Winchester House Museum opens the most expensive tour. The Curse of the House of Winchester: A History of Sarah and Her Husband, Written in Blood Sarah Winchester and Her House

House of Winchesters- house number 525 on Winchester Boulevard in the city of San Jose - a place that many tourists visiting California want to visit. The structure has 160 rooms, 40 stairs, 2000 doors, 10000 windows, 6 kitchens, 47 fireplaces. In 1884, the house was purchased by Sarah Winchester, widow of William Winchester, son of Oliver Winchester, inventor of the legendary rifle.

While the hostess was alive, guests were not invited here; even President Roosevelt, who tried to ask for tea, got a turn at the gate. Now the former possessions of Sarah Winchester, nee Sarah Lockwood Purdy, scurry about groups of curious. But, by and large, the house is just as inaccessible to strangers as it was during the life of the owner. Some places, like some stories, remain impenetrable to outsiders. The home of Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Winchester, looks like an arthritic old fist. The fist is almost not unclenched.

At first, the house had 6 floors, but after the 1906 earthquake, half of the floors collapsed. Since then, and to this day, the house has only 3 floors. in front of you rare photos six storey building.

The life of Sarah Purdy developed reasonably and successfully. She was 25 when she married, in 1862, William, the son of "the same" Oliver Winchester, whose multiply-charged products are said to have decided the outcome of the American Civil War.

The family grew rich rapidly on military orders, the newlyweds lived in love and prosperity. Small, less than five feet tall, but lovely Mrs. Winchester was the life of the party in New Haven, Connecticut. But four years after the wedding, a misfortune happened in the family - shortly after birth, Annie's daughter died.

Sarah almost went insane, and only after ten years, as they say, did she come to her senses. The Winchesters had no other children. In 1881, William Winchester died of tuberculosis, leaving Sarah a widow with an inheritance of $20 million and a daily income of $1,000 (she got half of the firm's income). Mrs. Winchester was inconsolable. Trying to understand why fate was punishing her so cruelly, she went to Boston to see a medium.

The medium communicated with the spirit of William Winchester for a modest fee. The spirit told her to tell Sarah that the family is cursed by those who died from high-quality Winchester products. He also said that in order to save own life Sarah must move west towards sunset, and in the place that she will be indicated, stop and start building a house. Construction must not stop; if the hammering stops, Mrs. Winchester will die.

The widow packed her belongings and headed west. In 1884, she reached San José, where, according to her, the spirit of her husband told her to stop. She bought a house and set about remodeling and expanding it. Sarah Winchester did this for 38 years in a row, without resorting to the services of professional architects.

The house was built in such a way as to confuse the spirits that would come to the soul of Mrs. Winchester. Therefore, the doors here open into the walls, and the stairs rest against the ceilings. The corridors are narrow and winding, like snake loops.

Some doors of the upper floors open outward, so that an inattentive guest will fall straight into the yard, into the bushes; others are arranged in such a way that, having passed the span, the guest must fall into kitchen sink one floor below or break through a window arranged in the floor of the lower floor. The doors of many bathrooms are transparent.

Terrace.

Secret doors and windows open in the walls, through which you can quietly observe what is happening in neighboring rooms.

The mystical symbolism of the house smacks of simplicity. All stairs, except one, are made up of 13 steps. Many rooms have 13 windows. Luxurious stained glass windows from Tiffany consist of 13 segments. The abundance of fireplaces in the house is explained by the fact that, according to legend, spirits could enter the house through the chimneys.

Other guests were not expected here, and, apparently, Sarah was quite content with her own ideas about the other world. Everything in the house was tailored to the standards of the hostess. The steps are low so that a sick old woman can easily climb them. To lean on the railing, you should bend down - Sarah was short.

The corridors and bays are very narrow - Sarah was thin. The house, the designs of which the hostess drew on a napkin at breakfast, seems to be the embodiment of the writer's fantasies. Sarah Winchester was sure that spirits live here. Every midnight a gong sounded, and the hostess retired to a special room for a seance. During these hours, the servants heard the sounds of an organ on which the mistress, ill with arthritis, could not play.

By 1906 the house had grown to six stories. But there was an earthquake, and the top three floors collapsed. The hostess, fearing the persecution of evil spirits, slept in a new place every night, and after the earthquake, the servants, who did not know where she was this time, did not immediately find her under the rubble. Sarah interpreted what had happened as an intrusion of spirits into the front of the house. 30 unfinished rooms were locked and boarded up, construction continued. Unsuccessful fragments were destroyed, new ones were built in their place.

Main entrance.

Sarah Winchester died in September 1922 at the age of 85. No money was found in the owner's safe, only 2 strands of hair - her late husband and daughter, as well as a 13-point will, signed 13 times. All the fortune was invested in an unusual house.

The bell that rings 13 times on Friday the 13th

In the park and squares of Mrs. Winchester, 8-10 gardeners worked at the same time. Her park, laid out in the Victorian style, was filled with trees and plants from almost every country in the world.

There were northern pines and southern persimmons, and the rarest trees and common chestnuts from England. The list of plants brought here from all over the world is so long that it would be inhumane to copy it here.

On occasion, the San Jose administration held charitable events in the park generously sponsored by Ms. Winchester. The hostess herself beautiful park shied away from crowded places and preferred solitude in the gazebo of one of the courtyards, not far from the flower beds with the collection medicinal plants collected all over the world.

After her death in the house began to happen unexplained phenomena: doors slammed by themselves, things moved, lights went out. Paranormal experts believe that some angry ghosts in long search The Sarahs became the eternal captives of the labyrinth mansion. In addition, the spirits are angry that they could not take revenge and the widow of Winchester died of natural causes.

Some believe that spirits still roam the hallways of the house. In particular, from time to time it can be seen the ghost of a man with a black mustache in work clothes, doing repairs and Sarah herself, dressed in black and with a black veil. In addition, the sounds of footsteps can be heard in the house, as well as doors swing open and slam shut.

Another recorded phenomenon is cold spots - places where there is an inexplicable drop in temperature. Also, sometimes visitors can smell chicken soup coming from the kitchen, which has not been used since the death of the owner, as well as hearing her own names, as if someone was shouting them in the empty next room.

The total construction costs for 1922 were approximately $5.5 million. In the 2008 equivalent, this figure is approximately $70 million.

In general, Sarah was not as crazy as it seems. She donated $2 million to a hospital in Connecticut, with which a special tuberculosis unit was built, which is still open. On 40 hectares, she grew plums and apricots, dried them and exported them to Europe - in the local telephone directory she appeared under the number M15, as "fruit seller Sarah Winchester." She brought electricity, gas and sewerage to the house, installed three elevators. But, despite these improvements, the house, in which she invested five and a half million, after her death, went at auction for only $135,000.

When choosing a product, Sarah never spent trifles, she often paid in gold, which aroused such respect from the merchants that the goods were brought directly to her carriage to check before buying.

She generously paid workers who brought at least three dollars from each shift, and her plans to live forever provided jobs not only local residents, but also their children. In the end, the grandchildren of its builders also took part in the construction of the Winchester House.

Sarah Winchester in her youth.

She is old.

The name Winchester has long been associated with mysticism and mystery. The creator of the famous rifle left behind a rich legacy and a history written in blood.

Everyone knows that money does not make a person happier. So it happened with Sarah, the only heiress to the huge fortune of the Winchesters. About her difficult fate and will be discussed in this article!

Spouses Winchester

It’s worth starting with the head of this famous family, Oliver Winchester. It was his invention, the famous rifle, that in the second half of the 19th century turned out to be a decisive link in civil war. The repeating shotgun, which was then a novelty, became an indispensable attribute of the Wild West and the times when all disputes were resolved with the help of gunfights.

Oliver and his wife had several children, but the heir to his company was The only son William. The young man at the age of 25 married Sarah Purdy and worked all his life as a treasurer in the company founded by his father. But his name became known only after his death.

In 1866, the Winchesters had a daughter, Annie, who did not live even a month. The death of the girl broke Sarah, and she spent several years in the hospital. Returning home after treatment, the woman was waiting serious trials- first her father-in-law Oliver dies, then her husband William. The husband suffered from tuberculosis and died in March 1881 at the age of 43.

Widow of the Winchesters

Since that time, Sarah has become the heir to a huge fortune. On that moment, late XIX century, she had an inheritance of $20 million (the modern equivalent of $500 million). The woman also received a daily income from sales of $ 1,000 ($ 25,000) and half the shares of the Winchester company. This made her one of the most richest women that time. However, this did not make her happy, on the contrary, Sarah was inspired by a strange idea.

She was sure that her family was being pursued by evil fate, and turned to mediums. Before marriage, she was devout, but a series of deaths broke her, and Sarah decided to look for an answer in the other world. In those years, mediums were very popular, so she easily found someone who told her the truth. Medium Alan Kuhn from Boston told the widow that he had communicated with her husband and accurately described him. This assured Sarah that she was doing the right thing.

The medium, on behalf of William, declared that the family was indeed cursed. The reason for this is the souls of those who died from the deadly rifle created by his father. Sarah had to build a house for them and for herself, where the spirits indicated. There was one more condition - the knocking of hammers should not stop in the house.

Sarah, inspired by Alan, traveled west and in 1884 reached the small Santa Clara Valley mansion. There she heard the voice of her husband, who said "Here", and the widow immediately began construction. This house is known to this day as the most mystical and mansion in the world.

House of Winchesters

For the rest of her life, namely 37 years, Sarah devoted herself to construction. She spent all her fortune for this business and went down in history as the strangest widow. Not for a single day did the knocking of hammers stop until the woman's death in 1922.

From an unfinished mansion, she made a seven-story building according to her personal drawings. Sarah did not use the services of an architect and gave all instructions to the foreman directly in the morning. There was no construction plan, which is not surprising, because this house is absolutely different from the others.

Sarah did her best to keep the spirits coming into the mansion from reaching her. That is why the house was filled with traps and had many connections with the number 13.

The seven-story building had hundreds of rooms that were connected to each other by secret passages. Stairs led to the ceiling, corridors ended in dead ends, and some doors opened onto the street, so that the guest could easily break. There were 13 fake chimneys on the roof, and many of the rooms had tiny secret windows for observation. Sarah ordered the construction of secret passages, thanks to which she found herself in another part of the house in a couple of minutes.

In 1906 the building was damaged by powerful earthquake which destroyed several floors. Four floors of this mysterious house have survived to this day. Even during the life of the widow Winchester, this house attracted the attention of the press and lovers of the paranormal. According to one story, the Austrian Schulz Reicherd decided to count how many rooms there were. After a few days of drawing chalk marks on the doors, he realized that it was useless. In the morning it turned out that the doors with numbers lead to a dead end. Therefore, Schultz agreed with the widow and asked to leave him alone for a couple of days to personally check everything.

Surprisingly, all the workers and Sarah herself left the mansion, only the carpenter who made the fence remained (remember the knock of the hammer?). A few days later, it turned out that Schultz had disappeared from the house without a trace, and was never seen again. After this story, mediums became interested in the building, who strongly advised the widow to leave it - it was full of spirits.

The builders said that at night Sarah meets with hordes of spirits that come here and stay until dawn. Carpenters left work because they saw ghosts and strange phenomena. Of course, this all turned into legends that frighten lovers of mysticism.

However, Sarah did not leave her offspring until her death in 1922. She passed away at the age of 82 and left her legacy to her niece. The Winchester mansion still stands today and is popular. By the way, not all of its mysteries have yet been revealed, for example, in 2016 a secret room with paintings and sewing machine. Many rooms remain unfinished.

The story of Sarah Winchester is full of mysteries, it is still unknown what actually inspired her to build such a mystical mansion. Perhaps she herself believed in the curse of the Winchester family ...

San Jose, California, 1906 A house is being built. At night, in the bedroom, the boy hears the sound of a bell. He leaves the bedroom. His mother Marion Marriott wakes up sleeping in the same bed. She takes the lamp, goes in search of her son, calls him: Henry! Marion discovers Henry. The boy is standing with a bag over his head. The mother comes up to him, removes the bag from his head. The boy's eyes are rolled back, only the whites are visible. Henry says in a hoarse whisper: he will come for us. Footsteps are heard in the house.

San Francisco, California. Dr. Eric Price, in the company of a scantily clad girl, drinks alcohol and laudanum. In a semi-delirious state, Price sees blood oozing from a panel of deer hanging on the wall. He wonders what controls what, the mind the body or the body the mind? Our mind is capable of the most unusual things, we think that we have a reality in front of us - but in fact it is an illusion. He shows the whore a trick with the bill, which remains in a horizontal position, leaning on the edge of Price's finger. So fear is only in your head.

There is a knock on the door. Price opens, a man stands on the threshold. This is Arthur Gates, legal counsel for the Winchester firearms company. Price escorts the girl, launches a lawyer into the house. I want to offer you a job. Price pours himself a whiskey: I'm on vacation. It's about Sarah Winchester. Her husband William died 25 years ago, leaving the widow a decent fortune. She owns 51% of the company's shares. Sarah also lost her daughter Annie. The widow bought a house with eight rooms. Since then, she has been continuously building it up. Therefore, today the house has turned into a huge seven-story building. Its layout defies any logic; inside it is a huge labyrinth of separate rooms and corridors. Sarah Winchester's mental state is worrying. We need a professional who would draw up a conclusion: is Sarah capable of participating in the affairs of the company's management? Do you understand that it is impossible to make such a conclusion remotely? Sarah Winchester has given you the rare honor of inviting you to her house. No, it's too much trouble. You don't need money? You have no debts, your house is not mortgaged? As you want? Three hundred dollars. We'll give you six hundred for the examination.

On the way to Sarah Winchester's house, Price leafs through the company's catalog. He sees there not only samples firearms but also roller skates. When Price arrives at Sarah's house, he sees that there is indeed work going on to build new additions to the building.

Price meets Marion. This is Sarah Winchester's niece, who lives in her house with her son. Marion informs Price that all guests in Sarah's house must obey the hostess' schedule. Sarah disapproves of alcohol being consumed before dinner. Her sense of smell is just as good as mine. Price moves into the room provided to him. He takes a dose of laudanum, examines his face in the mirror. The mirror spontaneously turns on the stand, Price returns it to its previous position. Suddenly he sees behind the mirror turned to him at a right angle the face of a dead woman. Price attributes the vision to the influence of opiates. The footman invites Price to dinner.

Price, Marion and Henry are sitting at the table waiting for the hostess. Price asks the boy if he is happy to be at his grandmother's house. We are here because my father is gone. And I don't regret it at all! Price says he's experienced loss too loved one, so Marion and Henry can help. The woman advises the doctor: write in your report that Sarah is healthy, and leave here.

Sarah appears. Price asks if the Winchester is really the best rifle on the firearms market? What is the best? In accuracy and range of fire, in lethal force. That is, in the possibility of indiscriminate killings, Sarah clarifies. But you also produce roller skates, they are not so dangerous for people. Yes, and the shareholders of the company are unhappy with this.

In the evening, Price takes laudanum again. It seems to him that next to him is his late wife Ruby. You call it delusional disorder? A shot sounds. Price gets out of bed. From the intercom located on the wall of his room, strange sounds are heard. They come from the hole, signed "Winter Garden". Price leaves the room. He peeks into Sarah's room, sees her taking a glass box out of the safe. Sarah feels that someone is watching her. Price tries to hide, he jumps into the room, the door of which opens into the corridor. Sarah stands at the door, then leaves. Suddenly, Price sees a ghost, he jumps out the door in a panic. Again he attributes the vision to the action of laudanum: that's how you poisoned your brain!

Henry hears sounds under the bed. He peers in, suddenly a boot on a roller rushes past him.

Price goes to the winter garden, the doors are boarded up. He looks out the window, feels a sense of deja vu, sees some kind of shadow flickering inside.

Henry with a bag on his head passes by a carpenter working on the scaffolding and falls down. Price catches the boy. He removes the bag from Henry's head, rolling his eyes again. The boy says in a strange voice: I see you. Marion comes running, thanking Price for saving her son.

The next day, Sarah meets with Price, also thanks him for the noble deed. Did he sleepwalk before? No, but he saw his father die.

Sarah asks Price: Do you abuse drugs? Did your wife think you were a good therapist? Price refuses to talk about his personal life. Let's talk about you. Okay, I'll tell you something that's hard to believe. But it really is. I am cursed. Like this? I profit from death. Shadows haunt me. Price starts talking about how the mind controls the body, he can pass off an illusion as reality. He shows Sarah the banknote trick. But Sarah immediately exposes the deception. Do you believe in ghosts? No. Why do you take me for a fool? This is my house, so your drugs will be seized. We need expert opinion, and that requires a clear head.

Price is forbidden to leave his room, Sarah's servant is constantly on duty at his door. Price discovers that his drugs are gone. He sits down to draw up an expert opinion, in which he writes that with clarity of mind, Sarah shows some aggressiveness and says that she sees shadows. She has visual hallucinations. Sarah told Price that she felt the energy of ghosts. They were brought here by unfinished business.

The bell rings at midnight. Price asks the servant: why is the bell tolling? Because midnight. Price gets out of his room through the window, wanders around the house. He sees Sarah, in a trance, drawing plans for the new premises of her house. Suddenly, the face of a ghost appears in front of Price. Price hides in his room. He comes to the conclusion that the laudanum has not yet left his body, he begins to break down.

The next day, Sarah asks Price what it's like to die? After all, you went to another world for three minutes, you were shot. It hurts. Then darkness. But when I came to my senses, the pain arose again. He shows Sarah the engraved bullet. You recovered the bullet that shot you! What for? These are memories of the past, a connection with death. What are you holding on to? Sarah is talking about spiritualism. Did you leave your room at night? Yes. It's good that you confessed. Why are you constantly building your house? Spirits guide me. At midnight they get up, make contact with me and try to recreate the rooms in which they died. They need this in order to re-enter our world. But last night, our family was threatened by a very powerful ghost. Do you see anyone in this room? Nobody but you. Your head is still cloudy, it will take time to clear it up. What happens when the building is completed? Then the voice of the ghost grows stronger, we communicate with him, I save him from grief and anger, he thanks me and leaves in peace. But some have to be locked up. To do this, the room of such a ghost is locked on a board into which thirteen nails are driven in. And incorrigible ghosts prey on the innocent, just like they do now with Henry. And we can come between them. Price says he doesn't believe in ghosts. You need to let go of your past. Okay, do not believe me - write your conclusion, tell us what you think about Sarah Winchester.

Price talks with the butler Augustine: Have you seen ghosts? No. I have heard many stories, but they are all stories.

Price asks construction manager John Hansen if Sarah's behavior seems strange to him. No. We are grateful to her for providing us with work. Price asks to show him the conservatory. No, you can't go there, it's sealed.

Price is talking to Marion. She asks: Do you think Sarah is crazy? I would not be so harsh, but with the right treatment, anyone can be helped. How did your husband die? He died because of the demons, he liked to drink more than his wife and son. We're better off without him. But what's happening now with Henry scares me. You are able to protect him. No, I'm not a fighter, but my aunt is. Are you able to sacrifice yourself for the sake of a loved one? Yes. What have you done for this? I died.

Sarah comes down the ramp from the top floor. Shots are fired. This is Henry firing a rifle at Sarah, who is hiding from him. The rifle runs out of ammo, Price tries to hold the boy, who shouts to Sarah in a voice that is not his own: die! Price insists that the boy be sent to the hospital. Sarah objects, Marion supports Price, who arranges transport to take Henry to the hospital.

Price meets young man, whom he mistook for one of the servants. He asks how he can help. Collect suitcases. The young man says that he saw the shadows of criminals in the house, some sounds are heard in the clogged rooms. Price sees a ghost. He comes to Sarah and says: among your staff there is a person who is not himself. Sarah shows him a newspaper from twenty years ago. It is written about the massacre that Corporal Benjamin Block arranged in the offices of the Winchester Company. His brothers were killed in the war with rifles made by the company. In a photograph of an old newspaper, Price sees the face of a young man with whom he has just been talking. Block was killed in the office's display room, where weapon samples were stored in display cases. The last room, attached to Sarah's house, exactly reproduces the same room. Sarah says: now you have to believe me. She loudly addresses Corporal Blok, asks for forgiveness for the fact that his brothers were killed, asks to leave her house, leave her relatives alone.

The walls of the house begin to shake, dishes fall, John Hansen is carried out of the room, nails pop out of the boarded up doors.

Price assures himself that the fears are only in his head. The bell rings, and the key to the winter garden falls from above to Price's feet. Armed with an ax, Price goes to the winter garden. There he sees a rocking chair. Ruby's ghost appears. She asks her husband to tell a story about a farmer and his mule that fell into a well. Price talks about how the mule was helped by what should have been his undoing. I needed to heal you. No, you needed to believe me. Ruby takes out a gun, aims it at her chin, Price rushes to her, Ruby shoots her husband, he falls backwards. Ruby shoots herself. You can move on, leave your guilt behind,” she tells Price. He gets up. He is surrounded by ghosts. Price comes out of the winter garden. He sees the ghost of a black slave who scatters nails on the floor. Price collects them, moves on. He cuts the ceiling with an axe, through the resulting hole penetrates into a copy of the demonstration room. Sarah sits there on a chair, her head is covered with a black veil. She asks Price to seal the doors of the room, Ben must not leave. Price says he now believes Sarah, he sees ghosts. You were dead for three minutes, you were shot with a Winchester, because you are connected with this house.

Marion rushes around the house, she is looking for Henry, she finds a boy, he is not himself. Marion asks him to return to her.

Sarah says that the only way to save Marion and Henry is to stop Ben. She starts talking to Ben. He moves into her body, Sarah fights with a ghost. She manages to master her body. He is afraid of something, something in this room. Ben reappears, Price shoots him. No, he's not afraid of the gun. Price suddenly realizes that the only thing that can stop Ben is the engraved bullet that was removed from his body.

Ben starts to run amok, the walls are shaking, the windows are breaking, the guns are hanging in the air, various objects are flying. Price shoots Ben, who falls. Sarah says that Ben has found peace. She tells the other ghosts to return to their rooms. They carry out the order, Price clogs each door, driving thirteen nails into it.

Sarah and Price go outside, meet Marion and Henry there, hugging them. Price writes in the conclusion that Sarah is perfectly healthy mentally and physically, she can continue to work in the management of the company.

Price bids Sarah a warm goodbye. A nail spontaneously pops out of the board with which one of the doors in Sarah's house is boarded up.

The end credits tell viewers that in 1906, a massive earthquake hit San Francisco, during which a lot of people died. Sarah Winchester continued to finish building her house until the end of her life, which today is considered the most haunted building in America.

We know almost nothing about a girl named Sarah Lockwood Purdy, except that she was born in 1840 and at 22 she married William Winchester - the son of "the same" Oliver Winchester, inventor of the "gun that will conquer the West", owner American arms company Winchester Repeating Arms Company and a very rich man.

We do not know how Sarah grew up, whether she had a good relationship with family or husband. Only two photographs of Sarah have survived. In one picture, a young, chubby and rosy-cheeked girl with dark eyebrows and a hairstyle that was fashionable at that time. She leaves a strange impression. The look seems detached, the lips are compressed, and the tight stand-up collar creates an almost monastic image.

In the year of Sarah's marriage to William, William's father founded the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, a company that quickly and surely led him and the Winchester family to untold wealth.

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Probably, the couple tried to have children for a long time, but for some reason they did not succeed, the first daughter of Sarah and William was born only four years later. The baby did not live even two months - she died from protein deficiency. The couple had no more children. Oliver Winchester died in 1880, and a year later, after 19 years of marriage, Sarah's husband William also died of tuberculosis.

Sarah became the heir to a huge fortune. But, left alone, without children and the husband with whom she lived most life, Sarah was confused.

"Until the hammers fall silent, you will be alive"

Everything about later life Sarah Winchester, surrounded by mysteries. According to the legends, Sarah sincerely believed that her family was cursed. This idea was thrown to her (or, perhaps, only confirmed by Mrs. Winchester's conjectures) by the then famous Boston medium Adam Koons. He convinced her that the blame for everything was the souls of those who were shot with a gun developed by her father-in-law. If they overtake her, the woman will suffer the same fate as her family.

"What can I do to avoid this?" the widow probably asked, to which she received the answer that she needed to please the ghosts. Or hide from them. Or make them admire. In general, many versions have survived to this day: according to one, the ghosts had to be confused, while others recommended resorting to an afterlife sense of beauty.

History has not preserved how much money the Boston medium asked for such valuable advice, but Sarah listened to him. Although more prosaic versions say that the widow was simply looking for a new hobby due to prolonged depression. In addition, she and her husband have already invested in construction. One of the caretakers of the house, Janan Boehme, who has been working in the mysterious mansion for almost forty years, suggested that Sarah just wanted to do something familiar, something that once gave pleasure to both her and her husband.

In 1884, she went to California with her sister and niece and bought a small farmhouse on 6,500 acres. For its improvement, she had to spend $ 20 million of her inheritance. However, as we have already said, Sarah was very rich and could afford any whim. She received income from her husband's company, which then amounted to a thousand dollars a day. In our time, it’s all the same as if she received $23,000.

Sarah refused the services of an architect and took up the job herself, hiring carpenters who would work day and night - so that "the hammers would not stop." So they worked for 38 years, creating an amazing seven-story mansion. However, they say that this is an exaggeration, no one worked on the construction site day and night to please the generous employer.

True or not, a huge monstrous house has grown on the site of an old farmhouse with 161 rooms (including 40 bedrooms and 2 ballrooms), 47 fireplaces, two storage rooms and three elevators.

If Sarah really wanted to confuse the spirits that hunted her, she probably succeeded. Many of the doors in the house did not lead anywhere - you had only to open them, and you ran into a blank wall. Stairs led up to the ceiling, small rooms built into larger rooms like a nesting doll. Some balconies face inward rather than outward. Chimneys are interrupted before reaching the ceiling. The door leading to one room is of normal size, and the other is tiny, as if made for Alice, who drank from a bottle.

The house is full of allusions and symbols. Someone believes that there are so many "architectural blunders" in the house due to the fact that Sarah did not understand how to build houses, and therefore made many mistakes in the drawings. But looking at some of the details, it's hard to believe it.

It seems that she was inspired by "Alice in Wonderland", not otherwise. For example, in one of the ballrooms, the parquet board changes color depending on the lighting: if the sun falls in a special way, the dark pieces of the parquet become light, and the light pieces become dark.

One of the windows flips the picture upside down, so it seems like you are looking at an upside down world.

AT US state California in the town of San Jose is one of the most sinister houses in the United States, and part-time extravagant tourist attraction - the Winchester Mystery House.

This house was purchased in 1884 by Sarah Winchester, widow of the son of the famous Oliver Winchester, inventor of the Winchester rifle.

She bought it on the advice of her medium, who said that all the troubles that fell on her - the death of her husband and only daughter shortly after birth, were due to the fact that their family was cursed by those who died from a rifle created by Oliver, her husband's father. According to him, the medium was informed about this by the spirit of the late husband, with whom he came into contact.

The spirit of her husband also said that in order to avoid further problems in the future, Sarah should build herself a special home in which evil spirits could not harm her.

In general, following the advice of her late husband, or rather a medium, the woman bought this house on the west coast. True, then it was much smaller than you can see it now in the photo.

Being a very wealthy widow, Sarah invested all her money in its reconstruction. multi-million dollar fortune and as much as 38 years of life - the construction of the Winchesters' house in these years almost never stopped for more than a day.

At the same time, she rebuilt it according to her own plans, so that the spirits that pursued her would become entangled in its labyrinths. As a result, there are many dead-end doors that open into the walls or out on the upper floors, and stairs that abut against the ceilings. The corridors are very narrow almost everywhere, and there are hidden windows in many of the walls.

Before the earthquake in 1906, her house reached 6 floors, but after it the top 3 floors collapsed. This did not stop the owner, the work continued, however, no longer in height, and the house has survived to this day as a three-story building.

Currently, the famous Winchester house has almost 160 rooms, 6 kitchens, 13 bathrooms and about 40 staircases. The building has almost 450 doorways and about 2000 doors, as well as about 10 thousand windows, almost fifty fireplaces and one shower.

In 2009, the horror film The Haunting of the Winchester House was filmed in this sinister house.