![]() ![]() Hand-tinted ambrotype of Sarah Winchester taken in 1865 by the Taber Photographic Company of San Francisco, 1865. The company had developed the Henry Rifle, the first true repeating rifle – a popular choice among the Northern troops at the outbreak of the Civil War. ![]() In 1862, at the height of the Civil War, she was married to William Wirt Winchester, heir to the vast wealth of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester was born in 1837 in New Haven, Connecticut. For over a century, rumors have been circulating about the reasons for Sarah’s odd architectural choices, but the story of San Jose’s most mysterious estate is a riddle that may never be solved. The peculiar residence was once home to Sarah Winchester, the widow and heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. The Winchester Mystery House Starts to Take Shapeįollowing this advice, Sarah moved to San Jose with her inheritance and stock in the Winchester company and bought an eight-room farmhouse that would become the legendary Winchester Mystery House.The Winchester Mystery House is an unusual 19th-century mansion in San Jose, California, which contains numerous oddities including doors leading nowhere, 2-inch-high steps, windows overlooking other rooms, and an obsession with the number 13. However, she could avoid this curse by moving out west, buying a house, and remodeling/building it following the guidance of those spirits. ![]() Cooms told her that the spirits of all those killed by Winchester rifles were now taking revenge on her family and that Sarah herself was cursed. The story says that, while looking for a reason that all this bad luck had befallen her family, Sarah went to noted psychic Adam Cooms to ask for his help. ![]() The story continues, but it’s important to keep in mind that there is no definitive proof the next step in Sarah’s life happened as described, though it has been the agreed-upon sequence of events for decades. Sarah was left alone and, understandably, devastated.Įverything relayed so far is 100% factual. In 1881, William contracted tuberculosis and also died. Her daughter Annie died just six weeks after birth, of an extremely rare disease. Sarah, who was by all accounts an extremely kind, sensitive, and generous person, was plagued by terrible tragedies in her personal life.Īfter marrying William Wirt Winchester, the son of the founder of the Winchester rifle company, in 1862, she gave birth to a daughter in 1866. The Winchester Mystery House was once owned by Sarah Winchester (nee Pardee), a well-educated East Coast woman who married into the very wealthy Winchester family. However, since indoor photography in the mansion is not allowed, all photos are provided courtesy of Winchester Mystery House, LLC. However, all opinions and ideas are my own. My admission fee to the Winchester Mystery House was covered by Visit San Jose. Either way, let’s dive into the Winchester House’s strange story! Some of you may not know much about this Victorian mansion in San Jose those of you who are like me and have terrible insomnia and stay up late flipping through haunted mansion specials or ghost chaser shows may have a better idea of why this house is so dreaded. So why is this considered one of the most haunted places in the United States? And what is it really like to wander around its halls? Window in the floor – used with the permission of Winchester Mystery House, LLC © ![]()
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