The Mystery of The Winchester Mystery House

Don’t you just LOVE a good mystery? If you’re anything like me, mysteries and unusual things are especially memorable. For instance, when someone says “Hey we’re going to X”, my brain digs up an extremely fringe fact about that place. Key West? Ernest Hemmingway had a house there. Rome? I read about this thing called the Alchemist’s Gate. Prague? I think there is a church made of bones near there. And San Jose? Well, that’s where the Winchester House is. Since it’s purported to be extremely haunted, I naturally remembered it! Doors that don’t open. Stairs that lead to nowhere. Sound fun? Join us as we unpack the mystery of the Winchester Mystery House!

First up, why San Jose?

As is usually the case for Stephen, he read about the Boston 2 Big Sur Marathon somewhere and HAD to check it out for himself. Now, this isn’t a race that runs FROM Boston to Big Sur, because that would be like 3,000 miles. Instead, this is a challenge for runners who complete the Boston Marathon to turn around and run the Big Sur Marathon shortly afterward. There are usually 6 days to 2 weeks between the two. So in 2019, we boarded a plane and flew to San Jose, California 11 days after Stephen ran the Boston Marathon.

Image of a man and woman wearing sunglasses. They are standing in front of a palm tree.

Our first stop? Well, beer and lunch of course. But the mystery would begin shortly there after.

The History of Sarah Winchester

Below is a summary of all the info I found on the internet.

The mystery behind the Winchester Mystery House! Image of Sarah Winchester circa 1860. She has brown hair that is curly and pinned back in a bun. She is wearing a high collared black dress with a white scarf underneath. — Sarah Winchester – Wikimedia Commons

The origin of the mystery? Image of William Wirt Winchester. He is a thin man with neatly combed hair and unruly, long, sideburns. He is wearing a suit coat and vest along with a white shirt and a wide collar with a scarf tied under it like a bow tie. — Sarah Winchester – Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Pardee and William Winchester were from wealthy families in New England. Sarah was educated and her father was a successful carriage manufacturer. William was the only son of firearms manufacturer, Oliver Winchester. They married in 1862 and four years later, they welcomed their daughter, Annie, into the world.

The Tragedies of Sarah Winchester

Forty days after her birth, Annie died from malnutrition. She was born with a rare disease that would not allow her body to metabolize proteins. 14 years later, Oliver Winchester died and left the company to William. And one year after that, William died from tuberculosis. So in a relatively short period of time Sarah lost her daughter, her father-in-law, and her husband and she became very, VERY wealthy. How wealthy? Like she was earning $1,000 a day. And that’s in 1800’s money. Converted to today’s dollars, it’s something similar to the GNP of the Philippines.

The Mystery Begins

After consulting a psychic, Sarah headed out west and started a new life – sort of like the Beverly Hillbillies, but with a higher standard of living. She bought an 8 bedroom farm house in the Santa Clara Valley and began building.

The Mysterious Winchester House before the 1906 earthquake. Image of a sepia tone postcard showing an enormous home that looks like a city. It's topped with a bell tower that isn't there today.

Legend has it, the psychic told her she needed to make a home for all the souls killed by Winchester firearms and that the ambling construction was meant to confuse the spirits who haunt there. It had over 160 rooms, 10,000 windows and 2 basements. After visiting it myself, I sort of think it’s much more of a puzzle for the living! Not all of the 2,000 doors open and some of them open to your peril. One leads to an 8 foot drop to a kitchen sink and another, to a 15 foot drop to some shrubbery!!

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - one of the doors to nowhere. Image of the exterior of the house. There is a door opened next to a turret. There is no landing beneath the door. If you exit there, you fall. — Exterior view

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - view from the door to nowhere. Image of the tops of several smaller buildings with orange, Spanish tile roofs. From this door, you are looking down on several trees and the ground has to be 20 feet down. — Exterior view

The Mystery House Tour

First weird thing…

When I heard about this house, I expected it to be somewhere out in the country side or up on a mountain. Actually, it is now right across the street from Santana Row, a really nice, outdoor mall.

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - why is it so crammed into a mixed use area? Image of shade trees, palm trees and ornamental vases in front of a Tommy Bahama store.

This led to the first mystery, why is it crammed into this weird residential and mixed use area. I mean, I get it. The house was first and everything came after, but it is still odd.

Second Weird Thing…

Far from being spooky, I thought the house was beautiful and even, cheerful. I mean, most of it is painted yellow for starters. And the stained glass was crafted by Tiffany & Co!!

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - I thought it was beautiful. Image of an stained glass window that is pink and full of tiny flowers. The window is framed in dark cherry wood that matches the stairs and bannister. — Tiffany window by formal staircase

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - I found it cozy. Image of light green claw foot bathtub with a wooden lip and interior. Beneath it, the floor is hard wood and there is a matching rag rug in front of it. — Tiffany window by formal staircase

The Mysterious Spaces

The Spooky

To be fair, some of it was a little on the creepier side. For instance these spaces:

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - the crooked stairway that leads to the ceiling rafters! There seems to be a door that opens to these wooden stairs the walls are finished wood paneling. — Crooked stairs leading to the ceiling

The Mystery of the Winchester Mystery House - doors that lead to mysterious spaces. This image shows a door way with a red velvet rope. There is a small hallway and a doorway on the other side. In between are unfinished walls. — Crooked stairs leading to the ceiling

The Destroyed

Mrs. Winchester was in her bedroom when the earthquake that leveled San Francisco hit. Even with all her money and with all the construction people she employed, her room remains as it was after she was rescued.

Image of a wall. Most of the plaster is broken away, exposing small wooden slat substructures. There are pictures on the wall. The ceiling is in the same condition as the wall, most the plaster is gone. — The walls of her room

Image of a door with a broken plaster wall next to it. Through the door, you can see another room. The wall to the right has a wooden window and most the plaster is in tact. The floor, however, is missing only wooden joist can be seen. The ceiling is in the same condition. There is a wooden substructure, but no plaster. — The walls of her room

And The Haunted??

For no specific reason, I did feel the ballroom was a little more mysterious than the rest of the house. Like, if I were sleeping overnight, I would TOTALLY avoid this space after dark.

Image of an ornate ball room. The floor is polished wooden squares. There is an elaborate fire place with an iron fascia and tile surrounding the box. There is a clock on the mantle and a mirror behind it that goes almost the to ceiling. There are bookcases on either side that hold statues and books. There is a stained glass window to the right that looks like a crest. There are two heavy red velvet curtains that look like they close off a small private space that has a table and a lamp. — The Ballroom

The Conclusion??

The Winchester Mystery House is one of MANY places we’ve visited that is reported to be haunted. It was a little too large for my taste but most of it was rather welcoming and cozy. Although there is speculation that Sarah built it to appease the spirits that were coming for her, I rather felt that she kept construction going because she was kind and generous. I could believe that she employed the workers simply because they needed the work and that she was more interested in people than architecture.

But…I am often wrong. So who knows!!! If you’d like a spooky take on the house, check out this trailer for Winchester. And if you’d like to follow all our haunted travels, considered subscribing today for free! You’ll get first look at what’s new and special content reserved just for you!!