The Winchester Mystery House
A wealthy widow kept builders working on her California house for decades, adding stairs to nowhere and doors that open onto walls.
What was reported
Sarah Winchester, widow of the heir to the Winchester rifle company, bought an unfinished farmhouse in what is now San Jose in 1886. She kept carpenters working on it almost constantly until her death in 1922, adding rooms, towers and wings without an overall plan.
The house has around 160 rooms, staircases that end at the ceiling, doors that open onto blank walls, and many details featuring the number 13. Legend says a medium told her to keep building to appease spirits connected with the rifles behind her family's fortune.
Explanations offered
Historians say there's little evidence for the medium story, which spread after her death when the house opened as an attraction. Sarah Winchester was a private woman with a large fortune and a keen interest in design, and much of the oddness comes from repairs after the 1906 earthquake and from rooms being built over and changed.
- When
- Built 1886–1922
- Where
- San Jose, California, USA
- Witnesses
- Builders, staff and visitors
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.