winchester sought the advice of a psychic who told her to contact a medium.
The medium told Sara Winchester she believed there to be a curse over the Winchester family due in part to the role Winchester rifles played in so many deaths. These spirits were seeking vengeance.
There are a few different accounts of the Winchester Mansion story. One account reports that Ms. Sara Winchester was told by the medium to leave her home in the East, travel West and build a new home for herself and the spirits. If she continued to build on the home, she would live. If she stopped, she would die.
Another account is that after she slipped into a coma following the death of her baby girl and husband, upon awakening and at a friend's suggestion, she consulted a medium. During a séance, she received a communication from her late husband in which he said "Sarah dear, if our house had not been finished, I would still be with you. I urge you now to build a home, but never let it be finished, for then you will live…"
Yet another version of the Ms. Winchester's ordeal was that after consulting a medium following her husband's death, the medium told her that she must build a house and never stop building it, otherwise the spirits that killed her family would come after her too.
One thing does remain true…Ms. Winchester went out West and began construction on her house 24 hours a day for 38 straight years. The home is full of bizarre features, a maze-like house full of twists, turns, stairways to nowhere, false doors, secret passageways and dead ends so the spirits would get lost and not be able to find her.
There is a séance room where Sarah Winchester reportedly spoke to spirits nightly at midnight and since then people have reported organ music in the Blue Room where Sarah died, apparitions, cold spots, a smell of chicken soup in the kitchen, red balls of light and more.
Today, the Winchester Mystery House is a tourist attraction and the Winchester Mansion story is told around the world. If you are in the San Jose California area, make sure to check it out and let us know if you hear the spirits playing the organs.
About the Author
To learn more about ghost stories, unsolved mysteries, ghost hauntings and paranormal activity, visit http://www.kenhudnallshow.com for a FREE ebook called "Visits from the Dead" written by well-known author, Ken Hudnall with over 30 years' experience in the world of the strange and unusual.
