Mysterious Winchester House
Famous Winchester Mystery House is, without any doubt, one of the most interesting and eccentric buildings in the California. It is located in the San Jose street ant it was built by the inheritor and the namesake of the owner and founder of rifle company William Winchester. After his death, his wife Sara became one of the wealthiest persons of that time.
Fear and Loneliness
However, Sara was not happy at all. She suffered from a deep sense of quilt about the enormous victims of Winchester rifles and she was afraid of the victim’s ghosts.
She was, allegedly, under the strong influence of the medium person, who explained Mrs. Winchester that she would be safe from the ghosts only if she continue to build her house indefinitely. And exactly that she did. For almost 38 years work on the house never stopped- twenty- four hours a day, every day.
The chief constructor and designer of the whole project was Mrs. Winchester, although she did not have any previous experience in the architecture or construction basics. Soon, the small and ordinary house began huge complex with multi floor construction, a labyrinth of rooms and several kitchens and bathrooms.
It is also interesting that Mrs. Winchester never let visitor into her home. She was alone with workers and her conscience.
One of the most precious objects in the house was hand- made and originally designed windows, which was made by the famous Tiffany Glass Company. Mrs. Winchester was very proud of them. However, the most expensive window in the whole house was one large piece that cost around $1,500. As a comparison, the normal window cost $3 at that time. However, Mrs. Winchester was a very wealthy person as we said, and that particular sum was just her one day earning from company stocks.
Precious Storeroom
The so- called Storeroom is another interesting part of the house. It was used for keeping other things and elements that were intended for rooms that which were built or under the construction. Experts and visitor who entered into house after Mrs. Winchester death estimated that this particular room held objects worth more than $25,000. The most expensive were Tiffany’s window that was waiting its turn to be installed into another room after their finishing.
Mrs. Winchester and the Tiffany Company established strange ritual and practice in ordering things. The strange householder use to pre-order windows with the attention to have them in stock in every possible time. She was afraid she would be out of supply for the endless construction and renovation. She was always on line with the glass company and they were always on her service. Mrs. Winchester was dictated the shape, size and color for her windows, although she often would know what their house would like in the end.
Those windows still lying in Storeroom, but they are now isolated and fixed as a protection of the earthquake.
In short, Winchester house is a result and the product of the depression and fear of the lonely woman. The whole design is a reflection of her confused mind. The endless room, dead ended lobbies and door that lead to nowhere are just a sign of the serious mental problem of unhappy Mrs. Winchester.
