Winchester Mystery House as a Labyrinth

Sarah Winchester's Labyrinth

The Winchester Mystery House is often called a labyrinth. By looking at the house within the framework of labyrinths Sarah Winchester's memory-which has been long overshadowed by ghost stories-can be recovered and uncovered.

Sarah Winchester, the heiress to the Winchester Rifle Fortune, moved to San Jose, California in 1886 and soon began construction on a house that would come to be known as the Winchester Mystery House. Architectural oddities and the incessant additions caught the curiosity of people in San Jose. Superstition about ghosts sprung up around Sarah and her house; the legend was born. Newspapers declared that Winchester believed she was being haunted and if she were ever to cease building it would lead to her death.

There is no definitive proof that Sarah believed in spirits. From Mary Jo Ignoffo's account of her life we know that Sarah was well educated and had a vested interest in architecture. It was her hobby and the construction of her labyrinth was an intentional one. But also one that met with construction roadblocks and suffered damage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that were never repaired.

An exterior shot of the Winchester Mystery House. It used to be painted a bright blue but when it became a tourist attraction it was repainted a less cheery pale green. It also used to be surrounded by lush gardens with hundreds of plants from around the world. Now it sits amidst the bustling shoppping centers of the Silicon Valley.

How should we choose to interact in this space, in these narratives?

The tours and marketing of the Winchester Mystery still emphasize the supernatural elements of the story. The tale about a talented, philanthropic woman architect falls to the wayside in favor of spooking guests. Among the winding corridors, beautiful stained glass windows, and disorienting structures every aspect seems to draw on these labyrinthe aesthetics. By paying attention to how the labyrinth can function as a tool of disrupting public memories that are ingrained in our cultural imagination.

Accept the disorientation, let yourself wander, and use it as a time to reflect. That is what labyrinths are for, a deeper contemplation on the nature of life. That confusion can be uncomfortable or it can be liberating. The labyrinth can open the mind to narratives; new ones, buried ones, and narratives that are all our own.

The marketing promotion for WMH likes to focus on the spookyness of the house at times. Sometimes promoting special Halloween Tours or Candelight Friday the 13th tours. This keeps the ghost legends alive and drives tourism to the house.