Haunted mansions, fortune tellers, ghosts and mysteries. We are all drawn to these things, but why? Is it because we are all secretly obsessed with the unknown? Or maybe it's because we all love the rush that fear gives us.
Personally, anything labeled as haunted has me running straight to the front door, knocking and shouting until they let me inside.
The Winchester mansion is unlike any other haunted house. There are so many different speculations as to why the house was built and for what Sarah Winchester intended to use it. Most commonly, people speculate that it is the story of her tragic loss of both her infant daughters and then later, her husband, William Winchester.
Sarah allegedly moved to San Jose to leave those memories behind.
The Winchester mansion consists of around 161 rooms, with new rooms still being discovered. Much of the mansion tends to feel like a maze and has no real proper layout. It is also said to contain 13 bathrooms.
Sarah Winchester was a firm believer in spirits. With the bad luck that seemed to be plaguing her life, she thought there might have been something malignant following her, causing her distress.
Along with her belief in spirits, Sarah also seemed to have an obsession with the number 13. Throughout the house you can find a number doors, windows, stairs and drains that all add to 13. All of this, along with the 13 bathrooms, may be making some of the more superstitious people out there shake.
As many of you may know, the number 13 is considered unlucky. This superstition is so prevalent that on Friday the 13th, $800 million dollars are lost due to people refusing to travel, go to work, drive, go on vacation or even go shopping.
So what made Sarah have a special relationship with the number 13? Maybe the spirits with which she communicated told her it was important or maybe it was just fate.
So a mansion full of spirits must look horrifying, right? Wrong!
This is a shot of the Winchester mansion from the garden. Now maybe from this angle it doesn't look too big...here's another, an aerial view.
Now for some of you from small towns, this may be what your college campus looks like. From this angle, it becomes evident why many people who have been lucky enough to visit the Winchester mansion find it nearly impossible to navigate.
With the design of the mansion came doors that would open to three-story drops or straight into walls. Rooms would circle around to lead you back to where you came from and to rooms that didn't even open.
With all of the myth surrounding this mansion, it is fitting that a movie was made about it. The new film follows Sarah Winchester as she is evaluated by a doctor to determine whether or not she is fit to keep her hold on the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Although most people assume her to be crazy, it is discovered that all of her claims may be true.
The film follows the original story of Sarah Winchester's life, including the mention of the death of both her children and William. The number 13 also comes into play many times throughout the movie.
Now, whether you are a horror-movie buff or would like to learn a little bit about the infamous Winchester mansion, "Winchester" is the perfect movie to have you jumping out of your seat, while also letting you learn a thing or two.
