A New Room Has Been Discovered in the Winchester Mystery House

The room count of California's most mysterious mansion has just increased by one, rounding out at 161 chambers (that we know of). Preservationists at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose have found a previously unknown room in the attic of the house, and in it was a pump organ, a dress form, a sewing machine, a Victorian sofa, and several paintings. The labyrinthine home was constructed over a period of 38 years by Sarah Winchester, the wealthy widow of William Wirt Winchester, of Winchester rifle fame. After the premature deaths of her daughter and husband, a shaken Mrs. Winchester reportedly consulted a medium, who informed her that the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles were haunting her family. The medium instructed her to head west and build a house for the spirits, who would no longer bother her as long as construction never stopped. Thus the massive Winchester Mystery House was born; in its final iteration, the home—which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places—contains 2,000 doors, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, six kitchens, and 10,000 windows. Not only is the mansion massive, but it's also a bit of a fun house, filled with secret passages, stairs that go nowhere, and doors that open into walls (allegedly Winchester's attempt to confuse the spirits trying to find her). After the 1906 earthquake damaged the house, the widow boarded up many of rooms, and it's believed that the new discovery might be one such chamber. winchestermysteryhouse.com