Labyrinth

Doors opening in to midair, stairways that go into the ceiling, extremely low doorways, doors that can be entered but not exited, and non-functioning bathrooms are all characteristics of the Winchester Mystery House. It is attractive, beautiful, even, but it's internal layout makes no sense, and is quite eerie upon exploration. Depending on one's beliefs, the house  layout was either given to her by spirits she contacted in her private seance chamber (with only one door leading in, and three doors leading out), or dreamed up in her own head as a result of her growing paranoia. According to many sources, the layout was to confuse the evil spirits of the many, many victims of her late husband's invention.

For 365 days a year, 24 hours a day for 38 years (until her death in 1922), there were local contractors hard at work on the construction of this massive Victorian mansion. At one point, the house had seven floors, but as a result of the 1906 earthquake, it was partially destroyed. As it stands now, it is only 4 floors tall. . As stated before, depending on your beliefs, this either makes perfect sense, or makes no sense and is the product of an extremely grief stricken, lonely, wealthy, and paranoid widow.

Her old home in New Haven, Connecticut, where she had lived with her late husband, was also said to be haunted by the spirits of the victims of the Winchester rifle. This is all based on popular belief. No hard, reliable evidence exists to support this. One account says that during a seance, her late husband contacted her and told her that he'd have lived if their home had never been finished. The only way for her to live a full life, was to live in a home that was never finished. Some believe this to be the reason for her migration to California, and for the state unfinished, labyrinthine interiors.



Ghost Adventures: Recaps: Winchester House.Travel Channel. San Jose. 31 Oct. 2011. Television. http://www.travelchannel.com/Video/recap-winchester-house-16416

Winchester Mystery House: The House. Web. 25 October 2011.
<http://winchestermysteryhouse.com/thehouse.cfm>.