Winchester Mystery Mansion

Sarah Winchester was despondent after the deaths of her child, and later her husband so she consulted a Medium to attempt contact with the Spirits.

The Medium advised the New England Widow to move to San Jose, California, build a house and keep adding rooms. To satisfy the ghosts of all the people killed by Winchester Arms, she was advised to "Never let a day go by without the sound of a hammer". She had craftsmen working 24 hours a day for 38 years.

Ultimately the house had 600 rooms many of which were built and then torn out. The house was under a continuous state of construction from 1884 to 1922 upon her death.

By coincidence, Gerry who lives across the street from our home was Chief Guide there in 1952 when he was in College. Some of the stories and legends have evolved over the years has the property which once contained 160 acres. It has now shrunk to about 5 acres and is surrounded by tall hotels, commercial buildings, and a large shopping mall down the street.

Today we drove on the Scenic Pacific Coast Highway from Morro Bay to San Jose. A highlight of the trip was Elephant Seal Beach where hundreds of these mammals were lying around molting and just sunbathing. Some did a little fighting, but many preferred to just rest in the sun and throw sand on themselves. We also saw mothers and their pups.