The Winchester Mystery House
According to some sources, the Boston Medium consulted by Mrs. Winchester explained that her family and her fortune were being haunted by spirits – in fact, by the spirits of American Indians, Civil War soldiers, and others killed by Winchester rifles. Supposedly the untimely deaths of her daughter and husband were caused by these spirits, and it was implied that Mrs. Winchester might be the next victim.
However, the medium also claimed that there was an alternative, Mrs. Winchester was instructed to move west and appease the spirits by building a great house for them. As long as construction of the house never ceased, Mrs. Winchester could rest assured that her life was not in danger. Building such a house was even supposed to bring her eternal life.
New York Times Op-ed
I can’t help thinking of Sarah and her house each time there is a mass shooting or when Senate gun-control legislation fails, as it did last week. America has had, at various times in our history, common-sense regulations and controls on firearms, from the 1790s through the Wild West era and up until the assault weapons ban expired in 2004. Until the current Republicans acknowledge this, we will all continue living in Sarah’s haunted house.
