California's Most Bizarre Mansion Is A Very Mysterious, Supposedly Haunted Destination

Silicon Valley may be synonymous with high-tech innovation, but it's also home to one of California's most uniquely bizarre architectural marvels: the Winchester Mystery House. Located in San Jose, about an hour's drive from San Francisco, the home is a sprawling 24,000 square-foot, four-story redwood mansion unlike anything you've ever seen before. It has three elevators, 10,000 windows, and 160 rooms, including 13 bathrooms and six kitchens. Its ballroom even inspired the design of Disney's equally creepy Haunted Mansion ride.

The Winchester home has been open to the public since June 1923, and more than 12 million people have visited the house. Part of the appeal for some visitors are the stories of the permanent ghostly guests, which means you should add San Jose to your list of the best spooky cities for a Halloween vacation. To better understand just how this strange house came to be, you have to know a bit about the woman who designed it, Sarah Winchester.

Sarah Winchester married into the Winchester family, which had made a massive fortune from the invention of the Winchester rifle. In 1866, William and Sarah Winchester had a daughter, Annie, who died at just six weeks old. William died of tuberculosis in 1881, leaving Sarah much of the Winchester fortune. She moved to California for the sake of her health and bought an eight-room farmhouse in 1886, which she dubbed Llanada Villa. The Winchester widow poured over $5 million into the Queen Anne Revival-style house over the next 36 years, designing rooms herself and overseeing the construction. Work only stopped when Sarah died in 1922 — some stories say the workers didn't even finish hammering in the nails they'd been working on once they heard the news of her passing.

Rumors flew as to why Sarah continued to expand the home in odd ways. One oft-repeated story is that she was reportedly devastated about the deaths of her family and spoke to a medium, who told her that she was cursed by all those who were killed by a Winchester rifle. To keep the spirits from getting to her the way she thought they had gotten to her husband and daughter, Sarah decided to keep building her house in an unpredictable way to try and confuse and trap them.

As to whether or not the Winchester Mystery House is haunted, people have reported seeing shadowy figures and hearing unexpected footsteps. Some stories say that the ghosts of workers continue to haunt the home. Due to the rumors of supernatural activity and the house's unusual design, paranormal investigators have long been interested in the house.

While skeptics may deny that the Winchester Mystery House is haunted, the weirdness of its architecture is undeniable and make it well worth visiting. It's not just that the home is massive — it's got doors that take you to dead ends, staircases that don't go anywhere, a cabinet that spans 30 rooms, secret passages, and other architectural quirks that don't make any logical sense.

While some interpret these mystifying choices as evidence of Sarah Winchester trying to evade evil spirits, others see it as proof of Winchester's bold, innovative work as an architect guided by her own whims and love of design. We'll never know the real story, but the enigma of the home is what makes it perfect for those who like to visit mysterious places that leave more questions than answers.

The Winchester Mystery House is open for a number of different experiences — during the day, you can take the "Mansion Tour" through 110 of the house's 160 rooms, and the "Explore More Tour" takes you into some of the oldest parts of the house. It's also worth taking some time to wander through the elaborate gardens surrounding the house. And for a hauntingly good time on nights from mid-September through Halloween, get a ticket for "Unhinged: Hotel," a spooky, immersive experience that takes you through parts of the house and grounds.