Let's pretend the year is 1927 and we want to visit the Winchester Mystery House, a popular day trip for West Valley residents. "We" are a group of Los Gatos friends who know each other through our church or fraternal group affiliations. The big red interurban street cars run every half-hour, and the ride through Campbell to San Jose is 25 cents.
Our route is by way of Saratoga Avenue and Stevens Creek Road to the east end of Winchester Road, followed by a short walk to the 160-room home of Sarah Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. The group had heard strange tales about Winchester, whose death in 1922 reunited her with her husband and child, who died in a home fire in Connecticut during a thunderstorm.
Following this tragedy, the distracted widow turned to spiritualism and was advised to take a trip around the world. Another medium suggested that to atone for the thousands killed by her husband's rifles, Winchester must plan an ongoing mansion--as long as it was under construction, she would live; cessation would prove immediately fatal. For 38 years, from 1884 to 1922, the sound of saw and hammer never ceased.
In 1923 the Winchester House was opened to public inspection. Strange legends persisted until Rambo published his 16-page pamphlet, Lady of Mystery. Rambo, whose booklet dispelled many Salem witchhunt-like myths about Winchester, died in 1990. Rambo's knowledge of the little lady, who stood less than 5 feet tall, comes partly from the fact that his father was the gardener in charge of hedges surrounding the large garden.
According to his booklet, the building contains l0,000 windows, nine kitchens and 47 fireplaces built of rosewood, cherry, mahogany, Italian marble, oak, teak and pipe. All are hand-carved and no two are alike.
Harry Houdini visited the house and must have wondered if he could have escaped from the maze of rooms blindfolded. Even Robert "Believe It Or Not" Ripley paid a visit and used the story in one of his world, syndicated shows. Among her many friends and acquaintances was W. T. Creffield, whose family name lives on in Los Gatos' Creffield Heights.
One flight of steps leads to a blank wall. Another flight is raised only two inches per step, because of Winchester's shortness. Her bathroom with clear glass doors also seems strange--although she bathed alone, the clear glass allowed servants to see that she was okay. The "ghostly music" sometimes heard at night was caused by a sleepless Winchester exercising her arthritic fingers.
Perfectly normal were her shopping trips by carriage to First Street, San Jose. Merchants were glad to bring items for her inspection in daylight. She always paid in gold coin and never returned an item.
When the 1906 earthquake struck, it toppled an eight-story tower directly into Winchester's bedroom. Servants rescued her. Terrified, she fled to Redwood City to build a palatial barge (called The Ark) on which she lived for the next six years. Then she returned to her home. She died Sept. 5, 1922.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
