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.