Inside the Winchester Mystery House

In the last episode of Camp Nightmare Fuel:
The Winchester Mystery House is a sprawling, bizarre Victorian mansion located in San Jose, California, famous for its size, architectural oddities, and ghostly legends. It was owned and continuously built upon by Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester, heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

After the death of her husband and infant daughter, Sarah—reportedly devastated and deeply spiritual—consulted a medium who told her she was haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. To protect herself and appease the angry souls, she was advised to build a house for them—and never stop building.

For 38 years, from 1886 until her death in 1922, construction never ceased. The result is a 160-room labyrinth of stairs that lead nowhere, doors that open into walls, secret passages, windows in the floor, and other architectural oddities designed, some say, to confuse spirits.

The house has become a hotbed of paranormal interest and is a popular tourist destination today. Whether a tragic monument to grief or a brilliant piece of spiritual architecture, the Winchester Mystery House remains one of America’s most mysterious homes.