Winchester House: History, Hauntings & Hospitality

Located in San José, California, the Winchester House is a historic Bay Area landmark. Drawing thousands of visitors every year, it’s an architectural wonder and also one of the most haunted houses in the U.S. Last October, I visited the Winchester House with my husband and parents. In this article, I’ll share the house’s history, the debate about its haunting, and my experience as a visitor.

A Brief History

The Winchester family owned the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and manufactured the famous Winchester rifle. William Wirt Winchester and his wife, Sarah, lived in New Haven, Connecticut. (Fun fact: their original estate on Prospect Hill is now the site of the Yale Divinity School.) In 1866, the couple had a child, who subsequently died at just over one month old. In 1881, William died of tuberculosis at the young age of 43.

Since the couple had no surviving children, Sarah inherited the Winchester family fortune. As legend has it, she was despondent after William’s death and went to a psychic for help. The psychic told Sarah to move across the country and build a house that never ended to protect herself from the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles.  

In 1884, Sarah bought a farmhouse and orchard in San José, California. Starting in 1886, Sarah ordered the house to be expanded. Construction occurred 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, until her death in 1922. The next owners turned the house into the museum and tourist attraction it is today.

What’s so weird about the Winchester House?

The Winchester House is an architectural wonder. Originally, the farmhouse had only eight rooms. By the end of Sarah’s renovations, it sprawled over 24,000 square feet and contained 160 rooms. That doesn’t include the 13 bathrooms and six kitchens, mind you.

Beyond its size, the mansion is even more famous for its architectural oddities. Sarah rarely used a blueprint in her renovations. She had the construction workers build walls right over existing windows. She put in staircases that wind like mazes and doors that lead to deadly drops. Nothing about the floor plan makes sense.

Is the Winchester House haunted?

According to legend, the house’s peculiar layout was meant to confuse vengeful spirits and protect Sarah. The explanation makes some sense, especially when you consider Sarah’s spiritualist practices. Each night, Sarah held two-hour séances in her private séance room (inset). The servants rang the tower bell at midnight to call the spirits, then again at 2am to send them away.

However, no records exist to support this theory. Sarah did not write about the reasoning behind her renovations in diaries, letters, or even construction blueprints. In fact, the story was actually invented by local tabloids.

Tour guides at the Winchester House maintain that Sarah had a passion for architecture. Her father was a carpenter, and she subscribed to several American and European architecture magazines. Additionally, considering the grief she felt over the loss of her infant daughter and her young husband, it seems logical that she would throw herself into a never-ending project. Still, given her knowledge of architecture, it’s strange that Sarah defied standard construction practices.

What it’s like to visit the Winchester House

Today, the Winchester House is formally called the Winchester Mystery House. It’s located right in downtown San José, next to a major highway. It feels like a historic oasis in the middle of modern chaos. You enter through the gift shop at the rear of the property. Alongside souvenirs, it has a café and a small room with artifacts from the house. When my family and I visited, this artifact room also had a gingerbread replica of the Winchester House created by Christine McConnell. (You can learn more about her Netflix show in this post.)

While waiting for your tour to begin, you can also wander around a courtyard area. It contained a spooky shooting gallery (my dad loved it!), a hatchet throwing range, and more activities. As our tour began, the guides had us take group photos in front of a poster of the Winchester House. Then, we entered the mansion.

Over the course of the tour, the guides lead you through the house’s main rooms. Each one still has much of Sarah’s original furniture. It felt like being inside a historic dollhouse—the furnishings and woodwork were so luxurious and intricate. As our tour guide led us through the rooms, they shared much of the history I’ve written about here, as well as additional details about the house’s renovations.

My family and I also opted to do the bonus ‘hardhat’ tour. This gave us access to the barn, garage, and unfinished areas of the house, such as the upper floors and basement. As a carpenter, my dad appreciated that this tour gave even more insight into the house’s creation. We also got to walk through the gardens (so many beautiful flowers and fountains!). Our tour ended, ironically, by having us walk into the front door. Apparently, Sarah rarely used the front door, so we had an experience that most of her family and guests did not.

The Guides’ Ghost Stories

Of course, the tour guides dedicated a lot of time to whether the house is haunted. One of our three tour guides didn’t have any supernatural stories to share with us. However, the other two relayed personal paranormal experiences.

Story 1: When the tour guides are cleaning the house and a group walks by, they are supposed to step out of sight. One of the guides claimed that he and a coworker heard a tour group coming and hid behind a wall. They heard footsteps and voices go by and left their hiding spot. As they looked down the hallway, they realized that no one was there.

Story 2: Another tour guide was supervising the self-guided flashlight tours that the house offers every Halloween season. While in the basement, she swears she saw one of Sarah’s former workers. He’s rumored to push a wheelbarrow up and down the hallway leading to the furnace.

Story 3: When she first started working for the Winchester House, one of our tour guides kept seeing a woman in black at the back of her tour groups. She thought she was imagining things … until the visitors asked about the woman in black. Apparently, Sarah remains a dedicated hostess and still chaperones her guests!

Conclusions

Personally, I didn’t experience anything paranormal during my brief visit to the Winchester House. However, haunted or not, the house is definitely worth a visit. Sarah Winchester was a strong, eccentric woman who defied the gender expectations of her time. Her house is an architectural wonder, with new oddities being discovered to this day. It was fascinating to learn about her, see the house, and hear the ghost stories. Check it out if you’re ever in the Bay Area!

If you’re a fan of haunted houses and ghosts stories, I bet you’ll enjoy my writing too. Join Kate’s Coven to read The Witch, an exclusive short story about a witch who must save Salem from the devil. You’ll also receive updates on my upcoming paranormal fantasy series.