Date of Discovery
The house was initially built in 1884 however it underwent continuous additions and construction for 36 years.
Name
The Winchester Mansion, The Winchester Mystery House
Physical Description
The mansion which was loosely built in the Queen Anne revival style is 7 stories at its peak with 3 elevators, 47 chimneys, and countless stairwells and possibly as many as 160 rooms. The owner Sarah Winchester was obsessed with the number 13 so most windows contained 13 panes of glass, walls with 13 panels, the greenhouse had 13 cupolas, many floors had 13 design sections, several staircases had 13 steps and rooms would often have 13 windows.
Origin
The story and lore behind the Winchester house are of North American origination.
Mythology and Lore
The lore of haunting in the Winchester Mansion revolves around psychics who have visited who claim to locate spirits and paranormal phenomena within the house. Strange sounds and objects such as windows moving have been reported. Furthermore, employees of the house report walking through unexplained cold spots, moving lights, doorknobs that turn and open doors by themselves.
Although there are no known reports of specific spirits there are speculations that Sarah Winchester’s daughter who died at a young age of marasmus may contribute to the psychic energy within the house or the early loss of her husband Oliver Winchester.
Some speculate the loss of lives to the Winchester Rifles may haunt the grounds as the house was built off of the fortune of those guns.
One thing is for sure and that is Sarah Winchester lived both a blessed and tragedy filled life. Though she inherited a great fortune she spent most of her time after the loss of her child and husband in the house obsessively building and adding onto it. She had a large full-time staff of construction workers for the 36 years she built additions and remodeled obsessing over details such as the number 13 in the construction. It is said that she chose 13 to ward off spirits but the reasoning behind that remains a mystery as does the supernatural activity cited at the house.
Modern Pop-Culture References
Notable the Winchester Mystery House is now open to the public for tours.
Movies
- Winchester – (2018)
Television Series
- Rose Red – Mini-Series (2002 )
Is there anything we missed about The Winchester House? Let us know in the comments section below!
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