The haunted mansion that locals avoid is doomed to be abandoned. Although there are exceptions. The Winchester House in San Jose was turned to a local attraction. Lovers of mysticism come here to walk through mazes, meet the ghost of the hostess, and hear a couple of terrible stories.

In 1886, a woman named Sarah Winchester came from New Haven, Connecticut to San Jose, California to start a new life. She bought an eight-room farmhouse. The reconstruction lasted for 36 years. It would be even longer if the hostess had not died in 1922.

By that time, the Winchester mansion turned into a true miracle of modern architecture with plumbing, elevators, hot shower, and central heating. It had more than 160 rooms and 40 bedrooms, 10,000 windows, and even 2 basements. But there are a lot of such houses. One of two thousand doors lead to a fall from a height of two meters to the kitchen sink, the other one – to a fall from 5 meters to bushes in the garden. Stairs hit the ceiling, expensive stained-glass Tiffany windows are installed in places without light, and there are more secret passages than in Narnia.

No one knows for sure why Mrs. Winchester required constant changes in her large house. People claim that the woman was hoping to hide from ghosts in the maze of the house.

During a strong earthquake in 1906, the top three floors were destroyed, the other four were damaged. Sarah Winchester perceived this as a warning from the spirits that the development of the house was going too fast. She ordered to board an unfinished side of the house up. Although it is open now, earthquake damage is visible.

After the death of the hostess, the mansion was turned into a hotel. But it was closed because of constant complaints about ghosts. Now guides give tours in the mansion. Their cost varies from 20 to 40 dollars. In 2018, a horror film about a scary house and the spirit was made.