![An illustration of a disassembled Winchester rifle, surrounded by bullets.](https://thisiscriminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Widow-01-1024x1024.png)
The Widow and the Winchester
Episode #107
2019-02-01 13:48:28
When Sarah Winchester’s husband died, she inherited millions from the family business: the manufacture of the famous Winchester Rifle. A medium reportedly told Sarah that she would be haunted by the victims of that rifle unless she used her fortune to build a house, and never stop building. That’s exactly what she did.
Pamela Haag’s book is The Gunning of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture.
![A sprawling mansion with several different architectural styles.](https://thisiscriminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Winchester-Mystery-House-pre-earthquake-1024x621.jpg)
The Winchester House before damage from the 1906 earthquake.
![A horse and carriage bearing Sarah Winchester, outside of a house.](https://thisiscriminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Sarah-Winchester-in-Carriage-1024x729.jpg)
A rare photograph of Sarah Winchester (in the carriage)
![An advertisement for Winchester guns: used by the most successful hunters the world over.](https://thisiscriminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Winchester-west-ad-1898.jpg)
An 1898 advertisement for the Winchester rifle.