The Winchester mystery house

There exists in San Jose, California, an architectural curiosity so strange in it's appearance that efforts have been made to ensure its protection by listing it on the National Register of Historic Places. While in terms of scale, it differs very little from other such mansions in the area. what separates it from traditional buildings is it's bizarre style with seemingly little symmetry, as a result of it's owner having no overall blueprint or grand scheme with which to work towards a final design from. When initially observed, it's enormity makes it almost impossible to believe that this large, sprawling building began life as a humble, unfinished farmhouse and yet, through the financial muscle and sheer tenacity of a prosperous widow, it gradually manifested into one of the strangest and most infamous architectural wonders in America.

Sarah Winchester was the wife of William Wirt Winchester who, at the time was the treasurer of the famous Connecticut arms company of the same name, which was owned by his father. This thriving business proved extremely profitable for the family and allowed them the privilege of a very opulent lifestyle, amassing them a small fortune in the process. As a result of the companies vast success, the family name is now synonymous with firearms and is still mentioned in nostalgic terms to this very day. After William's premature passing at the hands of tuberculosis, Sarah inherited a vast fortune of £20.5 million and a weekly salary of £1000. This may sound like a relatively small amount by today's monetary standards, but at the time it was a huge wage to be receiving on a weekly basis and provided her with with the luxury and comfort with which she had become accustomed to.

Sarah was an individual well acquainted with the psychic world and had an unshakeable belief in the prophecies of mediums and fortune tellers. After employing the services of one such person in the Boston area, she witnessed the psychic's ability to channel her deceased husband, upon which she received a message from him stating that she would leave her home in New Haven and purchase a new property to the west of this location. There was nothing outlandish or curious regarding this statement as many people have been given similar prophecies by psychics in the past, but what would be relayed to her next was truly remarkable. She was instructed to engage in a project of endless construction on her new residence, building continuously with no seeming conclusion to the task. The reason for this being that she would not only have the room to house herself, but all those unfortunate enough to have fallen victim to the shots of weapons manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, as a means of providing atonement for the sins of the family. With a firm belief in ghosts from the offset and perceiving grave ramifications if she decided to resist such a demand, she decided to comply with it. 

In 1984, she set about this daunting task and purchased an unfinished farmhouse in Santa Clara Valley. Due to her financial standing, she had the necessary means to put this vision into reality. Over a period of 36 years, she committed herself to the undertaking completely, employing what constituted a small army of carpenters to carry out her construction desires, adding room after room to the ever enlarging building. By the time of her death in 1922, the building had reached a total of 160 rooms in all, with an extensive array of corridors and extensions. Although in a position to employ the services of a professional architect and formulate a proper design to adhere to, she neglected this option and embarked on a series of rash, haphazard building decisions, which manifested into a building which looked uneven and unsymmetrical in nature.

Originally, the mansion grew to reach a grand total of seven floors, but after an unfortunate earthquake in 1906, it was damaged and had it's height reduced to just four. It remains as a tourist attraction to this very day and displays a wealth of curiosities in it's construction which display proof of Mrs Winchester's inept design plans, including staircases which lead to ceilings, and doors which open to reveal solid walls behind them. Evidence of her belief in superstition is also engrained into certain design elements, with everything from the number of stairs on staircases to windows in certain rooms adding up the number 13. Aside from it's odd appearance, it boasted a whole series of sophisticated luxuries which were seldom seen in standard premises, such as state of the art, forced air heating, indoor plumbing allowing her the luxury of an indoor shower which was unheard of at that particular time and also, three lifts utilising unique, horizontal elevator pistons. Whether this grand gesture had the desired effect of making amends for the supposed sins of the family is questionable, but it left the world with one of the most unique buildings ever constructed.

America and the impending megatsunami

In terms of potential natural disasters that America will have to deal with in the not too distant future, the infamous Yellowstone caldera tops their list of hazards due to it's colossal scale and the amount of damage it will inflict the next time it decides to release the contents of it's vast magma chamber. This huge natural phenomenon is relatively well known due to it's media exposure and numerous documentaries dealing with the ramifications of such an event. Admittedly, it would induce a severe amount of destruction to both wildlife and the surrounding area, but there exist one other potential crisis which could eclipse even this, as hard as that may be to imagine.

It is known as a megatsunami, which consists of a giant wave of water, larger in comparison to regular waves by many metres and is created as a result of water displacement. Usually, this is manifested through tectonic plates, which lie on the ocean bed, pushing against one another, with one suddenly breaking free and flying upwards at pace due to the release of the stored energy. But they can also be brought about by earthquakes and large land masses sliding into the water as well. In relation to a regular tsunami they are infinitely larger, with the tallest tsunamis attaining heights of up to ten metres which pales in comparison to their larger manifestations, which can easily rise up hundreds of metres above the ocean surface.  One would not envisage the location for America's next great natural catastrophe to be situated at a volcano on La Palma, which lies within the Canary Islands in Spain, but this will inevitably happen one day and the only question that remains is when?

Despite the curious location for such an episode considering it's distance from America's shoreline, there exists a plausible explanation. In 1949, three of the volcanic sites vents erupted which at the time, seemed a perfectly normal event with no strange side effects attributed to it. However, the following day, a geologist by the name of Juan Bonelli Rubio travelled to the site and was shocked to discover that a giant fissure, measuring 2.5 kilometres long, had opened up along the sites east bank. As a result, the western side of the volcano had descended 2 metres into the water, raising concerns that the next eruption could release it altogether, resulting in it crashing into the ocean at free fall and subsequently sending a gigantic megatsunami, unrivalled in it's magnitude, travelling towards America's east coast and inflicting untold damage.

Fortunately for the time being, the volcano remains dormant but it is expected to erupt again in the future. Experts have theorised that it would take a series of eruptions to herald such a catastrophic landslide, but it remains a plausible possibility. To put into context how destructive this scenario could be, the western side of the island has an area of 500 cubic kilometres, weighing in at an estimated 1.5 million metric tonnes and if it were to fall free and displace water, it would result in a wave reaching an initial height of 1000 metres, which is beyond the scale of any tsunami previously witnessed. Obviously, some of this energy will dissipate naturally as it travels forward and by the time it reaches America's coast, it will have shrunk to a height of 50 metres, still large enough to force it's way inland, destroying infrastructure and natural formations as it travels, not to mention taking the lives of millions of unfortunate citizens. There exists a multitude of technologies that can be utilized to defend inland sites against rising tidal waves, but unfortunately, against one of such scale they would all prove futile, leaving America defenceless against one of the largest natural calamities ever witnessed, wreaking unparalleled devastation.

The curse of Ho Tei

People are accustomed to hearing stories about cursed relics or objects considered to be unlucky in regards to their unfortunate owner. There are numerous examples of these, such as voodoo dolls cited as having the ability to inflict physical harm on the victim it supposedly represents, to children's toys, where the young owner has met an untimely demise and the bad luck from the event becomes engrained in the object itself, which is inevitably passed on to the next owner unlucky enough to come into contact with it. Despite an abundance of such events throughout history, very rarely have such qualities been evident in a carved depiction of a Japanese deity supposedly connected with good luck. The irony is tragic.


Ho Tei is a Japanese deity renowned for the very same quality, as well as being connected with general prosperity largely as a result of his facial expression which gives the image of an individual with a happy, cheerful demeanor. In terms of physical appearance, he is always dressed in traditional, Buddhist style regalia and is depicted as being large in size, with a pronounced stomach that has become his most famous hallmark, with a Japanese custom related to it which states that when a person gets the opportunity to visit or own a statue which represents him, they should rub his stomach with their finger and they will be rewarded with monetary riches. Could a carved representation of something so inextricably linked with good fortune, be infused with a curse as a result of its creation? The following tale may be evidence of such a possibility.


A certain Mr and Mrs Lambert were in the midst of an around the world trip they had been planning. Upon arriving in Japan, they happened to locate an antiquated curiosity shop and after exploring its many treasures, stumbled upon an ivory representation of Ho Tei. A combination of its inherent beauty and the store owners recommendation that it would bring them good luck, resulted in the couple purchasing the item. The statue was securely placed in Mrs Lambert's case while en route to their next port of call which happened to be Manila. During the trip, she started to experience excruciating toothache and after arriving in Manila, received medication from a dentist, which did little to alleviate the pain. After this unfortunate episode, they travelled towards Sydney, where the statue was transferred to Mr Lambert's case. It was de ja vu as he also succumbed to the same terrible tooth pain. With no doctor being present, he resorted to taking aspirins which proved futile in controlling his symptoms. These persisted for quite some time, culminating in him debarking at a particular port and instructing a dentist to keep pulling teeth until he gave the order to stop. After the extraction of the first, the pain subsided and he believed he had put an end to the sorry saga.


At this point, many sceptics would be forgiven for believing in a theory of coincidence as there were only a few instances of this phenomenon, but never the less, they continued. After arriving in Chile, the home of Mr Lambert's mother, they decided to take the opportunity to visit her. Upon encountering the statue, his mother instantly fell in love with it and so, as a gesture of kindness, they decided to give it to her as a gift. She quickly changed her decision, however, after succumbing to the very same affliction for a number of hours and ultimately decided to give the statue back to it's original owners, providing the excuse that it didn't suit her needs. Curiously, while travelling towards England, neither Mr or Mrs Lambert experienced any further pain, but there existed a specific reason for this as the statue was placed in the confines of the storage room. The perceived curse raised it's ugly head again however, after they arrived in England. While visiting friends, they handed it over to a woman to show her husband. Confusion set in when they didn't see or hear from the woman again for the remainder of the day. When encountering her the next morning, she appeared with a swollen face and a very similar tale in regards to others who had been in close proximity to the cursed relic.


After coming to the conclusion that something was awry, the couple began to realise the inherent connection between the tooth pain and the statue. This was due to their studious examination of the dates and times that people had it about their person. Once they had discovered the pattern and arrived at the answer, they decided that the only way to avoid any further instances of pain was to pass it on to somebody else. They promptly achieved this when handing it over to a Japanese curiosity shop in London. There have been numerous theories put forward for the pain administered by the statue. Some believe in a genuine curse surrounding the item, visiting bad luck on anybody unfortunate enough to come into ownership of it. The most bizarre of these however, states that the intense pain the elephant endured when it's tusks were extracted to provide the material for the statue, left an imprinted memory of the event within it, manifesting in similar pain for each subsequent owner. Whatever the explanation, whether plausible or far fetched, the statue definitely left it's mark on anybody who came into contact with it.

The man eating anaconda

Most outlandish rumours throughout history have been manifested in a similar way. Somebody will propose a belief which is incredible by normal standards and then the theory, due to its sensationalist nature, gains popularity. Once realised, there will inevitably be hordes of people attesting to similar tales and admissions, despite the existence of any substantial proof lending them authenticity. In the field of wildlife, there exists a perfect example of such a tale and this is in relation to snakes and specifically, a belief in their capacity to ingest a human being. Ever since man discovered the Amazon jungle and carved his way through thick green undergrowth, he encountered colossal specimens of anacondas which could easily explain the birth of such claims, simply as a result of their enormous size and strength, with carefully documented reports on certain specimens proving sizes of up to six metres in length. These we know of, but there are also wilder claims of such beasts reaching staggering sizes of fifty metres which are almost certainly born out of the exaggeration principle, where a size observed becomes double or even triple the value it was when relayed as a story.


As wild a claim as it might be, there are certain details in regards to the snakes physical structure and also in the observation of it's dietary preferences, that leads people to believe this urban myth may not be based purely in the world of fiction. Snakes in the past have successfully killed wild game such as antelope, boars, alligators and goats, with the scale of such animals as large as and in some cases, larger than humans, lending credence to the claims of the legendary man eater. Once it's prey has been neutralised, the serpent has then attempted to swallow and ingest it, sometime with success and other times resulting in a premature death as the prey proves to be too large and subsequently becomes trapped in the jaws of the creature. On other occasions, due to the combined efforts of the prey's size and a slow digestive system, the meal cannot be processed in time and decays inside the body of the creature, causing the same unfortunate fate. Their ability to bring down and then feast upon creatures many times their own size is realised by their bodies ability to expand to a fantastic extent, evidenced by their bloated appearance after devouring a meal. Their jaws are also designed with this process in mind, with the lower not connected by bone to the upper. In it's place, there exists a flexible tendon on each side, resulting in an ability to open it's mouth much wider than almost any other animal in existence. All these attributes lend themselves rather amicably to a theory of man eating.


The proof many people desired seemed to have been found a few years ago when a particular photograph began to circulate over the internet. It showed a large anaconda at rest on a tiled floor inside a building, located in India. It's appearance was bloated around the middle of it's body, obviously a result of swallowing a very large victim. Despite the insistence from certain elements that the victim was of human origin, it was later concluded a hoax, with the person's identity changing relative to the site it was read from. In some cases, it was a woman residing in South Africa and yet in others he was an Indian man from his country of origin. The original source of the photograph is still unknown, with the only verifiable information proving it to be a real picture, with a genuine snake visible in it. Although the unknown identity of the victim is disappointing, it could be used as evidence for a snake's capacity to eat a human as it's size is very similar in scale to an average person.

How strong are chimpanzees?

One question that has circulated ever since man encountered the beast with which it shares ninety eight percent of its DNA, is "Just how strong are chimpanzees in relation to humans?" There are a wealth of answers provided by animal doctors and biologists to draw conclusions from, with a considerable amount of variety and disagreement in their results. One of the most popular theories in relation to this question is that an adult chimpanzee is approximately four times as strong as a fully developed human. As commonplace as this thought may be, that's not to say it doesn't have its critics, with many believing it to be exaggerated and a more accurate figure estimated to be around two. Despite this mystery remaining under intense scrutiny for a considerable length of time, it has never the less retained its popularity due to a combination of man's curiosity of extreme physical strength and no definitive answer being provided.


While not providing scientific data or results, evidence of a chimpanzee's raw strength has been witnessed during numerous, shocking attacks against humans. There exists an inherent difference in size with humans on average, being taller and bigger built in comparison, confusing many who hold the belief that size relates to strength. There are many examples that conform to this theory, but it is not a rule without exceptions with such attacks verifying this. These events have been witnessed many times before, with primates showcasing superior strength whilst breaking bones and tearing great chunks of flesh from their victims, with the unfortunate individual having little capacity to defend themselves against such assaults due to their power and intense aggression. In fact, due to the savage nature of such an event, a human being is considered lucky to be breathing after enduring such unbridled ferocity.


One man with a belief in the figure of four, is evolutionary biologist Alan Walker, a former employee of Pennsylvania state university who relayed the following information. Despite humans and chimpanzees having muscles comparable in size in some instances, the underlying reason as to why the latter are so much physically stronger, can be found in the structure of the muscle fibre, especially in the area connected to the bone, ultimately responsible for the overall strength of the animal. The primate's are much longer and denser, giving them a large, evolutionary advantage over man. One reason for this differential is in regards to the animals natural habitat and it's inclination to scale and swing from trees, with the creature having to employ numerous physical pulling motions in order to navigate it's way around such areas. Being predisposed to such a method of movement, evolution naturally equipped it with the necessary strength required and in the process, making it four times as strong as man. One interesting experiment conducted which gives credence to this figure, had both man and ape pull on a metal ring connected to force measuring equipment, with a male primate producing a one handed pull of eight hundred and fourty seven pounds, compared to a human's paltry two hundred and ten, conclusively proving ape's superiority over man.

The plausibility of superhuman strength

With many being supported by proven, verifiable records and others just the result of a vivid imagination, most of us will have heard the urban tales of people displaying super human strength, relevant to a crisis style situation. For example, there are numerous accounts pertaining to mothers involved in car crashes where, as a result, their child becomes trapped under the vehicle and calling upon physical strength which would be beyond their normal capacity in a calmer scenario, manage to lift the vehicle from one end a number of inches off the ground, freeing the child. One such tale, this time involving a male, is that of Tom Boyle. Being in the right place at the right time, he was in close proximity to a road crash involving a biker and a car. The two had collided, resulting in the bike and owner being trapped under the latter. Boyle was successful in lifting the back end, despite the enormous weight and was ultimately successful in freeing the victim. An interesting story, but less spectacular than some when considering his powerlifting background and naturally large frame. A simple search on the internet will result in numerous tales of such physical feats and yet that is not conclusive proof in of itself as many of these are not backed up with relevant sources or records of any nature.


One such theory put forward for these impressive feats are in the bodies use of adrenaline. This naturally occurring drug is produced in excessive amounts when an individual is confronted with a situation causing fear and anxiety. It is the famous response of fight or flight. The results are beneficial, with an increased level of concentration, a larger volume of blood being fed to the major organs and muscles and extra strength being evident. However, is this enough to explain the superhuman strength required to lift a vehicle? Some believe so. In a book written by Vladimir Zatsiorsky on the subject of weightlifting, he presents a theory of professional weightlifters having two differing limits for the amount of weight they can potentially lift, these being their maximum weight and absolute weight. Their maximum is the largest amount they can possibly lift under normal conditions, which is considerably lower than the largest theoretical load and the absolute refers to the latter.


The second of these is never feasibly attainable as it's the very limit of an individuals capability, which would result in bones breaking and fibres being damaged. However, Zatsiorsky stumbled upon a phenomenon amongst professional weightlifters where, as a result of  the flight or fight response kicking in due to the emotion and noise displayed from raucous crowds, could consistently achieve weights coming between both limits. For example, If a person's maximum deadlift record happened to be five hundred pounds, their absolute might be in the region of seven hundred. In a competitive scenario with the relevant criteria met, this lifter may theoretically attain a weight of six hundred and fifty pounds. In a situation where you have a body trapped underneath a vehicle, it's plausible to conceive that it might bring about the exact same response, enabling somebody to lift a car weighing many hundreds of pounds, which would prove impossible at any other time.

Krakatoa's eruption

The devastating eruptions emanating from volcano's have become the stories of legend. There have been many instances of such events throughout history and although each one has differed in terms of size and ferocity, one trait they all  inevitably share is untold destruction of everything that comes within their vicinity, be it natural formations or living creatures. While most people have the preconceived notion that the only destructive effect of a volcano is the ejection of magma from it's crater, there are in reality a whole host of potentially deadly consequences of a violent eruption. The explosions contain massive amounts of force and energy and if one such incident manifests in a volcano which has slept dormant for many years, the build up of rock and debris filling it's crater will be forced skyward, along with the accompanying magma. These chunks of rock, evidenced from past eruptions can be many metres across and weigh several tonnes, testament to the power of the eruption. The smoky emissions excreted can also prove deadly, especially to humans unfortunate enough to inhale from them, causing it to mix with the natural fluids of the body and as a result, hardening, essentially concreting a person's internal organs.

The most destructive volcanic explosion ever recorded was inflicted upon Krakatoa in 1883. It had always been a very active crater with numerous accounts of eruptions prior to the largest and most damaging of these. In the years preceding this, as if building up to a grand climax, there had been many instances of smaller explosions with general activity becoming increasingly prevalent. On this memorable date, however, the fiercest of these episodes took place, almost destroying the island completely in it's severity. The pressure wave produced as a result, was so impressive it was recorded for up to five days after the event took place. Another fascinating aspect of the explosion was the noise created which was recorded as being the loudest ever known in history. Scientists came to the conclusion that anyone within a ten mile radius of this noise would have been rendered deaf. The explosion itself was the equivalent force of four of the largest known atomic devices to have ever been detonated, namely the tsar bomba, which was tested by Russia in 1961.

The most negative impact of this event, however, was the inconceivable toll on human life, with thirty six thousand people dying and many theorising that the real figure far exceeded that, potentially being as high as one hundred thousand, due to a theory of bodies being lost at sea or washed away by the force of ocean tides. One macabre observation made after the event, was in relation to the appearance of floating volcanic chunks of rock with human skeletons resting on their surface, with stories of such anomalies being recorded for up to a year afterwards. The underlying reason for all of Krakatoa's devastation can be found in it's specific form as due to it's enlarged magma chamber and wide crater, it's potential far outweighs that of a conventional volcano. It's scientific name is a caldera and it differs not so much in appearance, but in sheer size. They are formed from a volcano's magma chamber rising up and applying pressure to the material and crater above, thus weakening it. When the magma descends, it then collapses away, enlarging the opening and capacity of the chamber and in the process, converting it in to one of nature's most potent weapons of destruction, far exceeding any damage inflicted on earth by man made means.