What happens to the heirs of famous firearm manufacturers? Well, just visit the Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., known for the production of Winchester rifles, began construction of the mansion in 1884, and it never stopped until she died in 1922.
She believed she was cursed and haunted by the ghosts of people killed by Winchester rifles. After all, her husband and father-in-law both died in the early 1880s, and her daughter died five weeks after birth in 1866. So, when a spirit told her to never stop building the house if she wanted the spirits to leave her alone, that’s what she did. The 160-room house is filled with architectural oddities, including staircases that lead to nowhere, doors that open onto walls, crooked hallways, spy holes and hidden passageways.