**Before I Die, Please Listen — William Shatner Reveals the Truth About the Winchester Mystery House**

For over a century, the Winchester Mystery House has fascinated and baffled visitors with its winding corridors, staircases that lead nowhere, and doors that open into walls. At the heart of the legend is Sarah Winchester, widow of William Wirt Winchester, heir to the fortune made by the Winchester repeating rifle—a weapon that changed American history and, according to legend, brought a curse upon the Winchester family.

Sarah’s story is one of immense sorrow and mystery. After losing her infant daughter and husband within fifteen years, Sarah inherited a vast fortune and the responsibility of the Winchester legacy.

The rifle that built her wealth had also taken countless lives, and whispers grew that the spirits of those killed by the rifle haunted her. Grief-stricken and searching for answers, Sarah turned to spiritualism, a popular movement at the time that promised communication with the dead.

According to legend, a Boston psychic warned Sarah that she was cursed by the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. The only way to appease them, he said, was to move west and build a house that never stopped growing.

As long as construction continued, the spirits would remain confused and unable to harm her. If she ever stopped building, her own death would follow.

Sarah took this warning seriously. In 1884, she moved to California and purchased land near San Jose. She began a project that would last until her death: constructing a sprawling mansion with no master plan.

Carpenters worked around the clock, adding rooms, tearing down walls, and building staircases and doors that led nowhere. The house grew into a labyrinth, designed to confuse spirits and protect Sarah.

Throughout the mansion, the number thirteen appears repeatedly—thirteen steps, thirteen windows, thirteen bathrooms—woven into the very fabric of the house as a symbol of protection.

Sarah’s daily life became a ritual of survival; she slept in a different bedroom each night, never following the same route, always staying one step ahead of the spirits she believed were after her.

Rumors spread that Sarah held nightly séances in a secret room, seeking guidance from spirit architects on what to build next. Some believed the mansion’s bizarre layout was dictated by these spirits, while others saw it as evidence of Sarah’s deteriorating mental health, possibly exacerbated by grief and even lead poisoning from building materials.

When the great San Francisco earthquake struck in 1906, parts of the mansion were destroyed. Instead of rebuilding, Sarah sealed off the ruined sections, adding to the house’s mysterious design. She became increasingly reclusive, and the legend of the haunted heiress grew.

Upon Sarah’s death in 1922, construction stopped instantly. The mansion, with its 160 rooms and countless oddities, was left as a testament to her pain, creativity, and enduring mystery.

William Shatner, in his investigation for the series *Weird or What?*, explored the house and its history. Through interviews with experts and his own observations, Shatner concluded that the truth behind the Winchester Mystery House is not just one of ghosts or curses, but of a woman’s attempt to heal from unimaginable loss.

The endless building was Sarah’s therapy, her way to cope with grief and guilt. The mansion stands not as a monument to fear, but as a refuge—a place where Sarah Winchester tried to find order and peace amid chaos.

In the end, the Winchester Mystery House remains an enigma, reflecting both the supernatural folklore and the very real heartbreak of its creator. Whether haunted by spirits or by sorrow, Sarah Winchester’s legacy endures, inviting visitors to ponder the mysteries within its walls.