Vintage postcards of the Winchester Mystery House

Caption: "SARAH WINCHESTER'S unique architectural talent is reflected in this strange 'lucky' 7/11 staircase, as well as her numerous carved doors and walls, and convertible sky light balconies." (card B5053)

Caption: "COSTING IN EXCESS OF $9,000 in the early 1900's this spectacular Grand Ballroom's art glass windows contained unexplained Shakespearian quotations 'Wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts' and 'These same thoughts people this little world'. 9 ceiling panels each contain 13 subpanels, and the German silver chandelier contained 13 crystal shades." (card B5052)

Caption: "MYSTIFYING AND INTRIGUING adventure awaits house guests — Goofy staircase, doors opening to walls, stairs leading to ceilings, rooms with 13 windows and walls and light fixtures with 7, 11, and 13 sections. Why?" (card B5058)

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The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose is one of the top locations still on my bucket list, alongside the House on the Rock in Wisconsin. But if I never get there, that's fine. As I noted in 2021, I've been fortunate enough to see Lucy the Elephant, Wall Drug, the World Trade Center, the Haines Shoe House, the Gaffney Peach and the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, Minnesota. And right here in Phoenix we have the Mystery Castle, but it's been closed for renovations for awhile and is unlikely to reopen anytime soon. Bummer. 

I don't remember when I first read about the Winchester Mystery House, but it could have been as early as the late 1970s in that creepy book-filled Clayton attic or perhaps in the early 1980s. Certainly no later. It was just a chapter in a paperback about haunted houses and paranormal phenomena. I remember it focused heavily on Sarah Winchester's paranoia about ghosts (since debunked), the oddball architecture of the house and the devastating 1906 earthquake that came in the middle of the house's construction and forever changed it. It might have been Susy Smith's Prominent American Ghosts, but I'm not sure.

I think these postcards were both photographed and published by Mike Roberts, though perhaps someone can shed more light on that. I suspect they date to the 1970s. The back of one of the postcards is shown below and features a nifty logo incorporating a house and a skull.

According to the official website, the 24,000-square-foot house features 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 160 rooms, 52 skylights, 47 stairways and fireplaces, 17 chimneys, 13 bathrooms and six kitchens — if you can find them all without getting hopelessly lost. Or bumping into a ghost.

There are gaggles of websites, social media posts and good old-fashioned books about the Winchester Mystery House, if this is somehow the first you're hearing about it. Happy sleuthing! And please share your favorite facts, stories or personal experiences in the comments section. If you share something especially cool, I might mail you a Winchester Mystery House postcard.