This is a place that I regret not going to when I had a chance , when I was in San Jose, California. It's the Winchester House built by Sarah Winchester. She was widow to William Winchester who was the son of the founder of the Winchester Arms Company. Needless to say, she was a very wealthy woman. She only had one daughter who died at infancy and her husband later died of tuberculosis. Because of this, she felt that she was cursed and after visiting a psychic, she moved to San Jose. The reason being, is because the psychic told her that indeed she was cursed by all of the spirits that were killed from the Winchester rifle. And she told Sarah that she needed to build a home in the west for her and the spirits, and that if she ever stopped building, she would die
So that's what she did sometime in the 1880's, for 38 years--24 hours a day--365 days a year
She really did build it--she was the architect who designed it, even though she had no formal training. Some say that's why the house is so screwy, like the doors that open into walls, the staircases that lead to nowhere, or the windows that look into other walls. But MOST believe that this was her intent--to confuse the ghosts. She very rarely would stay more than 2 nights in the same bedroom for fear that the spirits would find her. The house was so complicated, that the servants used a map to find their way around. To say that this lady was a tormented soul is putting it mildly. There are other interesting facts about the house. Sarah was fascinated with the number 13 (go figure), so there are 13 bathrooms, 13 chandeliers, all of the windows have 13 panes and so on and so on.
In 1920, it was opened to the public for tours. Now.... they say that there have been sightings of Sarah's ghost roaming the grounds and also her home and you better believe that I believe it.
This is Sarah Winchester, or should I say her spirit watching over her home. I love this kind of stuff--it just fascinates me. I'm the one that watches all of those TV shows-- "most haunted places", and of course Halloween is my favorite time of year.
And I also wanted to show you the background of the collage--
I was inspired by KC Willis to make this fabric collage. She makes the most beautiful fabric collages, and last year I joined her Collage Camp workshop, and she shows you how she makes these wonderful collages from start to finish. In the one video, she gives you a tour of her studio, and you just drool over all of the treasures she has there. You can see her art at Lipstick Ranch, and believe me, it's worth the trip!!
