Winchester House
Winchester Blvd.
Sarah Winchester built her 700-room house in San Jose, California, from plans channeled to her by benevolent spirits to protect her from the phantoms of Indians killed by the rifle that bears her family name. To discourage evil spirits from entering, she based much of the construction on the number thirteen and added 950 doors and 10,000 windows, most of which lead nowhere. She even slept in a different bedroom every night to keep one step ahead of them. But she treated the good spirits royally. Every night at midnight, a large bell in the bell tower rang out three times to summon spirits to her s�ance room at the center of the house. She also held regular banquets, where servants set out five-course meals on thirteen solid gold plates and cutlery, although the only guests were Sarah and twelve invisible ghosts. She died in 1922 and left instructions that "the ghosts continue to be welcomed and provided for." Guided tours of the house started in 1923. Many psychics have contacted spirits here, and witnesses report discarnate voices, moving balls of light, and a gray-haired female apparition floating through the halls.
The house is haunted by two apparitions, Mary and her son. Sometimes Mary is very nice. She teaches children nursery rhymes and reads them bedtime stories. Other times she is said to be very evil. She has set the house on fire at least four times. Once she ripped a cat from a little girl's arms and threw it down the hallway. One room is freezing cold all the time. There have been reports of doors opening and closing by themselves, objects moving around, and television and radio stations changing alone.
There are a hundred and sixty rooms in this house, many having unique features such as windows looking into other rooms, doors opening outside from the third floor, and various sizes of doors. After Sarah Winchester's husband and child died in 1884, she went to try to contact their spirits. She wanted to know what to do concerning the ghosts of all the people that had been killed by the Winchester rifle. She was unable to contact her family, but was instructed to incessantly add rooms to the house to constantly confuse the unfriendly spirits. When the earthquake of 1906 struck, she was pinned in a room. She was never seen again. Residents hear ghostly music emanating from the house. Many other strange activities have been reported as well.