Y0u may not believe it but there has been a 161st room that has been “Discovered” at the iconic, spooky, Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Yes, an attic room that appears to be full of “Activity” has been found, re-located, and restored outside the house for new, sharp-shooting fun.
For nearly 100 years the Winchester Mystery House has stood as a testament to the ingenuity, persistence of vision and lore that surrounds its namesake, Sarah Winchester (heir to the Winchester Repeating Rifle fortune). Winchester lives on in legend as a grieving widow who continuously built onto her small farm house to appease the spirits of those killed by the guns manufactured by her husband’s firearms company. From 1884-1922 construction never ceased as the original farm house grew into the world’s most unusual and sprawling mansion (24,000 square feet built at a then astronomical cost of $5.5 million), featuring: 160 rooms, 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms and 9 kitchens. That is, until today when the count of rooms has reached 161.
Affectionately dubbed “Sarah’s Attic” this new space joins the newly revised Winchester Café, now presented by renowned Santa Clara Valley caterer Tony Santos, plus the recently announced all-new Halloween Candlelight Tour and Skeleton Key Club as the latest offerings that are part of the Winchester Mysterious House experience. “These new additions may not be as boisterous and frenetic as the construction that took place during Sarah Winchester’s time but it proves that expansion continues here at
Winchester Mystery House,” adds Magnuson.
The heavily damaged, unrepaired plaster wall testifies to the massive San Francisco earthquake of 1906 that nearly destroyed the house. Mrs. Winchester must have used the attic space as storage for many of her belongings such as her Victorian couch, beautiful pump organ, dress form, sewing machine, some paintings she was fond of along with several other eclectic items.
There is also clear evidence that she used this space to conduct séances, perhaps due to the paranormal activity that was discovered to regularly occur in this room- odd occurrences that continue to this day. A collection of rifles was also discovered, many looking like authentic Winchester rifles of long ago.
“When moving the room to our Central Courtyard a rifle accidentally went off and surprisingly activated the spirits that haunt the space and all kinds of crazy phenomenon occurred,” said Walter Magnuson, General Manager of Winchester Mystery House. “Now our tour guests will have the opportunity to do the same as we have opened it up to let them take a rifle in hand to activate 38 known targets (one for every year the incredible mansion was under construction) that unleash the supernatural.”
The Winchester Mystery House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a California Historic State Landmark, a San Jose City Landmark and one of the leading attractions in the Bay Area. Additional information may be found at WinchesterMysteryHouse.com.
