1. Winchester Mystery House

2. The Hubby William Wirt Winchester Born - June 22, 1837
Married Sarah Lockwood Pardee – September 30, 1862
Had one child
Annie Pardee Winchester
Born July 15, 1866
Died July 24, 1866, of marasmus
Father – Oliver Fisher Winchester
Manufactured and marketed the Winchester repeating rifle
Died on December 11, 1880
Ownership of company given to William Winchester
Died March 7, 1881 of tuberculosis

3. The wife Sarah Lockwood Pardee Born in 1839 Death of only child
Became deeply depressed
Never had any more children
Father-in-law and husband died within 3 months of each other
50% ownership of Winchester Company upon husband’s death
Income $1,000 a day (equal to $22,000 a day in 2008)
Died September 5, 1922 – 83 years old

5. The house Winchester Mystery House
Sarah - convinced Winchester family was cursed
Went to a psychic
Family cursed by spirits killed by Winchester rifle
Should move west
Build house for herself and spirits
Construction should not stop or Sarah would die
Moved to San Jose, California from Connecticut
Bought eight-room farmhouse on 162 acres

6. Questions
How did Sarah keep building constantly according to the psychic’s directions?
How big is the house?
What are some unique features of the house?
Why did Sarah build the house the way she did?
What happened after the earthquake?
What happened to the house after Sarah died?
Is the Winchester House haunted?

7. Plenty of money ($20 million dollar inheritance)
HOW did Sarah keep building constantly according to the psychic’s directions?
Plenty of money ($20 million dollar inheritance)
Hired workers to build
13 full-time workers
24 hours a day
7 days a week
365 days a year
For the next 38 years!
Workers caught not working immediately fired

8. How big is the house? Covers 4 acres
Had 7 stories (earthquake brought it down to 4 stories)
2 functional basements
160 rooms
40 bedrooms
13 bathrooms
5 kitchens
To paint entire house  20,000 gallons

9. How big is the house? 3 elevators 47 fireplaces @1,257 window frames
@10,000 window panes
467 doorways
950 doors
40 staircases

10. What are some unique features of the house?
Repeating number 13 theme
13 Chandeliers
13 panes in many windows
13 bathrooms
13 steps on most staircases (one has 39)
Doors that open into walls
Stairs that lead nowhere
Windows that look into walls

11. What are some unique features of the house? (continued)

12. Why did Sarah build the house the way she did?
Following psychic’s instructions
Held seances (spirits “told” her how to build the next day)
Strange design
Wanted to confuse spirits
Wasn’t a trained architect
Slept in a different room every night
Believed if she stopped building, she would die

13. What happened after the earthquake?
Earthquake in 1906
Top 3 stories collapsed
Sarah trapped in her room
Convinced spirits were angry because house almost complete
Boarded up front 30 rooms of house
Ensure house would never be complete
Trap spirits that fell through the floors

14. What happened after Sarah died?
All building stopped
Left possessions to niece, Frances Marriot
Took 6 weeks to remove furniture
House auctioned to investors
Turned into a tourist attraction

15. Is the Winchester House haunted?
Many visiting psychics claim to see spirits
Numerous claims of ghost sightings
Employees/Visitors
Footsteps
Banging doors
Mysterious voices

16. Is the Winchester House haunted?
Windows bang so hard they shatter
Cold spots
Strange moving lights
Doorknobs that move by themselves
Light orbs in pictures

17. Conclusion – No, the house is not haunted.
Sarah was mentally unstable.
Suffered severe depression from the loss of her husband and daughter
Was not in a good mental state when she went to a psychic
Lived as a recluse for 38 years
Lack of communication with people did not help her sanity.
Bizarre events can be explained:
Light orbs are reflections of flash off of dust particles.
Cold spots are normal in a huge house with inconsistent heating.
Strange noises in a house where tours are given could be explained by other tourists making them.
People want to see ghosts so badly, they interpret normal events as ghosts.
There are so many windows, some are bound to break.

18. bibliography