Up to the present day there is much gossip about in Santa Clara Valley about a certain hidden treasure of Llanada Villa, for which my servants have often made search, though hitherto in vain. The story is that I, while yet in the vigour of life, concealed a very large quantity of gold, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and silver somewhere in the mansion. I was often asked where it was, and never disclosed their location. I also adorned much of the mansion with art-glass windows and beautiful carvings in marble. The object which the antiquary had before them was of tracing the whereabouts of my Medieval stained-glass windows of Llanada Villa. Shortly after the German Peasants’ War in 1525, a very large quantity of painted glass made it way from the dissolved abbeys of Germany and Belgium to the Winchester family, which I inherited after marrying William, and may now been seen adorning various rooms in the mansion. One of the main contributors was Cennino Cennini. However, once of my favourite pieces was a panel showing a King from a Tree of Jesse window. The work of art was created circa 1210. Another priceless antiquity I loved dearly was the 36-foot-tall stained-glass window, depicting 36 scenes from the same century, which tells the legend of the Antichrist. These clerestory windows made my home look like some capacious church. At intervals, I had been haunted by the recollection of the gossip about the hidden treasure, but the secret was to be found somewhere in the enigmatical windows of my home. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7

One fine autumn morning, I had strolled out before breakfast, as far as the gate of my carriage-drive. The path was a little less than a quarter mile from the front door. All civilization is marked by the touch of the arts. The Victorian Garden not only keeps the blood in a healthy glow, and the brain active in its knowledge, but it also expresses a level of artistic ability. My picturesque garden was ablaze with roses, delphiniums, and hollyhocks. It sparked divinity within me, imagination, and harmony. The well-cut lawn, many fine trees, a shady background, and walks, shrubs, and flowers, were the perfect embellishments and finishing touches to the picture of Llanada Villa. Only the finishing touches—but what a charm of added expression and beauty there is in these perfecting strokes! A verdant gate-way arch frames the common walk into a picture view; the long opening of the lawn gives playroom for the sunlight to smile and hide among the shadows of bordering boxwood shrubs and trees; it is amazing how an opening here, in the shrubs, reveals a pretty vista of another angle of the mansion; a flowerbed there, brightens the lawn like a smile on the face of a beauty; a swing suspended from the strong, outstretched arm of the noble tree attracts the children, whose ever-changing groups engage the eye and interests the heart; a delicate foliaged tree, planted on yonder, glows with the light of the afternoon sun, with an airy undulation trembling against the twilight sky, till it seems neither of the Earth or the sky, but a spirit of life wavering between Earth and Heaven! The Decorative Planting of Llanada Villa is the art of picture making and picture framing, by varied forms of vegetation growth. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7

However, there was something peculiar about this day. The air was cool. The leaves of the giant monkey pine tree above me were not rustling as they usually do. Everything was still. Even the birds were quiet. A low thunder came from the west, warning of an autumn storm. I turned my head and looked up and studied my house as it towered over me. This house is more than just bricks and mortar and wood. It has a soul. Years of secrets are hidden within its walls. What would they be, if the house could tell me, if I could hear the words? There was also a gigantic barn and a carriage house and stables and pastures and orchards and, of course, this Grand Queen Anne Victorian Mansion. As I wandered through the rooms this day, looking at the ceilings and out the tall windows, and into the funny little cabinet that were built into the walls that is when I saw an apparition. I had gone up to my room, but was not yet in bed, when I heard someone at the door, and went to it, thinking that it might be the chambermaid. On opening the door, I saw no one; but on going a few steps along the passage, I saw the figure of a tall lady, dressed in black, standing at the head of the stairs. After a few moments she descended the stairs, and I followed her for a short distance, feeling curious about what it could be. I had only a small piece of candle, and it suddenly burnt itself out; and, being unable to see more, I went back to my room. The figure was that of a tall lady, dressed in black of a soft woollen material, judging from the slight sound in moving. The face was hidden by a handkerchief held in the right hand. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7

This is all I noticed then; but on further occasion, when I was able to observe her more closely, I saw the upper part of the left side of the forehead, and a little of the hair above. Her left hand was nearly hidden by her sleeve and a fold of her dress. As she held it down a portion of a widow’s cuff was visible on both writs, so that the whole impression was that of a lady in a widow’s weeds. There was no cap on the head but a general effect of blackness suggested a bonnet, with a long veil or hood. She is seldom seen but the rustle of her dress is often heard by servants as she crosses several of the living rooms, apparently searching for her errant husband who seduced and ran off with his wife’s younger sister in the late 1880s, leaving Agnus and her baby girl to seek refuge and employment in my home before disappearing. It is suspected she and her daughter died of poisoning. My silver used to be stored one of the rooms she is seen, and a footman was employed to sleep here and guard it. One night, when the footman had turned in to sleep, he was approached by a very pale-looking lady in black who asked him for some water. Thinking it was one of the mansion guests, he turned to get her some when he remembered he was locked in and no visitor could have possibly entered. When he turned back, the apparition had disappeared. It is thought her longing for water suggest that he was poisoned. During the next two years—from 1888 to 1890—I aw the figure; at first at long intervals, and afterwards at shorter, but I only mentioned these appearances to one friend, who did not speak of them to anyone. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7

During this period, as far as we know, there were only three appearances to anyone else. The first, in the summer of 1890, was to my niece Daisy, when the figure was thought to be a housemaid who had called at the house, and no further curiosity was aroused. My niece was coming down the stairs rather late for dinner at 6.30 pm, it then being quite light, when she saw the figure cross the hall in front of her. The apparition said, “You don’t think anything happened to her, do you?” Then she passed into the drawing room. Diasy then asked the rest of us, already seated at dinner, “Who was that chambermaid, whom I just saw going into the drawing room, looking for?” She was told that there was no such person, and a servant was sent to look; but the drawing room was empty, and she was sure no one had come in. Daisy persisted that she had seen a talk figure in black, with some white about it; but nothing was thought of the matter. The second appearance, in the autumn of 1890, was seen by the housemaid about 10 p.m., she declaring that someone had got into the house, her description agreeing fairly with what I had seen; but as on searching no one was found, her story received no credit. On or about December 15, 1890, it was seen in the drawing room by Mr. Hansen and his son. They were playing outside the terrace when they saw the figure in the drawing room close to the window, and ran in to see who it could be that was crying so bitterly. They found no one in the drawing room, and the parlour-maid told them that no one had come into the house. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7

There was a dark connection with hidden forces of evil. Certain spots in my home were almost forbidden territory, as many have learned at considerable cost. There were also hints of certain marvellous transformations leading to bodily immortality—of a sort—on this Earth. The halls of the east wind were reputedly connected by hidden tunnel, being thus a veritable warren of unseen abnormalities. The room I entered was darkened against the afternoon sun, an errant breeze scampered through the lounge and was gone. I waited, alert, a grim, sad curve to my lips. There was a soft tread in the dining room, the whisper of cloth against cloth, the quiet squeak of a floorboard. The morning room, at an oblique angle to the foyer and separated from the lobby by an arc, was not touched by a single light that glowed from the front door, and the soft footfalls turned to the morning room from the dining room, seeking the haven of darkness. When the steps were halfway across the room, I snapped on the light. It was soft, dispelling little of the night around it, but to the black-cloaked figure revealed on the edge of its luminescence, it glowed bright as the heart of a star. The first time I spoke to this apparition was on 27 January 1891. I opened the drawing-room door softly and went in, standing just by it. She came in past me and walked to the sofa and stood still there, so I went up to her an asked if I could help her. She moved, and I thought she was going to speak, but she only gave a slight gasp and moved towards the door. Jut by the door I spoke to her again, but she seemed as if she were quite unable to speak. She walked into the hall, then by the side door she seemed to disappear as before. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7

During the next few days, the only noises I heard were those of slight pushes against my bedroom door, accompanied by footsteps; and if I looked out on hearing these sounds, I invariably saw the figure. Her footstep was very light, you could hardly hear it, except on the wood floors, and then only like a person walking softly with thin boots on. One evening, I went into the drawing room where Diasy was sitting, about nine in the evening, and sat down on a couch close to the bow window. A few minutes later, as I sat reading, I saw the figure come in at the open door, cross the room and take up a position closed behind the couch where I was. I was astonished that no one else in the room saw her, as she was so very distinct to me. She stood behind the couch for about half an hour, and then as usual walked to the door. I went after her, on the excuse of getting a book, and saw her pass along the hall, until she came to the garden door, where she disappeared. I spoke to her as she passed the front of the stairs, but she did not answer, although as before she stopped and seemed as though about to speak. Furtiveness and secretiveness seemed universal in my hushed mansion, and I could not escape the sensation of being watched from ambush on every hand by sly staring eyes that never shut. I shivered as the cracked stroke of the thirteen o’clock sounded from the belfry. The uncertain hall now before me was known to me haunted, but I took the risk and walked down the south hall where traces of life reappeared. Furtive, shambling creatures stared cryptically in my direction, and more normal ghostly faces eyed me closely and curiously. And the shadows were so hideous and incredible. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7

The Winchester Mystery House

The doctrines of Victorian Times promulgated with the notions of purgatory and its purging fires. However, if there is no such place, then ghost could hardly claim it as their home. That is why there is a strong tendency, among orthodox church people, to dispense with ghost altogether or to treat them as manifestations of the devil alone. Yet they cannot be banished from the Earth. Ghosts are effective in detecting the murderer, in disposing their estates, in rebuking injurious executors, in visiting and counselling wives and children, in forewarning them of such and such courses, with other matters of like sort. The late seventeenth and early eighteen centuries were the periods in which pamphlet were issues revealing the latest ghostly manifestation; they were generally entitled “Strange and Extraordinary News From…” and their content was attested by numerous witnesses. For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

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