Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA

Comfort Inn - Palo Alto California
Winchester Mystery House California
Sarah Winchester
Visiting Winchester Mystery House

At the turn of the century, a wealthy woman who was said to believe in ghosts and communicate with spirits decided to build one of the most bizarre houses in the world. In San Jose, the Winchester Mystery House, a rambling mansion some say is haunted, continues to attract and confound visitors with its puzzling appeal. Today, it is a popular Northern California tourist destination located by Santana Row shopping center.

Bay Area Hotel in Palo Alto -

Located in Palo Alto, California, close to the Winchester Mystery House, Comfort Inn - Palo Alto hotel is well suited to family vacations as well as business travel. Guests enjoy spacious hotel rooms with complimentary amenities such as high-speed Internet access, premium cable television channels, deluxe toiletries, and daily newspapers. Each morning, help yourself to a hearty continental breakfast, and there's a coffee bar in the lobby available 24 hours a day. Our friendly, professional hotel staff will be happy to assist you with purchasing tickets to the Winchester Mystery House, and are knowledgeable about local restaurants and shopping.

Palo Alto Mysterious Winchester Mystery House California

A Unique Bay Area Attraction - Winchester Mystery House -

Located in San Jose, California, the Winchester Mystery House is a sprawling Victorian era mansion built by the Winchester repeating rifle heiress Sarah Winchester in the latter part of the 1800s and the early 1900s. The house is a mishmash of rooms, hallways, staircases, and windows, and while beautiful, it follows no particular plan or symmetry. The gardens surrounding the Winchester Mystery House is filled with Mrs. Winchester's gorgeous plants and flowers, including rose bushes, palm trees, and ferns.

Sarah Winchester -

Folks like to speculate on the reasons why heiress and socialite Sarah Winchester built her mysterious mansion, working on it and adding to it for almost 40 years in the late part of the 19th century. Some say it was grief over the deaths of her infant daughter and her husband, William W. Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. Others say she was a follower of the popular Spiritualism movement, which included holding séances and tarot-card readings, and the belief that the living could make contact with the dead. No matter the reason, what started out as a small farmhouse soon bloomed into a sprawling mansion.

Mystery House History -

Sarah Winchester first came across her future California home while on a visit to her niece in Menlo Park. She found the farm in the Santa Clara Valley, which was located near the town of San Jose. The house was unfinished when Mrs. Winchester purchased it along with a orchards that were a part of it. For Mrs. Winchester, money was no object, and she immediately began to add onto the house, hiring carpenters and workmen to work 24/7. When Mrs. Winchester passed away in 1922, the house consisted of 160 rooms, 10,000 windows, almost 50 stairways, and 6 kitchens.

Visit Winchester Mystery House -

Today, the Winchester Mystery House is a wonderful tourist attraction, welcoming visitors from all over the globe. If you go on a tour, it's important to remember to stay with your guide and group. Some staircases are known for leading to nowhere, and it's very easy to get turned around and lost in the Winchester Mystery House. There are literally miles of hallways and stairs, but be assured you will see plenty.