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The Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Mystery House paranormal

Location submitted by: zhall on 01/03/2011
DBA Approved: Y


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PANICd#: 1015

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In 1881, Sarah Winchester, the widow of famous gun maker Oliver Winchester, became convinced that she needed protection from the evil spirits of all the people killed by Winchester rifles.

525 South Winchester Boulevard
San Jose , CA 95128
Phone: (408) 247-2101
Open to the public: Unknown

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.c...

Lat: 37.318334
Lon: -121.951042

Database Summary:

Demographic Rank: 6
History: 1
Stories: 2
Claims: 12
Evidence: 0
Resources: 0
Retrievals: 7217
Vistor Rating: 0.0
Votes: 0

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History

History information is some background and history about the location. This is meant to be a basic summary. Below the history records you will find sources in which you can click on to find out more information. There may be multiple history records per location.


The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California which was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. Located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, the Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion is renowned for its size, its architectural curiosities, and its utter lack of any master building plan. It is a designated California historical landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is privately owned and serves as a tourist attraction.

Before the 1906 earthquake, the house had been seven stories high, but today it is only four stories. The house is predominantly made of redwood, as Mrs. Winchester preferred the wood; however, she disliked the look of it. She therefore demanded that a faux grain and stain be applied. This is why almost all the wood in the home is covered. Approximately 20,500 US gallons of paint were required to paint the house. The home itself is built using a floating foundation that is believed to have saved it from total collapse in the 1906 earthquake and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. This type of construction allows the home to shift freely, as it is not completely attached to its brick base. There are roughly 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms (one completed and one unfinished) as well as 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basements and three elevators. Winchester's property was about 162 acres at one time, but the estate has since been reduced to 4.5 acres the minimum necessary to contain the house and nearby outbuildings. It has gold and silver chandeliers and hand-inlaid parquet floors and trim. There are doors and stairways that lead nowhere and a vast array of colors and materials. Due to Mrs Winchester's debilitating arthritis, special "easy riser" stairways were installed as a replacement for her original steep construction. This allowed her to move about her home freely as she was only able to raise her feet a few inches high.

The home's conveniences were rare at the time of its construction. These included steam and forced-air heating, modern indoor toilets and plumbing, push-button gas lights, Mrs Winchester's personal (and only) hot shower from indoor plumbing. There are also three elevators, one of which was powered by a rare horizontal hydraulic elevator piston. Most elevator pistons are vertical because a vertical layout takes up less space, but Winchester preferred the improved functionality of the horizontal configuration. Mrs. Winchester never skimped on the many adornments that she believed contributed to its architectural beauty. Many of the stained glass windows were created by the Tiffany Company. Some were designed specifically for her, and others by her, including a "spider web" window that featured her favorite web design and the repetition of the number thirteen, another of her preoccupations. This window was never installed, but exists in the so-called "$25,000 storage room" (so named because its contents were originally appraised at a value of $25,000; the value today is inestimable, but thought to be at least ten times that). A second window was designed by Tiffany himself, so that when sunlight strikes the prismatic crystals a rainbow is cast across the room. The window was installed in an interior wall in a room with no light exposure, preventing the effect from being seen.

When Winchester died, all of her possessions (apart from the house) were bequeathed to her niece and personal secretary. Her niece then took everything she wanted and sold the rest in a private auction. It took six trucks working eight hours a day for six weeks to remove all of the furniture from the home. Mrs Winchester made no mention of the mansion in her will, and appraisers considered the house worthless due to the damage caused by the earthquake, the unfinished design and the impractical nature of its construction. It was sold at auction to a local investor for over $135,000. In February 1923, five months after Winchester's death, the house was opened to the public. Harry Houdini toured the mansion in 1924, and the newspaper account of his visit, displayed in the rifle museum on the estate, called it the Mystery House.

Today the home is owned by Winchester Investments LLC and it retains unique touches that reflect Mrs Winchester's beliefs and her reported preoccupation with warding off malevolent spirits. These spirits are said to have directly inspired her as to the way the house should be built. The number thirteen and spider web motifs, which carried spiritual significance for her, occur throughout the house. For example, an expensive imported chandelier that originally had 12 candle-holders was altered to accommodate 13 candles, wall clothes hooks are in multiples of 13, and a spider web-patterned stained glass window contains 13 colored stones. The sink's drain covers also have 13 holes. In tribute, the house's current groundskeepers have created a topiary tree shaped like the numeral 13. Also, every Friday the 13th the large bell on the property is rung 13 times at 1300 hours (1 o'clock p.m.) in tribute to Winchester.

Added by: mmizenko on 09/14/2014 DB#:189
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_Ho...


Stories

Stories are just that. Stories and personal accounts that have been reported about the location.


Is the mansion haunted? Sarah Winchester was convinced it was, and conducted regular seances to keep in touch with the spirits. Staff members at the mansion have reported seeing strange things: Door knobs that move by themselves, cold spots where they shouldn't be, windows that bang closed so hard they shatter.

Added by: mmizenko on 09/15/2014 DB#:1143
Source(s):
http://www.unmuseum.org/winchester.htm


One feature of the Mansion was a bell tower, where the bell was rung every night at about midnight to summon the spirits. Sarah would then ask the good spirits how they wanted the mansion constructed. The bell would again ring out at 2 am. to signal the spirits that it was time to leave. Sarah would emerge from the seance room with new plans for the construction workers. She claimed the good spirits gave her the plans to help her confuse the bad spirits so they couldn't get to her. Many psychics have spent the night at the Winchester Mansion hoping to contact the spirits that reside there

Added by: mmizenko on 09/15/2014 DB#:1144
Source(s):
http://theshadowlands.net/famous/winchester.htm


Paranormal Claims

Here are the paranormal claims for this location. These have been found through Internet research, reports from members, or reports from personal interviews. To add a claim, please contact PANICd.com, and we will review and add your information.


Claim # Added Added By Claim
1827 09/15/2014 mmizenko The property and mansion have been claimed to be haunted by various ghosts, now including Winchester herself, ever since construction commenced in 1884. Under Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its "from-the-ground-up" construction proceeded around the clock, without interruption, until her death on September 5, 1922, at which time work immediately ceased.
1828 09/15/2014 mmizenko Experiences include organ music being heard in the Blue Room where Sarah died.
1829 09/15/2014 mmizenko In Sarah's bedroom cold spots are felt and red balls of light are seen that seem to explode and fade.
1830 09/15/2014 mmizenko Apparitions of a couple lingering in the corner of the bedroom clothed in servants garb dating to the early 20th century.
1832 09/15/2014 mmizenko The sense of being watched is also felt in many parts of the house.
1833 09/15/2014 mmizenko During one seance a psychic appeared to age dramatically and take on the physical appearence of Sarah. Although most people who have felt Sarah have said she is a kind and gentle spirit.
1836 09/15/2014 mmizenko A caretaker who worked at the house for several years said he heard breathing in one room, and once had followed the sound of footsteps to the doorway of Sarahs bedroom. Both instances he was alone.
1838 09/15/2014 mmizenko Another worker in the house claimed to have heard his name whispered.
1839 09/15/2014 mmizenko While still others have sensed being watched, hearing footsteps, and perhapes the strangest of all, the smell of chicken soup coming from the front kitchen that had not been in use for several years.
1843 09/15/2014 mmizenko Apparitions of Sarh have been seen and photographed as well as a man in overalls.
1844 09/15/2014 mmizenko Many episodes of lights turning off and on by themselves when the house is empty and locked up for the night.
1845 09/15/2014 mmizenko Also a room in the house was flooded, every item in the room was soaked. Upon further inspection of the room the floor, the ceiling and the walls were completely dry.

Paranormal Evidence

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Additional Resources

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