Perhaps the most bizarre structure in America, Winchester Mansion was built over the course of 38 years with one purpose - to keep bad spirits confused and away from the home's owner. A psychic told Sara Winchester, widow of William Winchester of Winchester Rifles fame, that the death of her husband and child were brought on by evil spirits that had been killed by the weapons that her husband manufactured. The psychic led Sara to believe that in order for her to avoid a similar fate, she must build a massive and disjointed house to confuse and stupefy the spirits that would soon seek her out. Sara was told that if construction on the house were to ever stop, the souls of the dead would claim her as their victim. For 38 years, 24 hours a day, construction continued on the mansion, ceasing only in 1922 with Sara's death. Sara supervised the entire process, claiming she was receiving instructions from good spirits wishing to confuse the bad. She held nightly seances in the mansion's bell tower.
In the end, the mansion would consist of approximately 160 rooms (no one knows the exact number, as the place is to large for most to navigate without losing direction), over 10,000 windows, three elevators, and forty-seven fireplaces and bathrooms. But even odder, the mansion hosts stairways that crisscross one another, many leading to nowhere, some into the ceiling. There are numerous trap doors and hidden chimneys. Some doors open to brick walls, while others open to four story drops. Sara's obsession with the number thirteen is seen throughout the house, with all staircases save for one having thirteen steps. Many bedrooms have thirteen windows. All the stained glass in the mansion is composed of thirteen panes. There are even sinks with thirteen drain holes. Her will was written in thirteen parts, and signed thirteen times.
Today, tour guides and workmen helping to restore the home report ghostly sightings on an everyday basis. They claim Sara had never left the house, and neither have those souls who took up residence in the mansion. Disembodied voices, temperature drops, and apparitions are commonplace here. Strange screams can be heard at all hours, and objects have been seen floating through mid-air. Doors open and close by themselves and lights turn on and off.
