| Sarah L. Winchester was an heiress and the owner of | | | | acres of land. She began extending the house without |
| the Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester | | | | any apparent plan, a procedure that continued 24 |
| was born in September 1839 in Connecticut. She | | | | hours a day, 365 days a year for 38 years. Two |
| married William Wirt Winchester, the heir to the | | | | issues obsessed her -- 1) the number 13 and 2) the |
| Winchester Repeating Arms Company empire. They | | | | belief that if she ever stopped building she would die. |
| had only one daughter, who died a few weeks after | | | | She tried to incorporate 13 wherever possible, like |
| her birth in 1866. In 1881, her husband William died of | | | | having 13 bathrooms, windows with 13 panes etc. |
| tuberculosis leaving her 50 percent of the company, | | | | Since the construction went on haphazardly, it was full |
| which fetched an income then of $1,000 per day. | | | | of anomalies such as staircases that led nowhere and |
| In her grief, Sarah was led to believe that the family | | | | windows opening onto walls. A stage was reached |
| was cursed by the ghosts of people killed by | | | | where workers had to navigate by using a map. |
| Winchester rifle. A psychic advised that to exorcise | | | | Construction stopped only when Sarah Winchester |
| herself, she should move west and build a house for | | | | died in 1922 at the age of 83. |
| herself and her spirits. | | | | Today, the Winchester Mystery House is a historic |
| In 1884, she moved to what is now San Jose, | | | | national landmark. It is open to the public seven days a |
| California where she bought a house located on 162 | | | | week except for Christmas. |