The Main Bedroom

While the room where Mrs. Winchester died is officially called "The Main Bedroom", tour guides and other mansion staff refer to it as "The Deadroom." (They also call staircase that you'll pass as you enter the room "The Dead Stairs).

The nickname is one of the few instances that I can recall of the mansion staff not being absolutely reverent toward Mrs. Winchester. Inhabiting the house where she lived and died conjures respect, so much so that it's odd when someone calls her something other than "Mrs. Winchester."

Of course, the tragic and lonely story of her life may have something to do with it. It's hard to imagine repeating the story of a woman losing both her husband and her infant child without feeling some sympathy and respect. The tour script relates these details, along with the legend of Mrs. Winchester's visit to a Boston psychic.

Like any legend, the details vary from teller to teller, and contradictory versions appear in the tour script itself. According to the legend, a grieving Sarah Winchester contacted a spiritualist medium, and the medium discerned that spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle were responsible for the deaths of her daughter and husband. In some versions of the story, the spirits could only be appeased by the construction of a home that was never completed. In other, the medium informed Mrs. Winchester that she would live until the house was completed, and Mrs. Winchester interpreted this to mean she would not die if construction continued forever.

Whatever version, the stories were in circulation long before Mrs. Winchester's death in 1922. A 1909 newspaper story about Mrs. Winchester refers to her as a 'stanch spiritualist' (sic), and refers to her mania for construction and belief that her death would follow the completion of her mansion.

In regards to the room itself, the most interesting thing about the Deadroom is that its the first example of expensive construction seen on the tour, and stands in contrast to many of the rooms around it. The deadroom has expensive Lincrusta wallcovering, a marble fireplace, and intricate wood patterned floors. In contrast, the surrounding rooms are much simpler. Its clear that these were Mrs. Winchester's chambers and the other rooms in this portion of the house belonged to her companions (a nurse or a secretary). Leaving the Deadroom, your tour will continue to the most famous room in the Winchester mansion.

Next stop... The Séance Room!