Winchester Mystery House

There was carved wood on the ballroom walls and ceilings. Woods such as teak, maple, and mahogany were used to make an intricate pattern on the ballroom floor. A large, brick fireplace was framed by two windows that included quotes from Shakespeare. The second floor had bedrooms that each had adjoining sitting rooms and sewing rooms. The wall coverings had a leather or metal appearance, known as Lincrusta wall coverings. The ceilings had mouldings, stencils, and faux finishes. There were chandeliers from Germany, art glass from Austria, furnishings from Asia, and paintings from France. An annunciator, an early form of intercom, which was a common feature of large homes during this time period, was installed for calling servants. There existed an indoor garden with slanted floors that would carry excess water to trap doors which had pipes that would supply water to the outdoor flowers. A generator was installed for a water pump and electricity. Because of Winchester's height of four feet ten inches[13] and health issues, a stairway that has 44 steps that only rises ten feet was built.[10][14]

The windows are unusual since they are pastel-colored, asymmetrical in their design, and have sharp bevels. The windows on the upper levels had a spider-web tracery, a popular design then.[9] The windows to the right and left of the brick fireplace feature Shakespearean quotes from Richard II and Troilus and Cressida.[9] It has been claimed by tour guides and articles over the years that the windows were made by Tiffany & Co despite the fact that the company rarely used beveled glass. This style of window is also found at Craigdarroch Castle in British Columbia, Canada, prompting architectural historian Jim Wolf to believe that the windows were made by the same company. Wolf determined that glass artist John Mallon from Alexander Dunsmuir's company, the Pacific American Decorative Company, was the most likely artisan of the windows. This theory was confirmed when an envelope postmarked July 1894[15], which had the seal of Dunsmuir's company on it and a scribbled note that appears to be in Winchester's hand, was discovered in the wall of one of the dining rooms that was being restored. [16][15] Many of the art glass windows that were purchased were never installed and have been housed in a storage room.[9]

Winchester would take breaks from construction on a regular basis, some lasting months, to rest since Winchester tired easily. This slowed construction considerably and is counter to the claims made in articles and by tour guides that she had the house under construction around the clock for thirty-eight straight years, until her death in 1922.[14][5][9]

At its largest, the house had approximately 500 rooms.[10][17]

As claimed by Bruce Spoon, a student from San Jose State College who decided to write his master's thesis about Winchester in 1951, the reasons for building her large home were to keep workers employed and to express her artistic vision. He reached this conclusion after interviewing people who remembered her and after reviewing newspaper and magazine articles.[8]

When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit, the Llanada Villa was severely damaged.[17][5] Though there are rumors that Winchester was trapped in the San Jose home, there is no evidence that she was there.[18] She owned several homes in California and after the earthquake spent most of her time at her home in Atherton.[5]

The seven-story tower and most of the chimneys collapsed. One entire wing was destroyed along with the third and fourth story additions. Winchester had the rubble removed but had little more done to the property after the earthquake.[5] This left doors that opened to nothing, where balconies had once been, pipes that were protruding from what were once window boxes, and staircases that once led to upper floors, ending suddenly.[18]

After 1910, due to failing health, Winchester did not work on the San Jose home except for odd maintenance jobs and adding an elevator in 1916. At this time she dedicated her time to finances and building an investment portfolio. Mary Jo Ignoffo claims that, "She was far more successful constructing an investment portfolio than a mansion..."[19]

When Winchester died in 1922 the house had 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens.[10] [14][17]

Claims of Winchester inheriting as much as $20 million and earning $1,000 per day in royalties from her inheritance can be found in tourist literature purchased at the Winchester Mystery House.[13][25][24] Ignoffo states that her husband's estate in 1881 was valued at $362,330 but this amount included approximately $300,000 of stock that Winchester would only inherit when her mother-in-law died, which did not happen until 1898. With the addition of her husband's Winchester Repeating Arms Company shares, she owned a total of 777 shares valuing $77,700, which paid average dividends of $7,770 annually between 1880 and 1885.[7]

Myths around her decision to move from the east coast to California are thought to have originated from author Susy Smith in her book Prominent American Ghosts, published in 1967. In Smith's version of events, Winchester visited a medium in Boston named Adam Coons who told her that she and her family were being haunted by the ghosts of people killed by Winchester rifles, that she must construct a house for these ghosts, and that she must never complete the project.[10][7][17][5][15] This assertion of Winchester meeting with a medium has been repeated in brochures and articles ever since. According to Ignoffo, while it is plausible that Winchester did meet with a psychic medium since this was a common practice for women of her status at the time,[7] there is no evidence that she did so.[17][7]

Emily Mace, a scholar, and others have looked through issues of Banner of Light, which was a spiritualist periodical, and in the Boston city directories, which listed spiritualists in the area, and no one named Adam Coons could be found.[7]

Beginning around 1895, Winchester started appearing in newspapers.[8] The articles in these local papers were filled with speculation about Winchester and the ongoing construction of her San Jose home. Her lack of interaction with neighbors and the known fact that her money came from the firearms industry, fed into a superstitious narrative, despite large, ornate homes being commonly built by the wealthy. The newspapers declared that the reason that the construction was ongoing, was that Winchester feared she would have bad luck if the construction would stop. This theory eventually grew into stories that she believed she would die if construction stopped.[18][15]

In the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), when it added the Winchester home to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, they incorrectly stated that the construction lasted 38 years, and reiterated that Winchester believed she must continue building or she would die. HABS also incorrectly listed the purchase date as 1884 when county records state the purchase wasn't until 1886.[8]

There were some articles published against the superstitious slant. In one, an unidentified acquaintance refuted these superstitious accusations, stating that they were nonsense and that Winchester was an unusually sensible woman.[5][18]

While Winchester lived at the Atherton house her relatives stayed at the San Jose home for almost a year in 1915 to attend the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, which ran for nine months. No construction happened during this time and the staff closed up the house for a week to attend the fair.[26]

Ignoffo states that there is no evidence that Winchester was compelled to keep her construction project running and preferred to focus on estate planning.[8]

Winchester Mystery House hallway staircase to nowhere

Doorway to nowhere

The belief that Winchester built her house in its strange, maze-like manner to confuse and keep spirits from harming her and that her sanity was questionable started in the mid-1890s and has grown in scale past her death.[5][4][14] The doors and windows that open to nothing, the unusually shallow stairs, the stairs that end in a ceiling, interior barred windows and trap doors in the floor are used to confirm Winchester's spirituality and poor state of mind.[14] According to paranormal investigator Nickell and Ignoffo these house oddities have simple explanations. The barred windows were previously exterior windows that were blocked off as the house additions grew. The doors and windows that opened to nothing were a result of the 1906 earthquake and the severe damage that happened to the house.[18][14][4] The small steps were built because of Winchester's declining health.[10] The trap doors were built in a greenhouse room where excess water could run and be piped to an outdoor garden.[14] After the damage from the earthquake, Winchester did not rebuild the house.[19][8]

The tower bell was used to call workmen and to serve as a fire alarm on the property. According to Joe Nickell, fanciful claims later arose that it was used to "summon spirits".[17][14]

According to Joe Nickell, claims that local residents heard "ghostly music" coming from the house are explained by the fact that Winchester often played the pump organ in the Grand Ballroom when she was unable to sleep.[14]

Winchester pipe organ

According to Joe Nickell, claims that Winchester held parties for the spirits in her home featuring lavish dishes served on gold plates kept in a safe are fanciful and unsubstantiated. Nickell wrote that after her death when the safe was opened, no gold plates were found. Only personal mementos and a lock of her baby's hair.[10]

At the turn of the twentieth century, the most common belief, that still persists, regarding Winchester's house building was that she felt tremendous guilt resulting from all the deaths caused by Winchester rifles and from inheriting so much money from the arms company. Ignoffo claims that it is unlikely Winchester had any guilt, since in the 1800s the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was seen as a success, and weapons were viewed as a necessity for survival.[18]

Ignoffo and paranormal investigator Joe Nickell report that as Winchester aged, particularly after 1900 as her health issues grew worse, which included arthritis, missing teeth and neuritis, she became more private and reclusive. This reluctance to appear in public or to socialize with her peers gave her a mysterious reputation feeding the gossip in the community and local newspapers which fuelled the rumor that she was superstitious.[18] Winchester's companion of many years, Miss Henrietta Severs states Winchester had no superstitious beliefs.[10][17] Winchester's relatives, employees and gardeners never made claims that she was superstitious, guilt-ridden or crazed.[18]

All her employees were named as beneficiaries in her will.[19]

Twice Winchester declined to host two U.S. presidents. First, in 1901, President William McKinley visited and a committee to arrange accommodations was formed but Winchester did not extend an invitation. The president and his official coaches drove past the mansion without stopping. Second, in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited the area and the legend states that Winchester would not open a locked gate to let the president in. This was not true as the president had no interest in meeting Winchester as stopping at the home could have been used to promote rifle sales. He did not want to be seen endorsing any product. Despite there being plausible reasons for her not hosting the presidents, these instances furthered rumors that she was not of sound mind and was a crank.[9]

According to the lore, architectural features such as thirteen bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms, and thirteen windows in certain rooms are due to Winchester's apparent fascination with the number thirteen. However according to carpenter James Perkins, these and “the more irregular features, which have made the house a world-famed oddity were built after Mrs. Winchester's death.”[20][5]

Winchester's staff, who spent every day with her, stated she had no interest in séances and there is no record of them being held in the house.[15] Nevertheless, a false urban legend has arisen claiming she held nightly séances in the blue room or in a closet by herself[18] from midnight until two in the morning, talking to ghosts about what construction should be accomplished the following day.[5][17][15] In addition to the lack of records found about seances at Llanada Villa, the closet séances were unlikely given that they were usually social events and not done by individuals[18] and records show that the blue room was the gardener's bedroom.[5][17][15]

Visitors and tour guides claim to have experienced cold spots, footsteps, cooking smells, odd sounds, whispering, doors and windows slamming, and feelings of being watched. Investigator Joe Nickell explains that these could be the result of confirmation bias and suggestibility due to publicity and rumors that the house is the most haunted house in the United States[10][17] or even the world, or that over a thousand ghosts reside in the home.[27][28][27] Nickell reports one example where a shadowy figure thought to be a ghost turned out to be a staff member at the house. According to Nickell, there is no evidence that the house is haunted, and that alleged whispering sounds can be imagined or due to wind noises. Additionally, it is common for large, rambling, and drafty old houses to have temperature variations, and the house settling and exterior temperature changes can explain odd noises. [17][10]