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PRESS RELEASE

A Haunting in San Jose: Winchester Mystery House opens its doors to Fright Nights

JEAN BARTLETT (MecuryNews.com) - To know about the haunting, one most first know about the widow who came out from the East to build in the West — to build a mansion of such great proportions (24,000 square feet with 10,000 windows and 2,000 doors), that surely the ghosts who haunted her dreams would never actually find her for real.

Born in September of 1839 in New Haven, Connecticut, Sarah Lockwood Pardee was the daughter of Leonard Pardee and Sarah W. Burns. Her father was a successful carriage manufacturer and Sarah was educated in the finest private schools. She spoke four languages and played three instruments. In 1862, Sarah married William Wirt Winchester, the only son of Oliver Winchester, the owner of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company — a gun widely used in the Civil War and by American settlers in the West. Sarah's husband was the treasurer of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, a position which he held until his death.

The very sociable couple enjoyed being a part of New England society. Head-over-heels for each other, the couple's happiness doubled when Sarah gave birth to their only child, Annie Pardee Winchester in 1866. Just 42 days later, little Annie was laid to rest, the victim of infant marasmus, a form of protein-energy malnutrition. Annie was buried in the midst of a violent thunder storm. For Sarah, the loss was inconsolable. Fifteen years later Sarah's beloved William died at the hands of the tuberculosis which had gripped him for so long — and he too was buried during a powerful storm. Sarah spiraled into a deep mourning period from which she never recovered.

When William died, Sarah received $20 million in cash. She also received nearly 50 percent ownership of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, giving her an income of roughly $1,000 per day. Seeking answers for the loss of those she loved, Sarah met with a Boston psychic who told her the Winchester family was cursed by the spirits of all of those who had been killed by the Winchester rifle. She was told to move out West and build a house, and to never stop building that house. This would supposedly appease the anger of the dead as well as keep the dead from finding her. In 1884, not far from the Menlo Park home of a favorite niece Marian Merriman Marriott, Mrs. Winchester purchased an unfinished eight-room farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley.

The four-foot-ten Sarah Winchester hired a team of 13 carpenters and spent $5.5 million over the next 38 years, to build day and night until her death in September of 1922. The Winchester Mystery House which sprawls over 161 acres, is a marvel of Victorian craftsmanship and it includes a labyrinth of 40 staircases, 40 bedrooms, three elevators, two basements, 47 fireplaces, a grand ballroom as well as gardens which contain (the short list) four fountains, numerous statues, roses, peonies, star jasmine, pink Indian Hawthorn, Mrs. Winchester's favorite (the daisy) and trees and shrubs planted from all over the world.

To ward off malevolent spirits the number 13 reigns throughout. Thirteen candles in a chandelier, thirteen stones in a Tiffany window, 13 windows in a room, 13 steps leading to the 13th bathroom, 13 panes in a window — and the list of 13 goes on. There are steps which lead to nowhere, a door which opens to an eight-foot drop and a séance room which has one entrance and three exits. The house was remodeled over 600 times and there are no blueprints to show where the original eight-rooms were.

It is no wonder that the San Jose Winchester Mystery House is a California registered historical landmark. It is also no surprise that this home, listed among the most haunted places on earth (Victorian servants have been seen walking the hallways, unseen voices whisper, doors shake and shadows knock) — is currently hosting Winchester Mystery House Fright Nights. Taking place weekends throughout October, the events offered are the "Halloween Flashlight Tour" and the "Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze." The Halloween Flashlight Tour guides strangers through the mysterious mansion, along the very places where Sarah once walked, with all guests and their tour guide keeping a tight grip on their hand-held flashlight. You see the room where Sarah died in her sleep at age 83. You hear the history of Mrs. Winchester and the house that her fear built. You are guided into the séance room where many often feel a blast of cold moving air. You see the original bell tower to Sarah's home and in one room, at just the right angle, you see Sarah. This tour takes 65 minutes and receives 13 out of 13 stars.

For those brave enough to experience an interactive, multi-sensory gateway between Heaven and Hell, you will also want to walk, or run, the Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze. Here you will meet a great number of the dead — some who worked in the estate's old pump house who have returned to finish the job, some who died by the Winchester rifle and some of whom were once visitors just like yourself, who turned left when they should have turned right. My friend who joined me in the "Maze" was lucky to escape from a fast-moving, ax-wielding ghoul. The designers of the Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze were also responsible for constructing the original SAW attraction for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights which ran in both the Hollywood and Orlando parks from 2004 until 2010. The Winchester Mystery House has long been a favorite of this reporter. It is a fascinating portrait of California history, personal tragedy, Queen Anne Victorian architecture and the haunting question of life after death. It is also one of the state's earliest examples of modern indoor toilets and plumbing, elevators, push-button gas lights, and steam and forced-air heating, among other technologies. There are year-round tours completely worthy of investigation and repeat visits — but it is only through October that Fright Nights offer the ultimate in showdowns with Sarah. Mwahahaha!