Boo! Winchester House

Today, I’m focusing on the Winchester Mystery House.  Have you heard about this mansion that is located in San Jose, California?  Have you been there?  It’s claimed that some people are there and they have never left.  The Winchester Mystery House is just that – a mystery.  It was the residence of Sarah Winchester.

In 1862, she  married William Winchester – who came from the family that created the famous Winchester guns.  Everything seemed like it was grand and wonderful …for a while.

In 1866, the Winchester’s infant daughter, Annie, passed away from a childhood disease called marasmus.  (Marasmus is a form of severe malnutrition and causes a child to look emaciated.)  Losing her child caused Mrs. Winchester to fall into a deep depression.

In 1881, Mrs. Winchester’s husband, William, passed away from tuberculosis.  Can you imagine watching two of your very close loved ones pass away so early in life?  Mrs. Winchester was beside herself and sought help from a spiritualist.  Through consulting with the spiritualist, Mrs. Winchester believed her family and her fortune were haunted by the ghosts of the people who had fallen victim to the family Winchester rifles.  She was advised that the only way she could appease the ghosts was to move west and build them a house.  Not just a house but to continuous build them a house.

In 1884, Mrs. Winchester moved west to San Jose, California and bought an unfinished farmhouse .  Work began immediately.  Mrs. Winchester  would hold nightly seances to speak with the spirits to help guide her in how the house would be worked on the following date.  In the morning, she would meet with her construction workers and give them the plans.  Did the plans make sense?  You decide.

• There are roughly 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms;
• 2 ballrooms (one completed and one unfinished);
• 47 fireplaces;
• Over 10,000 panes of glass;
• 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others);
• 2 basements with three elevators.
• It has gold and silver chandeliers and hand-inlaid parquet floors and trim;
• There are doors and stairways that lead nowhere and a vast array of colors and materials.
• The home’s conveniences were rare at the time of its construction. These included steam and forced-air heating, modern indoor toilets and plumbing, push-button gas lights and Mrs. Winchester’s personal (and only) hot shower from indoor plumbing.
• The number 13 is repeated frequently in the home – whether in stairs, candles, wall hooks, stained glass windows or even 13 holes in the drain covers.  Also every Friday the 13th, the large bell on the property is rung 13 times at 1300 hours in tribute to Winchester.   Mrs. Winchester even signed her will 13 times leaving everything to a niece and personal secretary.

Construction continued every day around the clock until Mrs. Winchester died on September 5, 1922.  Upon her death, all hammering ceased.  When they looked in Mrs. Winchester’s safe they found the things that meant the most to her.  Not money.  Not diamonds.  Not riches.  It was two pieces of hair – one from her husband and one from her daughter.

And until this day, it is said that you can still hear the construction work taking place, that you can see the workers inside and outside of the home.  And, people still say that Mrs. Winchester herself is still in the home.

 

Bacon’s Tales of Terror

Welcome back my friends to Bacon’s Tales of Terror on this 13th of the month.

Today, I want to talk about superstitions – that’s great for a 13th posting isn’t it?  Snorts.

Did you know that back in the day, breathing ‘in’ was interpreted as breathing in life while sneezing was interpreted as a swift exit of your essence or soul.  If your soul left your body through a sneeze then you would die without your soul.  This was the basis for further superstitions about sneezing throughout the centuries.

Do you tell people that sneeze, “God Bless You?”  This is actually a practice that is practiced all over the world and dates back to February 16, 590 AD.  Pope Gregory the Great decreed that prayers must be said to fight against a deadly plague in Italy at that time.  The plague was associated to be fatal by those who sneezed.  Telling someone, “God Bless You”, after they sneezed would protect people from the effects of the plague.

Saying, “God Bless You” can also be linked to around 1665 during the black plague in Europe.  Violent sneezing with the black plague was the sign of the end of the disease and death was certain to follow.  The pope made it a law so those that sneezed would be blessed due to their soon-to-be death.  It was also during this time that cover one’s mouth with their hand or cloth was put into place in order to stop the spread of further diseases.

In 17th century England if someone sneezed, people around them would remove their hats, curtsy or bow and wish them, “God Bless You”.  In the 1800’s in England, this poem came out:

Sneeze on Monday – sneeze for danger.  

Sneeze on Tuesday – kiss a stranger.  

Sneeze on Wednesday – sneeze for a letter.  

Sneeze on Thursday – something better.  

Sneeze on Friday – sneeze for woe.  

Sneeze on Saturday – a journey to go.  

Sneeze on Sunday – your safety seek – for Satan will have you for the rest of the week!

There is good luck also associated with sneezing:  if you sneeze between noon and midnight; if the family cat sneezes; if two people sneeze at the same time; if you sneeze twice in a row; or if you turn your head right when you sneezed.

But there’s also bad luck associated with sneezing:  if you sneeze in the morning while getting dressed; if you turn your head left while sneezing; if you sneeze three times in a row and someone is talking bad about you while sneezing four times is the sign of a cold.

 

Contributions to the Psychic Library on this information on sneezing superstitious.