Environmental psychologists have theorized that the house's odd layout itself contributes to the feeling that it was haunted. Today it is only four stories, and many of the 'strange' architectural choices, such as stairs and doors leading to nowhere, were a result of repairs made after the earthquake. Before the 1906 earthquake, the house had been seven stories high and carpenters may have been brought in initially to repair damage caused by the quake. Eschewing architects, she directed the additions herself, augmenting the building in a haphazard fashion. Carpenters were hired and worked on the house day and night until it rose to seven stories. In 1884, she purchased an unfinished farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley and began building her mansion. However, others maintain that she believed she must move West, and continuously build a house, the sounds of whose construction would keep at bay the spirits of those who had fallen to her late husband's firearms. She may have simply sought a change of setting, and something to keep her occupied during her lengthy depression. She left Connecticut and headed for California.

Īfter her infant daughter died of an illness known as marasmus, a children's disease where the body wastes away, and her husband died of pulmonary tuberculosis, a Boston medium -supposedly channeling the spirit of her late husband- told her that she should leave her home in New Haven and travel West, where she must continuously build a home for herself and the spirits of people who had fallen victim to Winchester rifles. She also received nearly 50% ownership of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, giving her an income of roughly $1,000 per day, equivalent to $28,000 a day in 2021.

In Sarah Winchester's later years, the toilet had a window for a nurse to check on her.Īfter her husband's death from tuberculosis in 1881, Sarah Winchester inherited more than US$20.5 million (equivalent to $576 million in 2021).

Winchester mystery house san jose