Haunted Places in America: The Winchester Mansion

The Winchester Mansion in San Jose is not only famous for the one hundred and sixty rooms that exist within the home, but for the hauntings that have been experienced on the property.  Aside from the strange architecture that includes a room that was built for séances, false walls and trap doors leading to unique corridors and a staircase that literally leads to the ceiling. Perhaps the staircase that leads to the ceiling is not strange enough for you, well then, the door that literally is built into the side of the house on the second story that leads to nowhere should be enough to make you wonder about the designer of the house, Sarah Winchester.

Tours are available in the daytime, or for those that are more daring through the night with the use of a flashlight. Most of the supernatural occurrences that have been documented at the mansion take place at night, when an organ is said to start playing at midnight, or red balls of light that seem to appear within the home.

What is the origin of all this paranormal activity? When the home was first constructed by a wealthy widow, Sarah Winchester, she apparently received the plans for the séance room from ghosts that provided her with them. This interesting fact and many more can be learned through tours of the property.

It has been said that construction on this home lasted for more than thirty-eight years. She inherited a fortune in her time and decided to build this home that she could contact spirits in, constantly. The building of the home was said to be constant, twenty four hours per day as this could appease the spirits that were after the Winchester family, the spirits that had been said to have killed her husband and her daughter. Although she died in her sleep at the age of 83, it doesn’t seem as if there was any paranormal activity that surrounded her death.

After her death, the home was sold to a group of investors that have opened the home to the public for tours. The historical site has been protected and is available for you to have a look at. There have been a variety of paranormal investigations that have occurred at the property.

Even when Sarah Winchester inhabited the home there had been many occurrences that could not be explained. There were cold spots where there should not have been cold spots and there were areas in the home where doorknobs seemed to constantly turn on their own. She conducted séances each evening in the home and therefore, it cannot be determined how many spirits are lurking in the hallways of the Winchester mansion.

If you are wanting to experience the phenomena of the home that never seemed to stop being built – as there are so many rooms and no master plan that the count keeps changing than perhaps you should visit the renowned Winchester Mansion.

Related posts:

1. The Lemp Family Mansion
2. Ghosts of Baleroy Mansion
3. The Magnolia Mansion Haunts
4. Luna Mansion Hauntings
5. Spirits in Houghton Mansion