She married Oliver Fisher Winchester a high official in the state of Connecticut, and also manufacturer of the famous Winchester rifle, which still exists. The marriage went well until their first child, Annie, died from marasmus. She took the death of her daughter hard and fell into a deep depression. Fifteen years later it took another turn for the worse with the death of her husband from tuberculosis.
Sarah inherited Oliver's fortune after his death, which amounted to 48.9 percent of the company (which averaged out to one thousand dollars a day and 20 million dollars). Afterwards, she was advised by friends to see a spiritual medium. Though this medium, her husband contacted her, and told her that the Winchester Rifle's many victims had cursed the family. To avoid the curse, she had to head west, under her late husband's guidance. She was eventually led to property in San Jose, California that would eventually become the unfinished Winchester House.
In 1884, Sarah Winchester, recently widowed, traveled west form Connecticut to California claiming that she was led there by the spirit of her late husband. She was led to an unfinished house in San Jose, California that was currently owned by a doctor. Because of her spiritual conviction, she ended up paying a large sum to the doctor for the 162 acre property, which included the unfinished house.
The Winchester House will never be complete.House is only a relative description for it. Labyrinth is more accurate. At the time of it's purchase by Sarah Winchester, the house contained six bedrooms. In 2011, it is known to have (at least) 160 bedrooms. The story of how it never got completed is both sad and strange.
- Winchester Mystery House: Sarah Winchester. 2011. Web. 25 October 2011.<http://winchestermystery.com/sarahwinchester.cfm>
- "Most Terrifying Place in America 2 part 4." 20 January 2011.Travel Channel. Web. 25 October 2011.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kJdIr9qdPM>
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