Winchester Mystery House
On the advice of a psychic medium, Winchester Rifle heiress Sarah Winchester moved west to California in 1884 after the deaths of her husband and infant daughter. The medium told Sarah, “there is a curse … that has resulted from the terrible weapon created by the Winchester family. Thousands of persons have died because of it and … are now seeking vengeance. … Build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen … You can never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will live. Stop and you will die.”
Sarah hand-sketched additional plans on napkins, tablecloths and scraps of paper for her six-bedroom home in California’s Santa Clara Valley. Twenty-two carpenters worked day and night, year round, for 36 years. Construction continued right up until Sarah’s death in 1922.
The house possesses many architectural oddities such as trap doors, staircases that lead to nowhere and doors that open to blank walls. The number 13 shows up again and again in the number of panels in a wall, windows in a room, panes in a window, steps in a staircase, etc. At its tallest height, the house reached seven stories, but San Francisco’s famous 1906 earthquake reduced it to four.
Some feel that Sarah Winchester’s labyrinth plans were designed to keep the ghosts trapped in the house. Psychics claim spirits wander the house, including Sarah herself. Now a tourist attraction, employees and visitors alike tell of unusual encounters such as banging doors, mysterious voices, windows slamming shut so hard the glass shatters, cold spots, strange moving lights and turning doorknobs.
Sarah hand-sketched additional plans on napkins, tablecloths and scraps of paper for her six-bedroom home in California’s Santa Clara Valley. Twenty-two carpenters worked day and night, year round, for 36 years. Construction continued right up until Sarah’s death in 1922.
The house possesses many architectural oddities such as trap doors, staircases that lead to nowhere and doors that open to blank walls. The number 13 shows up again and again in the number of panels in a wall, windows in a room, panes in a window, steps in a staircase, etc. At its tallest height, the house reached seven stories, but San Francisco’s famous 1906 earthquake reduced it to four.
Some feel that Sarah Winchester’s labyrinth plans were designed to keep the ghosts trapped in the house. Psychics claim spirits wander the house, including Sarah herself. Now a tourist attraction, employees and visitors alike tell of unusual encounters such as banging doors, mysterious voices, windows slamming shut so hard the glass shatters, cold spots, strange moving lights and turning doorknobs.
Stanley Hotel
Stephen King began writing The Shining shortly after his stay in room 217 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Built by F.O. Stanley (of Stanley steam engine fame), the hotel opened in 1909, featuring 138 guestrooms and underground tunnels.
Room 217 is not the only haunted room at the Stanley. Reports of paranormal activity come from Room 418 and the entire fourth floor, which originally housed servants' quarters. People claim to hear children playing in halls that are empty. F.O. Stanley also haunts the hotel. He plays the piano and visits the billiards room and lobby.
Room 217 is not the only haunted room at the Stanley. Reports of paranormal activity come from Room 418 and the entire fourth floor, which originally housed servants' quarters. People claim to hear children playing in halls that are empty. F.O. Stanley also haunts the hotel. He plays the piano and visits the billiards room and lobby.
Amityville Horror
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Within 28 days of moving in, the Lutz’s claimed sinister forces drove them out of the house. Interestingly, no supernatural activity had previously been associated with the house.
Three years later, The Amityville Horror: A True Story, became a runaway bestseller and subsequent movie. However, over the years, the book’s claims started to wear thin. Researchers Rick Moran and Joe Nickell interviewed witnesses, checked weather records and investigated claims. They found more than 100 discrepancies and errors in the book. Eventually, Ronald DeFeo Jr.’s lawyer confessed that he, along with the Lutzes, “created this horror story over many bottles of wine.” The lawyer planned to claim his client was possessed at the time of the murders. The Lutzes received a tidy sum in book and film rights. |
