1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbaumb here with a classic episode from the vault. 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: This one tells the twisting tale of the purposefully odd 4 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Winchester House. I'm bringing it back because this is one 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: story where the truth is just as strange as any 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: fiction that could be concocted. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel 7 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: bomb here. Most of us want to get home construction 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: over as soon as possible. We worry about the expense 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: and complain about the inconvenience. But for Sarah Winchester, construction 10 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: was a way of life. For thirty eight years, she 11 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,279 Speaker 1: had construction going twenty four hours a day at her 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: home in San Jose, California. This was no ordinary construction job. Though. 13 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: The house is an odd ball labyrinth of rooms that 14 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: at one point reached seven stories. It's filled with weird 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: things like stairs and doors that go nowhere. Not to 16 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: mention the ghosts. Sarah Winchester didn't start out looking for 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: this kind of project. Born Sarah Party in eighteen thirty nine, 18 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: she was one of the social stars of New Haven, Connecticut. 19 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: Although she only stood four feet ten inches, she was 20 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: known for her beauty and sparkling personality. In eighteen sixty two, 21 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: Sarah married William Winchester, who was the heir of the 22 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The company had developed the Repeating rifle, 23 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: a gun that was easy to reload and fired rapidly 24 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: at a rate of one shot every three seconds. The 25 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: gun was used by Northern troops in the Civil War, 26 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: and it was also known as the Gun that Won 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: the West. The young couple started a family in eighteen 28 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 1: sixty six, but their daughter Annie died in infancy and 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: mister Winchester died of tuberculosis fifteen years later. Distraught over 30 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: these losses, Missus Winchester visited a medium for spiritual guidance. 31 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: The medium told her that the Winchester family had been 32 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: struck by a terrible curse and was haunted by the 33 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: ghosts of all those killed by the Winchester rifle. Their 34 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: spirits were seeking vengeance and the only way to appease 35 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: them was to build a house for them. But the 36 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: ghosts had another request that the house never be completed. 37 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: Never stop building, the medium told Missus Winchester, or you 38 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: will die. We can't know exactly how she interpreted this, advice. 39 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: She might have thought the spirits would get her if 40 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: she stopped, or she might have seen the continuous construction 41 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: as a path to eternal life. Missus Winchester headed west 42 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: to build a home for herself and her ghosts. She 43 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: bought a six room farmhouse on one hundred and sixty 44 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: two acres in California and set to work. She served 45 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: as her own architect, but it's possible that some ghosts 46 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: had a hand in designing the house as well. Every night, 47 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: Missus Winchester would retreat to her seance room and receive 48 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: instruction from the spirits on the progress of her house. 49 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: The next morning should present her construction workers with hand 50 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: drawn sketches of what was to be done. Sometimes it 51 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: seemed she didn't care what she built, as long as 52 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,079 Speaker 1: she could hear the hammers of her crew. The crew 53 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: might spend a month constructing a room, only to be 54 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: ordered to destroy it the next month. Because Missus Winchester 55 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: paid well, no one disputed her instructions. Missus Winchester had 56 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: inherited twenty million dollars and just less than half of 57 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: the Winchester Repeat Arms Company stock. That left Missus Winchester 58 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: with a daily income of about one thousand dollars to 59 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: spend on her house. That's equal to about twenty five 60 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: thousand dollars a day in today's money. But what of 61 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: those doors and stairs to nowhere? Doors may open onto 62 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 1: walls or, in the case of a second story door 63 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: to the outside, resulting in a big fall for anyone 64 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: who might try to exit that way. A closet door 65 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: on the second floor seance room opens onto a first 66 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: floor sink several feet below. The stairs to nowhere are 67 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: pretty much what they sound like. Stairs go up until 68 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: they reach the ceiling, and then they just stop. These 69 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: might have a simple explanation. The stairs were likely part 70 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: of the original house that Missus Winchester bought, and when 71 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: she started adding on to the home, she covered up 72 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: the stairs. Whether it was accidentally or on purpose. Missus 73 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: Winchester usually covered up her mistakes by just continuing to 74 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: build around them. Because she had no master plan for 75 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: the house, her architectural ideas didn't always work out. Since 76 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: she had no deadline for completion, she'd either tear down 77 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: the mistake or cover it up with something else. But 78 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: the new stairs she built also zigzag back and forth, 79 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: going around and around in circles, and most are only 80 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: two inches about five centimeters tall. Some people think that 81 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: these touches were designed to confuse the evil spirits that 82 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: were haunting Missus Winchester. The height of the stairs served 83 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: a very specific purpose, though she had very bad arthritis, 84 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: and these small stairs allowed her to get around. However, 85 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: Missus Winchester might have deliberately installed some of the other 86 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: weird touches, believing that ghosts would get lost on stairs 87 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 1: that went nowhere or accidentally step out of door that 88 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: went outside. If this sounds strange to you today, you're 89 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: not alone. Even at the time that Missus Winchester was 90 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: building the house, she was regarded with suspicion. Some thought 91 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: her in eccentric with too much money on her hands, 92 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: and her home took on the nickname Mystery House not 93 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: long after her death. Because Missus Winchester left no diary 94 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,160 Speaker 1: or other communication, we honestly have no idea what might 95 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: have been going on in her mind. What we do 96 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: have is her house, which is still open to tourists. 97 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: Missus Winchester died in her sleep in nineteen twenty two, 98 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: and the house was sold to a group of investors 99 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: who wanted to create a tourist attraction. To this day, 100 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: it's hard to know exactly how many rooms are in 101 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: the house because people keep getting lost when they try 102 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: to count, but it's estimated that about one hundred and 103 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: sixty rooms are in the home. It had reached seven 104 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: stories by nineteen oh six, but the top three floors 105 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: collapsed after the nineteen oh six San Francisco earthquake. Some 106 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,239 Speaker 1: other famous numbers associated with the house include its forty 107 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: seven fireplaces, seventeen chimneys, two basements, six kitchens, ten thousand 108 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,239 Speaker 1: window panes, and four hundred and sixty seven doorways. Despite 109 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: these impressive numbers, there are only two mirrors. Missus Winchester 110 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: thought the ghosts were afraid of their own reflection. Missus 111 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: Winchester also had an obsession with the number thirteen. Many 112 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: things installed in the home feature thirteen of something a, 113 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: thirteen window panes, thirteen wall panels, thirteen sections of flooring, 114 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: thirteen stairs. In each staircase, there are thirteen bathrooms, sinks 115 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,160 Speaker 1: that have thirteen drain holes, and the sands room has 116 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: thirteen coat hooks. And beyond the stairs and windows to nowhere, 117 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: there are other architectural oddities all over the house. Stair 118 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: posts were installed upside down, and chimneys that served no 119 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: purpose are all over the house. There are cabinets that 120 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: are less than an inch deep that's about two and 121 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: a half centimeters. Missus Winchester ordered a beautiful and outlangily 122 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: expensive tiffany glass window, but after she installed it, a 123 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 1: wooden wall was built behind it so that sunlight could 124 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: never shine through the panes. Missus Winchester was convinced that 125 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: she lived with spirits, but are they still there today? 126 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: Does the spirit of Missus Winchester herself walk the halls? 127 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: Some psychics say yes, that upon visiting the house, they 128 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: sent spirits wandering. Tour guides and visitors report mysterious footsteps, 129 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: banging doors, and weird moving lights. Some see door knobs 130 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: move by themselves and feel cold spots. It may be 131 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: something you'll have to determine for yourself. The Winchester Mystery 132 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: House offers daily tours, and for those who want to 133 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: be particularly spooked, flashlight tours are offered on Halloween and 134 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,679 Speaker 1: all fridays that fall on the thirteenth of the month. 135 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article What's so Scary 136 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: About the Winchester House story on how Stuffworks dot Com, 137 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: written by Molly Edmonds. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio 138 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com, and it's produced by 139 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 140 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 141 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.