A – Z Cities with Mysteries – Real & Fictional

 

San Jose, CA

Winchester Mystery House

 

San Jose is the home of the Winchester Mystery House which is a Victorian mansion crafted by Sarah Winchester over a span of 36 years from 1886 to 1922.

Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune, moved to San Jose after the deaths of her husband and infant daughter.

 

Sarah Winchester

A medium, Adam Coons, told her that she and her family were being haunted by the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles, and that she had to build a house for these ghosts and must never stop contruction.

The house became known for its odd architectural features, including staircases leading to nowhere, doors that opened onto walls, and rooms with mismatched windows and doors.

  

The Winchester Mystery House has 160 rooms including 40 bedrooms, 47 staircases, 13 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, 10,000 window panes, 2,000 doors, 52 skylights, 47 fireplaces, three elevators, two basements and just one shower.

Some of the staircases in this home are truly peculiar. Instead of taking you to another floor, they lead right into the ceiling.

 There is a vast network of secret passages twisting throughout the property. One cabinet door opens to a hive of 30 additional rooms.