November 1, 2025 • 7 mins
We can't prove whether the Winchester Mystery House is really haunted, but it was definitely built for ghosts. Learn the story of how its strange construction was one woman's unending quest in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/winchester-mystery-house.htm
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren vogelbaumb here with a classic episode from the vault.
This one tells the twisting tale of the purposefully odd
Winchester House. I'm bringing it back because this is one
story where the truth is just as strange as any
(00:22):
fiction that could be concocted. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel
bomb here. Most of us want to get home construction
over as soon as possible. We worry about the expense
and complain about the inconvenience. But for Sarah Winchester, construction
was a way of life. For thirty eight years, she
had construction going twenty four hours a day at her
(00:44):
home in San Jose, California. This was no ordinary construction job. Though.
The house is an odd ball labyrinth of rooms that
at one point reached seven stories. It's filled with weird
things like stairs and doors that go nowhere. Not to
mention the ghosts. Sarah Winchester didn't start out looking for
this kind of project. Born Sarah Party in eighteen thirty nine,
(01:05):
she was one of the social stars of New Haven, Connecticut.
Although she only stood four feet ten inches, she was
known for her beauty and sparkling personality. In eighteen sixty two,
Sarah married William Winchester, who was the heir of the
Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The company had developed the Repeating rifle,
a gun that was easy to reload and fired rapidly
at a rate of one shot every three seconds. The
(01:26):
gun was used by Northern troops in the Civil War,
and it was also known as the Gun that Won
the West. The young couple started a family in eighteen
sixty six, but their daughter Annie died in infancy and
mister Winchester died of tuberculosis fifteen years later. Distraught over
these losses, Missus Winchester visited a medium for spiritual guidance.
The medium told her that the Winchester family had been
(01:47):
struck by a terrible curse and was haunted by the
ghosts of all those killed by the Winchester rifle. Their
spirits were seeking vengeance and the only way to appease
them was to build a house for them. But the
ghosts had another request that the house never be completed.
Never stop building, the medium told Missus Winchester, or you
will die. We can't know exactly how she interpreted this, advice.
(02:08):
She might have thought the spirits would get her if
she stopped, or she might have seen the continuous construction
as a path to eternal life. Missus Winchester headed west
to build a home for herself and her ghosts. She
bought a six room farmhouse on one hundred and sixty
two acres in California and set to work. She served
as her own architect, but it's possible that some ghosts
had a hand in designing the house as well. Every night,
(02:31):
Missus Winchester would retreat to her seance room and receive
instruction from the spirits on the progress of her house.
The next morning should present her construction workers with hand
drawn sketches of what was to be done. Sometimes it
seemed she didn't care what she built, as long as
she could hear the hammers of her crew. The crew
might spend a month constructing a room, only to be
ordered to destroy it the next month. Because Missus Winchester
(02:52):
paid well, no one disputed her instructions. Missus Winchester had
inherited twenty million dollars and just less than half of
the Winchester Repeat Arms Company stock. That left Missus Winchester
with a daily income of about one thousand dollars to
spend on her house. That's equal to about twenty five
thousand dollars a day in today's money. But what of
those doors and stairs to nowhere? Doors may open onto
(03:13):
walls or, in the case of a second story door
to the outside, resulting in a big fall for anyone
who might try to exit that way. A closet door
on the second floor seance room opens onto a first
floor sink several feet below. The stairs to nowhere are
pretty much what they sound like. Stairs go up until
they reach the ceiling, and then they just stop. These
might have a simple explanation. The stairs were likely part
(03:35):
of the original house that Missus Winchester bought, and when
she started adding on to the home, she covered up
the stairs. Whether it was accidentally or on purpose. Missus
Winchester usually covered up her mistakes by just continuing to
build around them. Because she had no master plan for
the house, her architectural ideas didn't always work out. Since
she had no deadline for completion, she'd either tear down
the mistake or cover it up with something else. But
(03:56):
the new stairs she built also zigzag back and forth,
going around and around in circles, and most are only
two inches about five centimeters tall. Some people think that
these touches were designed to confuse the evil spirits that
were haunting Missus Winchester. The height of the stairs served
a very specific purpose, though she had very bad arthritis,
and these small stairs allowed her to get around. However,
(04:17):
Missus Winchester might have deliberately installed some of the other
weird touches, believing that ghosts would get lost on stairs
that went nowhere or accidentally step out of door that
went outside. If this sounds strange to you today, you're
not alone. Even at the time that Missus Winchester was
building the house, she was regarded with suspicion. Some thought
her in eccentric with too much money on her hands,
and her home took on the nickname Mystery House not
(04:39):
long after her death. Because Missus Winchester left no diary
or other communication, we honestly have no idea what might
have been going on in her mind. What we do
have is her house, which is still open to tourists.
Missus Winchester died in her sleep in nineteen twenty two,
and the house was sold to a group of investors
who wanted to create a tourist attraction. To this day,
it's hard to know exactly how many rooms are in
(05:01):
the house because people keep getting lost when they try
to count, but it's estimated that about one hundred and
sixty rooms are in the home. It had reached seven
stories by nineteen oh six, but the top three floors
collapsed after the nineteen oh six San Francisco earthquake. Some
other famous numbers associated with the house include its forty
seven fireplaces, seventeen chimneys, two basements, six kitchens, ten thousand
(05:23):
window panes, and four hundred and sixty seven doorways. Despite
these impressive numbers, there are only two mirrors. Missus Winchester
thought the ghosts were afraid of their own reflection. Missus
Winchester also had an obsession with the number thirteen. Many
things installed in the home feature thirteen of something a,
thirteen window panes, thirteen wall panels, thirteen sections of flooring,
(05:44):
thirteen stairs. In each staircase, there are thirteen bathrooms, sinks
that have thirteen drain holes, and the sands room has
thirteen coat hooks. And beyond the stairs and windows to nowhere,
there are other architectural oddities all over the house. Stair
posts were installed upside down, and chimneys that served no
purpose are all over the house. There are cabinets that
are less than an inch deep that's about two and
(06:06):
a half centimeters. Missus Winchester ordered a beautiful and outlangily
expensive tiffany glass window, but after she installed it, a
wooden wall was built behind it so that sunlight could
never shine through the panes. Missus Winchester was convinced that
she lived with spirits, but are they still there today?
Does the spirit of Missus Winchester herself walk the halls?
Some psychics say yes, that upon visiting the house, they
(06:28):
sent spirits wandering. Tour guides and visitors report mysterious footsteps,
banging doors, and weird moving lights. Some see door knobs
move by themselves and feel cold spots. It may be
something you'll have to determine for yourself. The Winchester Mystery
House offers daily tours, and for those who want to
be particularly spooked, flashlight tours are offered on Halloween and
all fridays that fall on the thirteenth of the month.
(06:55):
Today's episode is based on the article What's so Scary
About the Winchester House story on how Stuffworks dot Com,
written by Molly Edmonds. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio
in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com, and it's produced by
Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren vogelbaumb here with a classic episode from the vault.
This one tells the twisting tale of the purposefully odd
Winchester House. I'm bringing it back because this is one
story where the truth is just as strange as any
(00:22):
fiction that could be concocted. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel
bomb here. Most of us want to get home construction
over as soon as possible. We worry about the expense
and complain about the inconvenience. But for Sarah Winchester, construction
was a way of life. For thirty eight years, she
had construction going twenty four hours a day at her
(00:44):
home in San Jose, California. This was no ordinary construction job. Though.
The house is an odd ball labyrinth of rooms that
at one point reached seven stories. It's filled with weird
things like stairs and doors that go nowhere. Not to
mention the ghosts. Sarah Winchester didn't start out looking for
this kind of project. Born Sarah Party in eighteen thirty nine,
(01:05):
she was one of the social stars of New Haven, Connecticut.
Although she only stood four feet ten inches, she was
known for her beauty and sparkling personality. In eighteen sixty two,
Sarah married William Winchester, who was the heir of the
Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The company had developed the Repeating rifle,
a gun that was easy to reload and fired rapidly
at a rate of one shot every three seconds. The
(01:26):
gun was used by Northern troops in the Civil War,
and it was also known as the Gun that Won
the West. The young couple started a family in eighteen
sixty six, but their daughter Annie died in infancy and
mister Winchester died of tuberculosis fifteen years later. Distraught over
these losses, Missus Winchester visited a medium for spiritual guidance.
The medium told her that the Winchester family had been
(01:47):
struck by a terrible curse and was haunted by the
ghosts of all those killed by the Winchester rifle. Their
spirits were seeking vengeance and the only way to appease
them was to build a house for them. But the
ghosts had another request that the house never be completed.
Never stop building, the medium told Missus Winchester, or you
will die. We can't know exactly how she interpreted this, advice.
(02:08):
She might have thought the spirits would get her if
she stopped, or she might have seen the continuous construction
as a path to eternal life. Missus Winchester headed west
to build a home for herself and her ghosts. She
bought a six room farmhouse on one hundred and sixty
two acres in California and set to work. She served
as her own architect, but it's possible that some ghosts
had a hand in designing the house as well. Every night,
(02:31):
Missus Winchester would retreat to her seance room and receive
instruction from the spirits on the progress of her house.
The next morning should present her construction workers with hand
drawn sketches of what was to be done. Sometimes it
seemed she didn't care what she built, as long as
she could hear the hammers of her crew. The crew
might spend a month constructing a room, only to be
ordered to destroy it the next month. Because Missus Winchester
(02:52):
paid well, no one disputed her instructions. Missus Winchester had
inherited twenty million dollars and just less than half of
the Winchester Repeat Arms Company stock. That left Missus Winchester
with a daily income of about one thousand dollars to
spend on her house. That's equal to about twenty five
thousand dollars a day in today's money. But what of
those doors and stairs to nowhere? Doors may open onto
(03:13):
walls or, in the case of a second story door
to the outside, resulting in a big fall for anyone
who might try to exit that way. A closet door
on the second floor seance room opens onto a first
floor sink several feet below. The stairs to nowhere are
pretty much what they sound like. Stairs go up until
they reach the ceiling, and then they just stop. These
might have a simple explanation. The stairs were likely part
(03:35):
of the original house that Missus Winchester bought, and when
she started adding on to the home, she covered up
the stairs. Whether it was accidentally or on purpose. Missus
Winchester usually covered up her mistakes by just continuing to
build around them. Because she had no master plan for
the house, her architectural ideas didn't always work out. Since
she had no deadline for completion, she'd either tear down
the mistake or cover it up with something else. But
(03:56):
the new stairs she built also zigzag back and forth,
going around and around in circles, and most are only
two inches about five centimeters tall. Some people think that
these touches were designed to confuse the evil spirits that
were haunting Missus Winchester. The height of the stairs served
a very specific purpose, though she had very bad arthritis,
and these small stairs allowed her to get around. However,
(04:17):
Missus Winchester might have deliberately installed some of the other
weird touches, believing that ghosts would get lost on stairs
that went nowhere or accidentally step out of door that
went outside. If this sounds strange to you today, you're
not alone. Even at the time that Missus Winchester was
building the house, she was regarded with suspicion. Some thought
her in eccentric with too much money on her hands,
and her home took on the nickname Mystery House not
(04:39):
long after her death. Because Missus Winchester left no diary
or other communication, we honestly have no idea what might
have been going on in her mind. What we do
have is her house, which is still open to tourists.
Missus Winchester died in her sleep in nineteen twenty two,
and the house was sold to a group of investors
who wanted to create a tourist attraction. To this day,
it's hard to know exactly how many rooms are in
(05:01):
the house because people keep getting lost when they try
to count, but it's estimated that about one hundred and
sixty rooms are in the home. It had reached seven
stories by nineteen oh six, but the top three floors
collapsed after the nineteen oh six San Francisco earthquake. Some
other famous numbers associated with the house include its forty
seven fireplaces, seventeen chimneys, two basements, six kitchens, ten thousand
(05:23):
window panes, and four hundred and sixty seven doorways. Despite
these impressive numbers, there are only two mirrors. Missus Winchester
thought the ghosts were afraid of their own reflection. Missus
Winchester also had an obsession with the number thirteen. Many
things installed in the home feature thirteen of something a,
thirteen window panes, thirteen wall panels, thirteen sections of flooring,
(05:44):
thirteen stairs. In each staircase, there are thirteen bathrooms, sinks
that have thirteen drain holes, and the sands room has
thirteen coat hooks. And beyond the stairs and windows to nowhere,
there are other architectural oddities all over the house. Stair
posts were installed upside down, and chimneys that served no
purpose are all over the house. There are cabinets that
are less than an inch deep that's about two and
(06:06):
a half centimeters. Missus Winchester ordered a beautiful and outlangily
expensive tiffany glass window, but after she installed it, a
wooden wall was built behind it so that sunlight could
never shine through the panes. Missus Winchester was convinced that
she lived with spirits, but are they still there today?
Does the spirit of Missus Winchester herself walk the halls?
Some psychics say yes, that upon visiting the house, they
(06:28):
sent spirits wandering. Tour guides and visitors report mysterious footsteps,
banging doors, and weird moving lights. Some see door knobs
move by themselves and feel cold spots. It may be
something you'll have to determine for yourself. The Winchester Mystery
House offers daily tours, and for those who want to
be particularly spooked, flashlight tours are offered on Halloween and
all fridays that fall on the thirteenth of the month.
(06:55):
Today's episode is based on the article What's so Scary
About the Winchester House story on how Stuffworks dot Com,
written by Molly Edmonds. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio
in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com, and it's produced by
Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
BrainStuff News
Host
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