The House The Spirits Built: A Monument to Immortality

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In 1884 Mrs. Winchester bought an eight-room farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley in California. There, until her death in 1922, she employed a crew of between 10 and 22 carpenters and dozens of other workmen to help her escape the terrible curse that had been placed on her name.

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Work continued day and night, precisely as instructed. Each evening Mrs. Winchester would retire to her séance room to receive the next day’s plans from the spirits; in the morning she would relay these to the chief carpenter. As the work progressed, it became apparent that the house was being constructed as much to keep good spirits in as to shut evil ones out.

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Mystery House: Although it has undergone many changes since construction was started in 1884, the grand scale and architectural complexity still make Winchester House an outstanding sight. At the turn of the century, the building raised some seven stories at a time when the surrounding area was predominantly farmland.  

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Staircases that lead to ceilings (above) are just one of the bizarre features introduced by Mrs. Winchester, the eccentric owner.

Designed by Ghost for Ghost

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The dual purpose helps to explain the myriad of oddities the house contains. Some doors can be opened from one side only; some open onto thin air. One reveals a closet no more than an inch deep. Facing this opening, what appears to be the door to a closet opens onto a 30-room suite. One set of stairs leads down to another set of stairs, which then leads back to the same story. Another stairway has 44steps and turns seven corners – but rises a mere nine feet. Yet another ends at a ceiling.

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To spare the spirits embarrassment due to the fact that they are not reflective, only two mirrors are in the house. And since spirits cast no shadow, the lighting of the rooms is arranged in such a way that humans cast none either.

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Rooms for All

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Unremitting labor for 38 years wrought a house that contains n160 rooms and covers six acres. Actually, some 750 rooms were built, but many were torn out and replaced as the spirits changed their plans. The Winchester house today remains prodigious nonetheless. It contains three elevators, six kitchens, 40 bedrooms, 467 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 fireplaces, 40 stairways, 52 skylights, six safes, and a shower.

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Mrs. Winchester spent close to $5.5 million of what she called her blood money to lift a curse – and provided a feast for lovers of the bizarre and the extravagant.