ens out to nothingto convince Houdini, the friendly Winchester tour guides, and scores of Bay Area residents who visited the house as children (this writer included) that something is awry here. But as it turns out, the most curious object inside the mansion was actually Sarah Winchester herself. Th
The real Sarah Winchester was aware how her building project looked to outsiders. In a 1906 letter she wrote after the earthquake destroyed a third of her work, she confessed that the house looked like a crazy person built it. Its unclear whether Winchester was actually taking her building directio
It wasnt just the architectural oddities that earned Sarah Winchester her eccentric reputation. After her husbands death, the heiress dressed in stifling black dresses even under the baking hot San Jose sun. She went into mourning and stayed in mourning for the rest of her life, Mirren explained
The mystery around Sarah Winchester grew all the more intense thanks to the unusually close-knit bond she shared with her staff. Winchester spent an unusual (for the time) amount of money on making sure her servants lived in comfort, and reportedly treated them almost like family. In return, the sta
nt expect a documentary: I understand the artistic license in making a film based on a story, so I dont expect it to be the true story. But ODay is adamant that the movie does justice by Sarah Winchester, even as she is terrorized by specters: Shes not depicted as a crazy lady. Shes all of the