Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California, USA (1884 – 1922).
Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, heir to the Winchester Repeating rifle wealth, had already experienced tragedy when she moved to San Jose, California. Upon her arrival, she purchased a modest eight-room farmhouse. Winchester cut herself off from society around her. She concentrated her attention on a continuous home expansion project, one that never ceased during Winchester’s lifetime. Within her 160-room, 24,000 square foot masterpiece, she directed builders to create curiosities like doors that opened to walls, stairways that ended at the ceiling, and secret passageways. Legend has it, though unconfirmed, that she believed herself haunted by the spirits of those killed by her family’s guns, and a psychic told her that these spirits would catch up with her if she stopped building her house. In 1923, after Sarah’s death, the house of curiosities opened for tours. It has attracted over twelve million guests in the 101 years of tourist operation.
