
The design called for things such as upside down columnns in an attempt to confuse spirits. The tragic losses she suffered helped explain the instability of Sarah's mental state while designing her new home. She would use this wealth in order to construct the house she envisioned. In the process, she gained partial ownership over the Winchester Repeating Arms Company which gave her some extra pay and income. Both of these deaths were very tragic to Sarah and hit her really hard.įollowing the death of her husband, Sarah inherited most of his money which came out to over $20 million dollars. However, tragedy struck when Annie contracted a mysterious childhood disease marasmus and died in 1866. Sarah and Will appeared to have a happy and comfortable life when they had their daughter Annie. Oliver passed on his company to his son after his death in 1880, but his son would die the following year from a tuberculosis illness. Will’s father was the former Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut and the main manufacturer of the famous Winchester rifle in 1862. She married William Wirt Winchester, who is the son of Oliver Fischer Winchester. Sarah Winchester was born Sarah Lockwood Pardee as the daughter of Leonard Pardee and his wife in the summer of 1839 in New Haven, Connecticut. Despite the house's paranormal character, it is a great example of Victorian architecture albeit an extremely haphazard one.
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Sarah would hold seances to try to receive inspiration about how to design the house. Tragically, Sarah's daughter and later, her husband, died which caused her tremendous mental and psychological anguish. The house is believed to be very haunted some of the ghosts are considered those killed by the Winchester rifle. In fact, the house is so massive and confusing that tour guides adamantly warn visitors to stay with the group or they may be lost for hours.

It is essentially a labyrinth of hallways and rooms sometimes with paths that lead to nowhere. The house is significant not only for its size, but the fact that it was built without any plan to speak of. It was built by Sarah Winchester, who was the widow of William Wirt Winchester, who was the son of the maker of the Winchester rifle.

Constructed between 18, the Winchester Mystery House is an enormous Victorian-style mansion in San Jose.
