The first full-length biography of Sarah Winchester, the subject of the movie Winchester starring Helen Mirren. Since her death in 1922, Sarah Winchester has been perceived as a mysterious, haunted figure. After inheriting a vast fortune upon the death of her husband in 1881, Sarah purchased a simple farmhouse in San José, California. She began building additions to the house and continued construction on it for the next twenty years. A hostile press cast Sarah as the conscience of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company—a widow shouldering responsibility for the many deaths caused by the rifle that brought her riches. She was accused of being a ghost-obsessed spiritualist, and to this day it is largely believed that the extensive construction she executed on her San José house was done to appease the ghouls around her. But was she really as guilt-ridden and superstitious as history remembers her? When Winchester’s home was purchased after her death, it was transformed into a tourist attraction. The bizarre, sprawling mansion and the enigmatic nature of Winchester’s life were exaggerated by the new owners to generate publicity for their business. But as the mansion has become more widely known, the person of Winchester has receded from reality, and she is only remembered for squandering her riches to ward off disturbed spirits. Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune demystifies the life of this unique American. In the first full-length biography of Winchester, author and historian Mary Jo Ignoffo unearths the truth about this notorious eccentric, revealing that she was not a maddened spiritualist driven by remorse but an intelligent, articulate woman who sought to protect her private life amidst the chaos of her public existence. The author takes readers through Winchester’s several homes, explores her private life, and, by excerpting from personal correspondence, gives the heiress a voice for the first time since her death. Ignoffo’s research reveals that Winchester’s true financial priority was not dissipating her fortune on the mansion in San José but investing it for a philanthropic legacy. For too long Sarah Winchester has existed as a ghost herself—a woman whose existence lies somewhere between the facts of her life and a set of sensationalized recollections of who she may have been. Captive of the Labyrinth finally puts to rest the myths about this remarkable woman, and, in the process, uncovers the legacy she intended to leave behind.

Sarah Winchester was a brilliant, creative and generous woman. She lost her only child, Annie, at six weeks old. Her beloved husband William, heir to the Winchester Rifle fortune, died at a young age from tuberculosis. Sarah never recovered from her two heartbreaking losses. Yet through all her pain she was focused on helping those in need.Sarah spent major parts of her adult life on two building projects. Both of them live on today, 97 years after her death.In San Jose, California, Sarah built an architectural marvel, a mansion in the American Queen Anne revival style reflecting great beauty and great innovation. The mansion has operated since 1923 as a tourist attraction known as the Winchester Mystery House. The house is a California Historical Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Throughout the years rumors have been associated with Sarah and her house. The rumors suggest that the grief-stricken widow sought comfort from a medium in Boston who told her she was being cursed by the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle. She should move west, the medium said, and build a house and never stop building. As long as construction continued, she was told, she would not die. The rooms would shelter the good spirits and the sound of hammers would drive away the bad spirits. These rumors led to Sarah being portrayed as eccentric and crazy.In West Haven, Connecticut, Sarah funded the building and operation of a hospital for patients with tuberculosis. The hospital, honoring her husband, was named the William Wirt Winchester Annex for Tuberculosis. Sarah was especially concerned with helping those of limited economic means. Over the years thousands of lives have been saved through the work of this hospital. Although the hospital no longer exists, the fund Sarah created continues to support the Winchester Chest Clinic, now part of the Yale New Haven Hospital.Sarah's hospital remains virtually unknown, whereas Sarah's mansion is toured by a steady stream of visitors from around the world. The mansion was the setting for the 2018 film Winchester, a paranormal thriller starring Academy-Award-winning actress Helen Mirren. The movie was advertised as "inspired by true events." It is true that Sarah and the house both existed, but that is where the "true" events end. The rumors surrounding the house continue to be told. Historical research including newspaper and magazine articles, personal correspondence, and interviews with Sarah's contemporaries reveals an alternative explanation of Sarah Winchester and her mansion.

On October 22, 1844, thousands of men, women and children, dressed in Ascension Robes, gather on a desolate, freezing hillside outside Boston to greet the end of the world. Among the crowd is terrified five-year-old, Sarah Pardee, for whom this is the beginning journey to extraordinary fame and notoriety. That night, Sarah is rescued by the cults founder, William Miller, and by Caty and Maggie Fox, who become her friends as they travel their own path to become Americas most distinguished spirit rappers interpreting rapping sounds in haunted houses. As for Sarah, she will go on to become Mrs. William Wirt Winchester, of Winchester rifle fame, one of the richest women in America. She will lose a daughter after only 42 days of life, an event that blights all her remaining days. Guided by an obsession with the spirit world, she will move to the San Jose, California and build one of Americas strangest and most famous structures. But first she will attendand completely disruptthe Charles Street School and then Mary Lyons Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (later Mount Holyoke College), she will meet Edwin Booth, Americas most famous Shakespearean actor, brother to John Wilkes Booth, who presides over a spiritualist meeting where Sarah first communicates with her deceased daughter. Thereafter she will be visited by a spirit guide who directs her building of the massive, controversial monument on the west coast. The Possession of Sarah Winchester tells this compelling story in her own words, revealing child/woman caught in the web of the rise of spiritualism in nineteenth century America. It portrays a brilliant womans mind inundated by repression, grief, and guilt over her familys creation of a weapon that destroyed Native American lives and culture.

Almost everyone agrees: The Winchester Mystery House is haunted.In fact, it's among America's most famous - and most haunted - houses. Year after year, it attracts visitors from around the world.But what spirits (or demons?) drove Sarah Lockwood Winchester.to be sure the house was never completed?... Did Mrs. Winchester truly believe she would DIE if she ever stopped building? History - and the house itself - suggest that's true... but what was the REST of the story?This short book is a memoir about Sarah Winchester, written by one of her real-life neighbors.In this book, you'll learn more about: - The personal life - and quirks - of Sarah Winchester. - The secret room where she went each night, and - Her odd and charitable works.Read this book to learn more about the enigma that was Sarah Winchester.

"An acclaimed historian explodes the myth about the 'special relationship' between Americans and their guns, revealing that savvy 19th century businessmen--not gun lovers--created American gun culture"--

Mrs. Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune, lost her one-month-old daughter to a rare disease. Fourteen years later her husband passed away from tuberculosis. Seeking a psychic for answers, she was told a curse was put on her family by those killed with the Winchester rifle. The psychic told her to move west and build continuously on a house to appease the spirits. She would do as the psychic instructed, and over the 38 years she lived in San Jose, California, she built a 160-room Victorian mansion, with stairs that lead nowhere, a door that opens onto a 15-foot drop into the garden, and skylights in the floor. This biography starts with Oliver F. Winchester and his invention, then follows Sarah Winchester from her marriage to her death. It explores the myths surrounding her, as well as the facts that rarely come to light.--From publisher description.

Inspired by true events, this masterfully crafted horror tale takes you into the non-stop construction of “the house taht spirits built” and its briliant and mysterious owner, Sarah Winchester. Thought to be one of the most haunted placed in the world, the Winchester Mystery House is much more than an architectural wonder. It's a labyrinth full of secrets. Come step inside and hear the house's whispers...Inspired by true events, this masterfully crafted horror tale written by Joshua Werner and beautifully illustrated by Dustin Irvin and Damien Torres takes you into the non-stop construction of "the house that spirits built" and its brilliant owner, Sarah Winchester.