8/24/2023 0 Comments Mystery house![]() Personally, Kampschafer thinks Sarah gets a bad rap. She could have been trying to outrun the supernatural, but she also could just have been a really, really bad architect. There is little in the way of hard facts known about Sarah. As Mariah Kampschafer, who has worked as a guide at the house since 2012, admits, most tales about Sarah and her home are conjecture. ![]() Visitors will walk narrow, zig-zagging staircases, spot curiosities like upside-down pillars and cupboards a half-inch deep, and even see rooms damaged by the deadly 1906 San Francisco earthquake (which also removed the house’s fifth, sixth and seventh floors).īut of all the enduring mysteries surrounding Winchester, perhaps Sarah is the biggest. Whatever the truth, a tour of the mansion is packed with strange insights and intriguing theories. Legend has it, however, the widow believed herself haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. (The average daily wage back then was $1.50.) After her husband, William Wirt Winchester, passed, she received an inheritance of $1,000 a day. Sarah could build such a lavish abode because she was heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune. Just as extraordinary is its sheer size: what started as a two-story farmhouse was transformed by Sarah into a seven-story, castle-like residence, with 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces and 10,000 panes of glass. There are also many decorative spider-web patterns – people believed the latter would bring good luck at the time. (Guides nickname this room “the mother-in-law suite.”)Įerie motifs abound: the number 13 appears everywhere (ceilings with 13 panels 13 coat hooks in the “seance room”. Look out for staircases that lead to ceilings windows set into floors a door that opens onto a 12-foot drop. The house, a sprawling puzzle of carnival funhouse-esque quirks, perplexes mere mortals as much as malevolent spirits. Stealing a peek inside the house isn’t confined to the theater, though – you can easily visit yourself. The Oscar winner portrays Sarah Winchester, who it’s said designed the eccentric home to bamboozle ghosts. ![]() But it has drawn international travel attention thanks to the 2018 release of “Winchester,” a horror movie starring Helen Mirren. Winchester Mystery House has loomed large in the imaginations of San Jose locals ever since it was built in 1884. It’s not a convoy of self-driving cars or a brigade of AI robots, but an extravagant, four-story, gabled and turreted Victorian mansion said to be “the most haunted in America.” We look forward to seeing you soon.There’s an odd sight just outside downtown San Jose, California’s “capital of Silicon Valley.” Thank you to everyone who has kept us going over the last few years, we wouldn't have made it without you. If you are interested in booking a private tour for your school group or family reunion or you want a couple hours to yourself for photography email us at or call 54 for more information. ![]() Admission is available at the Gift Shop window on a first come, first serve basis.įor those still interested in a more personal or private experience we are continuing to offer private tours and area rental. Now that Summer is here we have expanded the tour schedule and tours will also run on the half hour as needed. We are as always open 7 days a week, for this season the gift shop is open from 9:30 until 6 with tours running on the hour from 10 until 5. There are a few changes to the way our tours run. It feels like a long time since we have seen everyone. We are so glad to be back for a regular season.
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