“Winchester Conspiracy: Haunted or just Weird?” 

 

     Sarah Winchester’s home “The Winchester Mystery House” has been rumored to be haunted. The historical monument has a claim of contract workers, working around the clock 24/7 to build this mysterious, odd, designed home in order to divert spirits that she believed were out to avenge their deaths due to the rifles her husband had created. Was Sarah Winchester right that her family was under a curse because of the bloodshed created with her husband’s rifles? Did Sarah Winchester design a home for spirits as an offering to live? Why did Sarah Winchester use certain numbers in her home to protect herself? Let’s explore the mental weather of Sarah Winchester and how her home became not only a paranormal icon but also a historical monument. 

     Sarah Winchester was a fearful filled woman with a very clever way of going about her beliefs. There was an Author that wrote an article stating that “Sarah Winchester met with a medium that stated she was to use her fortune to build a home for spirits of those who had fallen victim to the Winchester rifles, lest she be haunted by them for the rest of her life” (Serena5).  There are several authors who have agreed that Sarah Winchester's claims were observed and reported to be a real haunting. 

  Sarah Winchester was a depressed widow with a mournful heart from losing not only her husband but her young daughter as well. Radul writes that "However, they faced the first tragedy with the death of their daughter, Annie Pardee Winchester, in December 1866 from marasmus (a wasting illness that left the infant emaciated at six months). Devastated, Sarah withdrew into silence; her grief compounded when tuberculosis claimed William, her husband in March 1881 at age 43. (Radul 3)      

     There have been many published writers that have stated that Sarah Winchester was stricken by depression after her tragic losses. They have claimed that this alarmed, fearful filled woman was so skillfully petrified that she started building a home that never ceased its construction until she passed and that they believe this was her only way to cope was around the clock distraction.  

     There are numerous conspiracy theories about the "Winchester Mystery House", but the main conspiracy is the "haunted" theory. The first conspiracy theory is that Sarah Winchester is believed that her family was under a curse because of the bloodshed created by her husband's rifles. The second conspiracy was that Sarah Winchester created a home for spirits as an offering to live. Was it survivors' guilt, forever tainted grief, or a consumption of her immense superstitious beliefs that drove Sarah Winchester to build a mansion with staircases that led to nowhere and doors that opened to thin air? 

 

  A researcher of Dark Folklore writes "Legend claims that a Boston medium—possibly Adam Coons—advised Sarah Winchester in 1884 that the spirits of those killed by her husband’s rifles demanded atonement. The medium reportedly instructed: “Build a house for them, never stop, or you’ll join your family in death.” (Radul 2)  

 

     The writer of Dark Folklore reports this "Sarah’s nightly séances in the Blue Room (now known as the Séance Room), as documented by staff accounts after 1922, involved communing with spirits to guide construction. She reportedly used an old Ouija board to communicate with multiple entities—possibly Annie or William—asking for guidance. She believed their approval would ward off malevolent forces"(Radul 2)  

    By the turn of the century Sarah Winchester had her home for Spirits; a peculiar mansion lay out, with seven stories, 161 rooms, 47 fireplaces, 10,000 panes of glass, two basements, three elevators, and an intriguing creepy design. Each wall that was added to the exterior walls resulted in windows overlooking other rooms. Staircases would ascend with nowhere to continue and only led to parts of a ceiling ending abruptly. Some rooms had three ways in and only one way out. Some doorways led to a drop off many stories down; it was believed that she did this to confuse the spirits.  

    The structure of this mansion was built with redwood and was believed to have spiritual properties as conduits between earthly groundings and cosmic expansion. Sarah Winchester also had a superstition with the number 13 throughout her home utilizing it in every room in her own way. Sarah believed that this number could confuse the spirits haunting her and that it would possibly ward them off; she thought of this number to be lucky for her. Sarah Winchester created her now iconic home based around every spiritual belief she had.  

    She created her home as though it was a maze, and you’d sure to be lost in it if you did not know your way around. Sarah’s eccentric architectural project and mystery of her motivation is exactly what makes her story so compelling. This iconic historical monument is a powerful testament to the legacy of Sarah Winchester.  

  The conspiracy theory that Sarah Winchester was cursed has no scientific proof that supports the existence of a curse. The only illustration of this being a possibility is the Mansion she built in which implies she did exactly as she was instructed by a medium she met with in 1884. The conspiracy theory that claims Sarah Winchesters home was created as an offering to live is emphasized in reports that were documented by staff. According to these staff members Sarah would commune with these spirits nightly with a Ouija board in a room known as the blue room insisting on guidance for what to build next.   

    The Winchester Mystery House is an interesting, spellbinding composite of bizarre and unusual architecture. This mansion has an irresistible story line of a human and a lasting mysterious puzzle that persists in carrying on absorbing and gripping visitors. Although its haunted theory fame is supplied by myths about appeasing spirits, the mansion supplies provision as a unique American relic and antique bidding speculation between fact and fiction. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited 

    Anderson, C. (1997). Winchester Mystery House. https://www.amazon.com/Winchester-Designed-California-Historical-          Landmark/dp/096569920X 

 

    Faust, D. G. (1990). Altars of Sacrifice: Confederate Women and the Narratives of War. Journal of American History, 76(4),      1200. 

 

    https://doi.org/10.2307/2936595Ignoffo, M. J. (2010). Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, heiress to the Rifle    Fortune. 

 

    https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/817815/pdf 

 

       (Ignoffo, 2010, p. time stamp) 

 

       (Anderson, 1997; Faust, 1990, p. time stamp)(Anderson, 1997; Faust, 1990, pp. 1–5) 

 

       https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=winchester+house+conspiracy+theories 

 

       https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=winchester+house+facts 

 

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