OTHER TIDBITS: Nobody really knows why Mrs. Winchester built this labyrinth of a house with stairwells that curve down and up, or disappear into the ceiling, with upside down columns, and a hall of fireplaces. Nobody interviewed her about her life, and she never kept a journal. Some say that, after her daughter died of marasmus and her husband died of tuberculosis, she consulted a Boston medium, who advised her that her family was cursed by the spirits of everyone who had been killed by a Winchester rifle!

So, Mrs. Winchester moved from Connecticut to California, found a parcel of land with an old farmhouse, and spent the next 38 years designing a giant house so intricate that it was sure to throw off any mean spirits following her! Since she had basically unlimited money through her husband’s company, she made a grand ballroom that never hosted a ball, plenty of secret passages leading from one room to another, and of course, a seance room, where rumor has it, she received instructions from the spirits for the next stages of house construction!

Today, the Winchester Mystery House spans 6 acres and houses 160 rooms (some sealed off), 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens!

This landmark is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places!

• Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
• Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!

ANNOTATIONS:
Yup! That’s correct!

From Los Angeles: ~345mi (556km) — 5.8hrs
From Sacramento: ~119mi (192km) — 2hrs
From San Diego: ~464mi (747km) — 7.8hrs
From San Francisco: ~48mi (78km) — 0.8hrs