Real Haunted Houses

Real Haunted House

Winchester Mystery House

San Jose, California
By Shannon Reinbold-Gee

Few haunted houses are more splendid and massive than the Winchester Mystery House. Once the pet project of wealthy widow Sarah Winchester, the Winchester Mystery House, which began as a humble 6-room home, is now a popular destination for ghost tours of the San Jose area.

In 1884 Sarah Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Rifle fortune, began construction on a Victorian-style mansion. Driven by her supposed guilt over the many deaths her husband’s rifle business caused, Sarah paid a veritable army of construction workers and craftsmen to build the sprawling 160-room house over the course of nearly forty years. Devastated by the untimely deaths of both her husband and baby daughter and thinking them to be connected to the shooting deaths of many victims of the Winchester rifle, Sarah was supposedly told that continually building the rambling home would appease (or in some cases perhaps trap) the spirits and lift a curse.

Acting as her own architect, Sarah consulted with spiritual guides to make sure the wandering souls who’d lost their lives by gunshot would find a final resting place. Sarah Winchester never created a master set of blueprints, instead she sketched the rooms she wanted on scraps of paper and occasionally tablecloths. The house’s hallways and corridors are like a labyrinth, causing many to speculate that perhaps Sarah’s goal was to trap and confuse the spirits who sought vengeance on her family. Rumor has it Sarah tried to avoid the restless ghosts by sleeping in a different room every night.

When the earthquake of 1906 struck, Sarah was trapped in the Daisy Room where she’d been sleeping near a fireplace that suddenly collapsed. When she was finally freed, she said the experience was the result of the ghosts wanting her to stop spending so much time perfecting the mansion’s front rooms—and that they were furious she thought she was nearly finished with her construction. So Sarah obediently boarded up 30 rooms and focused on even more expansion. She never again used her then recently acquired (and quite pricey for the time) front doors.

Filled with “modern” amenities, the Winchester mansion includes button-operated lights, nearly 50 fireplaces, parquet floors and gorgeous chandeliers. Almost every window has 13 panes of glass, most floors contained 13 sections and all but one staircase boasts 13 steps. But beyond the architectural oddities and trappings of wealth, it seems the mansion has also trapped a fair share of spirits.

Ghostly animals began to be sighted and many people have reported seeing things ghosting about. People hear mysterious voices, footsteps and doors slamming shut. Cold spots and strange lights appear and then fade away. An employee of the mansion claimed to see a figure of an elderly woman in one of the rooms and asked who they had gotten to portray Mrs. Winchester. Alarmed, a coworker explained they did not have any reenactors. Could it be that Sarah succeeded in trapping the ghosts who dogged her steps for so many years and they still roam the Winchester mansion? Or are the disturbances signs that Sarah herself has never left the building—trapped with the same ghosts she feared?

Today 110 of the 160 rooms are available for tourists to see—but stick with your guide so you don’t become a victim of the wandering designs and maze-like halls!

198 comments on this haunted house. Share your story »

198 Comments

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Maddison says:

February 25, 2009, 4:48 pm

I am so excited. I am going to the Mansion tomorrow and I’m going alone. My fiance is a skeptic grew up near San Jose and isn’t really interested in going and I feel like he’ll just bum me out. After reading most comments and stories, I am even more excited. for those of you who have been there or wrked there, when is the least busy time and day to go? I would rather go on a day that isn’t too busy

Melissa Alcala says:

March 17, 2009, 6:16 pm

Hey ppl I really wanna go to da house I live really close to there and for some reason when I pass the house(never go inside) I feel strange…

alexus says:

May 20, 2009, 5:55 pm

okay.this is off topic but my family is sorta like that too.we have 4 of everything…but i was wondering…mabey the house stated being build on Friday the 13th.its just an idea.
but my house may be haunted also.we built our house 6 years ago.we came across the land by one of my fauthers buddies.it was an excellent clearing.but every time im on the computer or in the kitchen i swear i hear a door close.i look every where but see nothing.and the guy who sold us the land had burried a horse here.sometimes i hear galloping and shovoling.on occasions i hear doors closing to my house and then the floor craks and it feels as if your being watched…so much to the point where you turn around and say something like “okay you got me” or something like that…its pretty freaky!

caca heads says:

June 1, 2009, 1:26 pm

hi our names are caca heads and we will visit your house soon see ya!!!!! :)

Lilibell says:

July 13, 2009, 9:02 pm

I saw the Winchester house in a book called Unexplained. At a public library. The publiclibraries.com link sends you to thousands of public libraries. Or go to google.com, ask.com,
bing.com. If you go to publiclibraries.com,then click on Bourbonnais Public Library. That’s where I found this information. I also would recommend if you go to Zaplooka.com. That’s also where I found some information about this website and story. If you would like to be a ghost hunter someday then be a ghost hunter. Follow your biggest dreams and they might come true. I also learned in the book Unexplained also. So pick a website and start learning.

jordan says:

August 29, 2009, 1:44 pm

I think theat the winchester house is haunted becasue all the best is the worst and i may go there when im in the 20s Sarah is hidden in that place

EntroThaEmcee says:

August 30, 2009, 4:02 am

I went to the Winchester Mansion before I really knew the story and was amazed by what I saw. A very rich experience. Took some pictures of family members out by the cresent garden and in two of the three pictures, there were two bright purple orbs around the family members and in the pics the orbs changed position even though I took them in a row with nobody moving. Haunted? I have no idea, but it was intresting.

para-chan214 says:

September 28, 2009, 12:27 am

Candy11: what they mean by pinned is that the door was pinched shut by the shifting of the walls making the doorframe shift as well, keeping the door from opening.
i live with two former guides from the Winchester House (both of whom are still listed as available to do flashlight tours through the House) and while it is rumored that Mrs. Winchester slept in a different room every night, there was no actual evidence of that. the room in which she was trapped during the 1906 earthquake is call the Daisy Bedroom and is on the tour route, as is the bedroom in which she died.
i have had unusual experiences in the House myself, specifically in the basement.

Alyx says:

October 11, 2009, 7:29 pm

I just visited the house recently, and I enjoyed every second of it. I am really fascinated with the paranormal and this is the house that I’ve always wanted to visit to see if indeed this house is haunted. But in my opinion, I dont think it is haunted. But reading these comments and especially from the person who saw a man in the garage and the garage was nowhere to be seen, I’m starting to think twice on it.
Next time i head over to Northern California, I’m definately gonna book for a Flashlight Tour!

Infinity 12 says:

June 18, 2010, 10:57 pm

I’ve seen the documentary on the Winchester house on t.v,and I have to say it is by far the most interesting house I have ever seen. They showed the stairs leading straight up to the ceiling. Doors built leading nowhere, doors even built leading into a straight drop several feet below. I was a little spooked watching it, and wondered if the construction of such a monstrosity was that of a sane mind or the creation of a mad woman. I would definitely hate to get lost in that house. I think I would like to visit it one day and view it up close and personal, with a guide of course. I wonder what supernatural things go on there at night. Can the whispers of lost ghosts be heard at night, or even Sarah herself, muttering and lost in her own delusions?

joce says:

July 4, 2010, 4:25 pm

I really want to go to the Winchester house! that would be fun…

anastasia bykovskaya anastasia chernikova says:

August 1, 2010, 6:36 pm

haunted houses are haunted dead love to live in haunted houses deads live in haunted houses.

tee says:

August 19, 2010, 8:48 pm

wow this story is interesting…

Johnny says:

January 28, 2011, 2:56 pm

Spooky and creepy mansion. read Ken Hudnall’s article about this mystery house – http://kenhudnallshow.com/2011/01/the-winchester-mansion-san-jose-california/

OCEAN says:

February 6, 2011, 5:39 am

My parents took me to this house when I was young. I didn’t feel or see anything out of the ordinary. It is a BEAUTIFUL mansion. I remember seeing a room with wax figures in it. Mrs Winchester was sitting on a stage coach bench right on top. she had gray hair styled in a bun and a dark color cloak like coat wrapped around her shoulders. I remember seeing a wax statue of an indian. I remember it being a LONG tour. I currently have a friend who used to guide the tours through the home. He told me of some paranormal activity he and guests have experienced. I can’t post them yet as I want to get accurate details before I post. I have lived in haunted houses all my life and should write a book of all the experiences my family, guests and I have gone through. I know now how Mrs Winchester must have felt running from these spirits. They are REAL. I live in a haunted hotel from the 1800′s. This used to be an old whore (brothel) house. I would board up and section off parts of this place like Mrs. Win did if I thought it would keep the spirits away from me. I simply call on the LORD, JESUS CHRIST and HE keeps us SAFE. If you ever see or experience ghosts or spirits or uneasy feelings all you have to say is,” I bind EVIL HELPLESS now and forever in JESUS CHRIST’S name..AMEN” God bless you all. Thank you for this post on this beautiful WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE!

Autumn says:

April 12, 2011, 9:54 pm

I have visited this house. It is true that 13 is present throughout the house. There is also stairways that lead to nothing and doors on the second floor that just open outside with no stairs or balcony or anything. There are also doors and cabinets that lead to nothing, (black walls) hidden passageways and also in many rooms there are secret peepholes and trap doors so she could spy on her servants. She also has a special room she uses for communicating with spirits. The entire house including the gardens etc is really cool and I strongly suggest visiting.

JS says:

July 3, 2011, 2:28 pm

I just went to the Winchester Mystery House yesterday, and was surprisingly very disappointed.When you walk towards the house the first things you see are a refreshment stand and an arcade, which completely ruins the historic aspect. None of the paint or furniture were the original and very few rooms were extravagent. I personally would not recomend The Winchester Mystery House. If you want to see an extravagent, haunted place with lots of history, go to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

Hesnisis says:

December 2, 2011, 8:58 pm

I remember wen i visted this house about 2 years ago i was in the gift shop nd i told my friend i was going to look for the bath room i went md wen i washed my hands nd looked at the mirror i got a cold chill.i shacked it off i never really believed in ghost we went to our tour guide nd me nd my friend were disvussing the rumors we heard about the hpuse well wen we were almost done with the tour my friend was wit the rest of the people nd i was in a corner i got a text message but i couldnt view it than i felt a breeze and looked aroud no one seemed to notice than a minute later i seen a lady walk out of the room who was pale white and she smiled at me u froze in my spot than she seemed to stare at me for a whileand she looked up and disapeared i told my friend wat happen nd she told me that around the same time her camera died when she had charged it all night

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