Something caught my eye. Ahead of me, and so still I had not noticed, someone else was in the Grand Ballroom. A figure in white. A cold breeze touched my spine. It was a girl, dark hair loose around her shoulders. Cautiously I moved toward her. I was afraid that any noise would make her disappear. As I drew closer, I heard her soft, melancholic humming, a tune I had heard once before, although I could not remember when. A simple cadence, like that of a nursery rhyme, and somehow haunting. A few feet away, and the hair, the narrow shoulders, were familiar. Close enough to touch. The tune stopped. The woman seemed about thirty years old, had fair skin and hair, a trim figure, and was rather attractive. Her dress indicated good taste and a degree of wealth. It was in high fashion. The young woman then stood there looking at me, and vice versa. She seemed animated enough, but made no sound. Despite this, I had the distinct impression that the ghost wanted me to know something specific. The encounter lasted for ten or fifteen minutes, then the figure slowly disintegrated. The experience left me frightened and worried. In the following weeks, I felt an unseen presence all about the house, without, however seeing my mysterious visitor again. It seemed the woman was watching me as I worked. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8

I had no idea who the ghost might be. Could the ghost have some connection with the land itself, or perhaps with some of the antiques I treasured? About two weeks after the initial experience, I was studying in the library, which was located at the far eastern end of the house. Then I heard a loud noise reverberating throughout the house. It made me freeze with fright in the chair, when my niece Daisy ran into the library to ask what the noise had been. Upon investigation, I noticed a broken string on an antique zither hanging on the dining room wall. It was unlikely that the strong could have broken by itself, and if it had, how could it have reverberated so strongly? A few weeks went by, and the ghost’s presence persisted. By now, I had the distinct impression that the ghost was annoyed at being ignored. Suddenly, a crystal chandelier fell to the floor and shattered and a gas jet ignited. Sometime had passed. I began to hear footsteps upstairs, when there was no one about, and the sound of a marble being rolled across the hall. When the manifestations persisted, I would walk up to the foot of the stairs and ask, “Why do you not just come out and show yourself or say something instead of making all of those noises?” As if in answer, an upstairs door slammed shut and then there was utter silence. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8

After a moment’s hesitation, I dashed upstairs and made a complete search. There was no one about and the marble, which seemingly hard rolled across the floor, was nowhere to be seen. When Christmas rolled around, Diasy, Bretha Haas and myself had a séance. We joined hands and sat quietly in front of the fire place. Nothing happened for a while. Then Daisy, who had read some books on psychic phenomena, suggested that we needed a guide or control from the other side of life to help us, but no one had any suggestions. I decided to call William. As Daisy and Bertha were staring into the fireplace, I followed the direction of their eyes and saw what appeared to be some kind of light similar to that made a star in the night’s sky. It stayed on for a short time and then disappeared altogether. From that day on, I started to find curious objects around the house that had not been there a moment before. They were diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. I collected them and put them in the safe. Several weeks later, Daisy inquired as to who the company was the previous evening. I informed her that there had been no quest at the house, but she insisted that a lady had entered her bedroom, sat on her bed and looked at her, and then departed. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8

 In order to calm her, I told her that she had probably dreamt the whole thing. However, Daisy insisted that she had not, and furthermore, she described the visitor in every detail. Appalled, I realized that Daisy had seen the same ghostly woman. Apparently, the ghost felt greater urgency to communicate now, for a few days later, after going to bed, the apparition returned to my bedroom. This time she wore a different dress than on first meeting, but it was still very fashionable. She was wiping her hands on an apron, stayed only for a little whole, and then slowly disintegrated again. The room seemed to be permeated with something terrible evil. I could neither see nor hear anything, but I had a feeling that there was a presence there and that it was very strong and about to overcome me. As I looked out into the hall, I saw on the wall a little red object resembling a human eye, and directly below it what seemed like half a mouth. Looking closer, I discerned two red eyes and a white mouth below. The vision remained on the wall for two or three minutes, and then vanished completely. I felt ghosts wandering about in my room, I actually heard one of them crying pitifully for two hours. Obviously, the distraught ghost wanted attention, and was determined to get it at all costs. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8

The next morning, the housemaid explained that she could not draw me a bath for the bathroom door was locked. Since the door can be locked only from the inside, and since this bathroom was attached to my chamber, I assumed that my ghost lady was at it again. When the bathroom door remained lock for an hour and my needs became more urgent, I went to the door and demanded in a stern tone of voice that the ghost open the door. There was anger in my voice and it brought quick results. Clearly the click of a lock being turned was heard inside the bathroom and, after a moment, I opened the bathroom door easily. There was no one inside the bathroom, of course. Who, then, had turned the lock—they only way the door could be opened? For a while, things went smoothly. A few weeks later, I felt ghost near me. I clearly heard the door-to-nowhere fly open and slam shut by itself, as if someone in great anger was trying to call attention to my presence. Immediately, I locked the door, and made sure there was no draft from any window. An instant later, it flew open again by itself. Now I attached the chain to the latch—but it did not seem to stop the ghost from fooling around with the door. With enormous force, it flew open again as far as the chain allowed, as if someone were straining at it. I glimpsed many horrors of awesome magnitude. The dead were reincarnated with dignified ceremonies. An enormous army connected with the fathomless darkness and horrible bygone struggles dominated my home. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8

There came a fateful night. Worn out with emotion, irresolution and despondency, I had retired early and fallen into such sleep as was still possible to me. In the middle of the night—something malign power bent upon the wrecking of my peace forever—caused me to open my eyes and sit up, wide awake and listening intently for I knew not what. At that moment came in through the open window a long, wailing sound like the cry of a lost child in the far deeps of the darkening wood! I climbed out of bed to see what the noise was. However, as I was walking toward the window, my legs felt awkward, as though the knee joints had loosened, my stride having no rhythm, no coordination. I staggered, each step jolting my body, my lungs seeming to jar against my rib cage. Gazing towards the window, the stark blueness of the sky dazzled me as hands grabbed my chest, a figure blocking my way. I would have collapsed had not those same hands steadied me. I blinked to clear the mist over my vision (caused by the sudden brightness, or fear’s teardrops?). Again, and nearer than before, sounded that unearthly cry upon my failing sense. Perhaps there was a wild beast in the house; perhaps it was a dream. For I was asleep. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8

Some hours later, as it afterward appeared, I awoke and lifting my head from my arms intently listened—I knew not why. There in the black darkness, recalling all without a shock, I strained my eyes to see—I knew not what. My senses were all alert, my breath was suspended, my blood had stilled its tides as if to assist the silence. Who—what had wakened me, and where was it? Suddenly, the bed shook, and at the same moment I heard, or fancied that I heard, a light, soft step—sounds as of bare feet upon the flood. I was terrified beyond the power to cry out or move. Perforce I waited—waited there in darkness through seeming centuries of such dread as one may know, yet live to tell. I tried vainly to speak the name of my beloved husband, namely to stretch forth my hand to learn is he was there. My throat was powerless, my arms and hands were like lead. Then occurred something most frightful. Some heavy body seemed to hurl against the wall, and at the same moment I heard and felt the fall of something upon the floor with so violent a thump that the whole house was shaken by the impact. This is the point at which terror turned to madness. By illumination from the moonlight, I vividly witnessed a ghoul dragging a dead woman toward the window. His claw fixed around her throat! #RandolphHarris 7 of 8

There was a blackness darker than before, and silence; and when I returned to consciousness the sun was high and the wood vocal with songs of birds. The body lay near the window, where the ghoul had left it when it was apparently frighted away. The clothing was deranged, the long hair in disorder, the limbs lay anyhow. From the throat, dreadfully lacerated, had issued a pool of blood not yet entirely coagulated. The ribbon with which it had bound the wrists were broken; the hands tightly clenched. Between the teeth was a fragment of the ghoul’s black cloak. Evil signs that occult entities were growing strong and numerous in the inner walls continued to manifest. There were sporadic irruptions of particularly hideous character in certain remote locations of the mansion—places where the paths had not been properly sealed or guarded. After that, greater precautions were taken, and many of the paths were closed for ever—though a few were left with sealed trap-doors for strategic use if the darkness ever broke forth in unexpected places; fresh rifts caused by the supernatural forces. Many séances had clearly foretold of the horror, and had resolved that none could escape it. The foray of vengeance by the monstrous entities to reoccupy the physical World was wakening. And always the shadow of nameless fear hung about Llanada Villa. I now have only two hundred acres, but when I bought the property, it was part of seven hundred and forty acres, and a hundred years ago it was about two thousand acres. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8

The Winchester Mystery House

People all over the World have moved into houses that seemed ordinary and pleasant, and spent years without ever encountering anything out of the ordinary. Then, one day, something happens to disturb their tranquility: a ghost appears, strange noises are heard, and a psychic presence makes itself known. Why is it that phenomena sometimes occur at times long after someone moves into an affected house? Of course, there are just as many cases where the ominous presence is felt they very moment one steps across the threshold. However, in cases where ghost make their presence manifest long after the new tenants have moved in, certain conditions have not been right for such manifestations to take place at the beginning. For instance, it may involve the presence of youngsters in the household who furnish energy for ghosts to appear. Or it may be that the shadowy entities remaining behind in the house are dimply aware of the new tenants, but wish to find out more about them before manifesting to them. Either way, once manifestations begin, the owner of the house has the choice of either ignoring them, fighting them—or coming to terms with them.

In the majority of cases, unfortunately, people simply think that by ignoring the phenomena or trying hard to explain them by so-called natural causes, the matter can be solved. Ignoring problems never helps, in any area of life. When it comes to psychic phenomena, the phenomena may become worse, because even the most benighted ghost, barely aware of its predicament, will become more powerful, more restless, by being ignored. Along with the mansion, there once existed several other houses on the Winchester Estate, along with gazebos. However, as acres of land were sold off, and the City of San Jose required the gates to be moved back by twenty feet, some other structures had to be demolished. Today, Mrs. Winchester’s beautiful mansion rests on four acres of land. As the group of friends roam the mansion’s halls, they come face-to-face with somebody who warns them: “Run! You have to escape before it’s too late!” But little do they know, the owner is a vampire who has been secretly gathering a collection of otherworldly creatures. Now those creatures have broken free and are after us all!

Please come and enjoy a delicious meal in Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, and wonder through the miles of hallways in the World’s most mysterious mansion. 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/

Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available to purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/