San Jose, California: Winchester Mystery House

This house is a 160 room mansion that Mrs. Winchester, the heiress of the Winchester rifle fortune, lived in. In 1884, the wealthy widow named Sarah L. Winchester began a construction project of such magnitude that it was to occupy the lives of carpenters and craftsmen until her death thirty-eight years later.

She had such a fear of the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle that she created a very unique house. She had a fascination with the number 13 and never slept in the same bedroom 2 nights in a row. Some of the bizarre features are doors and windows opening onto blank walls: a staircase from the floor to the ceiling: a door opening outward to an 8 foot drop off: glass floors: a room you can go into but not out of the same door.

The Winchester Mystery House is a huge mansion that was constantly being built for several years by the Winchester widow until she died. I think it is run by the state now , and they give tours and tell you a little bit about the morbid side of this woman and that she kept building this mansion to try and escape from the ghosts that were killed by the Winchester guns. It is a weird place, but it was interesting to visit.