Winchester House, San Jose, USA

The house was built by Sarah Winchester, wife of the inventor of Winchester rifles - William Wirth Winchester. After her husband's death in 1881 Mrs. Winchester organized a spiritual session to meet him. Mr. Winchester told her that his invention had ruined lives of many people, and soon the ghosts of those people would come for her. He told her to leave their house and go to the west, towards the sunset and build a new house there. But the fact was that she would die the moment when the construction was over.

Despite this fact Mrs. Winchester did as her husband had told her and in 1884 started the construction of her new house. Actually it can hardly be named a house; it is rather like a big maze with lots of traps and dead ends. However taking into consideration the perspective of dying after building the house, all the oddities can be explained: she was just trying to delay her death.

At first there were 500-600 rooms in the house; however after a number of reconstructions only 160 were left. The house is decorated with all luxury that can be paid for. Mrs. Winchester had a rather fine taste, added to unlimited means we get what we see around the house. There is a fireplace room, grand ballroom and cabinets. Among all the luxury of the house an extra attention should be drawn to the parquet floor. It is made of mahogany, rosewood, maple, oak. It is said, that the craftsman spent 33 years without taking other orders to bring the house to the end.

You can find absurd things in this house as well - doors that open into the walls, stairs that go straight to the ceiling etc. From the outside also the house is quite odd with its Victorian towers, carved arcs and cornices.

They say Mrs. Winchester tried to please the "good ghosts" and avoid the "bad" ones. There are only 3 mirrors in the whole house as ghosts don't like them. However, even this couldn't save her: as soon as the construction that lasted 38 years was over, she passed away...

By Sona Gasparian, www.building.am

Photos by: https://picasaweb.google.com