The Winchester Mystery House: The Building of an American Legend

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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Arnaldo Teodorani
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris

Source/Further reading:

Story and description of the house
Life of Sarah Winchester

Mary Jo Ignoffo’s biography of Sarah

Haunted house?
The WInchester ‘73

Richard Allen Wagner

[ona]

The idea of her prolonging the builds to give local builders work is pretty heartwarming...

[LastHamurai]

When Biographics and Geographics meet it's a beautiful thing.

[delfin]

When you look at it from the outside, it just looks like a big Victorian mansion, but once you are inside, it becomes very clausterphobia inducing, even though it's huge. some of the stairways and ceilings are oppressive. Totally recommend going.


Oh and there is a Rosecrusian museum very nearby, also a weird and interesting place.

[antonievandermeer]

Go to the Winchester, have a pint and wait for this all to blow over.

[shaitarn]

'Sarah kept building as an excuse to keep relatives from visiting.' Yeah, I'm sure we've all got a couple of family members like that...

[adamheintz]

This house is INCREDIBLE to go inside of. Going back in April.

[bushmanPMRR]

Simon mentioned briefly in passing the Rosslyn Chapel 15:59
This place is so worthy of a video itself. Building commenced in 1456 and took many years to complete, despite it's relatively small size. The main reason was the sheer volume of intricate carvings within. Virtually every square inch has been carved with symbols both Christian as well as Pagan, depictions from the bible and even a type of corn from America that pre-dates Columbus' supposed discovery.
Two aspects that must be mentioned when discussing Rosslyn are that the Holy Grail is alleged by some to be hidden there, as portrayed in the Dan Brown novel The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks playing the lead role in the film.
The other aspect is The Apprentice Pillar. The Master Mason carved his pillar (on the left as you look down the aisle) and apparently had to go away on some other business only to discover on his return the Apprentice mason had done his own 'freestyle' work on a pillar to the right. The apprentice's pillar was such a thing of beauty the Master mason killed the apprentice out of jealousy!
This is such an amazing place with so much history and so many stories I honestly think Geographics should do a video on it.

[margaret-marywhite]

This is actually a very beautiful house. It was incredibly interesting to take the tour. The legend of the building of the house is what brings you in, and the stairways to nowhere and doors that don't lead to anything are interesting. However, all in all, it is just a lovely house built by an eccentric widow.

[toriladybird]

This is ONE building if I visited the US would be on my bucket list. This lady was a genius with her many ideas. The stairs for instance..

[jonrmartin]

I like how many of the house's "mysterious" elements have very practical explanations.

[bridgetdavis]

What a refreshing new theory - before I thought she was a widow, bent by guilt, but now I think she was a genius, trying to build what she thought was a spiritual Nexus.
Well done! 👍

[Ireneharnack]

I used to live down the street from The Winchester Mystery House! Love its wall paper! Also love those easy rise staircases. 😊 They also offer flashlight tours on Halloween.

Might I mention that San Jose also has The Rosecrusion Egyptian Museum which is my favorite San Jose Museum. (Talk about cool and awesome museums.)

[grappleduck]

Well done! I graduated from San Jose State University, and while my parents were in town from the East coast I took them to the Winchester Mystery House...what a blast. Some more tidbits...
1. Sarah had a state of the art room safe...the contents of that safe...a single locket of hair from her deceased child.

2. It was a massive fruit farm at one time...apricots and peaches making it a very profitable endeavor, but only one original plant material still exists, which is an antique grapefruit tree.

3. The only time the front door was opened for a visiting guest is when US President, Teddy Roosevelt made a surprise visit to the Winchester Estate. The door is said to be nailed shut leaving it in a non-operating status.
Also, Sarah treated all of her employees with respect and love, she considered them part of her family and paid them an hourly wage of $10-20 back at the turn of the century, which was unheard of. Most of the city has consumed this large, quirky estate but a small sliver of the once expansive farm/estate still exists...now referred to as the Winchester Mystery House.
D

[davidortiz]

Bravo!! I'm a long time fan of The Winchester Mystery House. Rarely (like almost never) does Sarah Winchester ever get the commentary she deserves. All the myths and legends are wonderful and fun, but the truth often suffers for it. When I first visited the house 48 years ago, the souvenir shop carried the book "Lady of Mystery (Sarah Wiinchester)" by Ralph Rambo, which told both the tall-tails and facts. Thanks so much for being thorough and gracious.

[SonjaPierce]

I never thought I'd see something I grew up with on Geographics. It's a fantastic place to visit.

[sammballii]

Man Simon you put in work bro.. I swear one of the most active Youtubers I've seen ..

[reneebarger]

I wish to thank you for giving some respect back to poor Sarah with honest facts. I have been to three of her houses and researched her life for years. She was a brilliant women with deep Masonic roots. The ranch provided fresh fruit as well as dehydrated fruit products & she ran it profitably. She had several family members in Santa Clara county and was very close to them, especially her niece. One of her nephews was a governor of California. Fascinating person who built a fascinating house. Oh just a note on the "door to no where", anyone growing up in New England could tell you that is called a coffin door.

[robertyoung]

I love the reasons she had to build this home. And I absolutely love how much work you put into your videos Simon! Absolutely love every video you put out. Keep it up brother.

[travist]

One of the main reasons I love these channels is Simon's relentless sense of sarcasm.

[ExcalibursEdge]

Thank you so much, Simon. I grew up in Sparks Nevada and whenever we went to the drive in movie theater, in between pictures, they would ALWAYS play this ad, "When in San Jose, visit the famous Winchester Mystery House!" with the address and directions. I have visited this house and it's not spooky at all. It is only weird, as you would expect.