Winchester's haunting legacy

This tale begins with the founding of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1866. The company's fabled rifles and shotguns quickly became a staple with hunters from Maine to California and their lever guns have been coined as "The guns that made the west safe for Colts." Winchester's rifles and carbines rode the western range in the saddle scabbards of cowboys, posses, and on the ponies of native Americans. Texas Rangers, town marshals, soldiers, Mounties and desperados used them as they carved their way into history. The U.S. armed forces began carrying Winchesters in 1895, continuing that tradition through the Viet Nam conflict — even the Russian Army bought about 300,000 Model 1895 lever rifles in 1915. Since its introduction, hunters have purchased more than seven million Model 1894 lever action rifles, making it arguably the most popular woods-hunting rifle in history — continuing in its popularity today. Innumerable waterfowl and pheasants have graced the dinner table while trap and skeet fields have heard the thunder of the company's Model 97, 12, and 21 shotguns for over a century. While most Winchesters have gathered nothing more than wild game, broken clay targets, or dust, it's certain that many others have ended the lives of both the innocent and the wicked and sending their spirits to drift away into the ether — many headed in opposite directions. After Sarah 'Sallie' Lockwood Winchester's husband, William Wirt Winchester's death in 1881, the new heiress of the company's fortune landed an inherited income of $1,000 per day — nearly $31,000 when adjusted into today's bucks. She decided a new home was in order and, following her doctor's recommendations, she chose to move to the warmer climate of San Jose, California. The Queen Anne Victorian mansion, which she named Llanada Villa, was purchased for $12,570 (about $421,631 in today's value) in 1886 and was situated on a forty-five-acre ranch in the Santa Clara Valley. Today, it's renowned for its size, architectural curiosities, and its apparent lack of any master building plan. Or was there a plan? Some think that ghosts may have had a hand in the design of what would later become best known as the Winchester House — and today as the Winchester Mystery House. Popular rumors of the time indicated that Sarah believed that many of those departed souls were quite upset with their premature parting caused by slugs from her company's products. She was certain that her family and fortune were haunted by ghosts of the people who had fallen as victims. Did some of those whose death was caused by a Winchester bullet decide to stick around to protest an untimely demise? During a séance, a popular fad during the Victorian era, a spiritualist suggested that the only way to appease these hauntings was to continue to add rooms to the house. These mystics explained that doing so would provide those wandering specters a comfortable space and possibly even confuse these drifting phantoms. This, they claimed, was in the hopes that these additions would keep the ghosts from disturbing her family or its financial resources — though I'm sure the clairvoyant charlatans did their best of tapping the latter. Other people, familiar with the house and Sarah, have said that most of these claims were exaggerations and that the construction was based upon the heiress's interest and study of that time's architecture; incorporating Victorian, Eastlake and Stick design elements. Before the 1906 earthquake, the house had grown to be seven stories high, but due to damages suffered during the event, it was reduced to the four stories evident today. The home contains numerous oddities. Doors and stairs that go nowhere, windows overlooking other rooms and stairs with odd-sized risers. There are 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms, 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys, two basements and three elevators. Most windows contained 13 panes, the walls have 13 panels, the greenhouse 13 cupolas, many of the floors contained 13 sections, some of the rooms have 13 windows, and every staircase but one has 13 steps. Hauntings of the Winchester House have been reported since it was completed. There've been footsteps, banging doors, mysterious voices, windows banging until they shatter, cold spots, strange moving lights and doorknobs that turn themselves. Sarah died in the home in 1922 and some think it possible that she may have never really moved out. You can visit this historical landmark and get a glimpse into the Victorian age and the building's oddities. The site offers guided tours and; of course, a haunted visit of the house during the weeks leading up to Halloween — a spooky event that they like to call "The Unhinged Hotel." The Winchester Mystery House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, California. Besides the Winchester Museum, special flashlight tours are offered on every Friday the thirteenth, Halloween and Christmas. If you're ever out that way, maybe Sarah will give you a personal tour. Visit www.winchestermysteryhouse.com. "If the living are haunted by the dead, then the dead are haunted by their own mistakes." — Chuck Palahniuk Along the way Christopher J. Alexander, 28, of Wilmington, OH, has pleaded guilty to 14 counts in the illegal taking of an 18-point trophy white-tailed buck deer in Clinton County on Nov. 9, 2023. Alexander pleaded guilty to taking a second antlered buck during the 2023 hunting season, which is another violation of Ohio law according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. The 14 counts include: • Illegal taking or possession of deer (two) • Hunting without a license • Hunting without a deer permit • Selling illegally taken or possessed deer antlers • Spotlighting • Hunting without permission (four) • Tampering with evidence • Theft • Misdemeanor theft • Falsification Alexander's sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11. Maximum sanctions could include $13,750 in fines, community control, a five-year hunting license suspension, and restitution for both bucks. The larger buck's antlers have 18 scorable points, and the final restitution has been calculated at $35,071.73. The final restitution for the second buck, with eight scorable points, is $4,625. Three accomplices also pleaded guilty in connection with the case. Corey P. Haunert, 29, of Hillsboro, pleaded guilty to six counts: Attempted tampering with evidence Aiding a wildlife offender in taking or possessing of deer (three) Hunting without permission Falsification Kristina M. Alexander, 37, of Blanchester, pleaded guilty to two counts: Obstructing official business Aiding a wildlife offender Zachary R. Haunert, 31, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty to one count: Aiding a wildlife offender The Division of Wildlife is dedicated to enforcing laws that protect Ohio's wildlife. Input and concern from the public are integral to those enforcement efforts. Anyone who witnesses a wildlife violation in Ohio can call the Turn in a Poacher hotline at 1-800-POACHER (1-800-762-2437). Reports are kept anonymous. Information that results in a conviction of a wildlife crime may result in a reward. Ohio wildlife officers have statewide authority to enforce wildlife regulations and protect state lands, waterways, and property. As state law enforcement officers, they contribute to public safety in their local areas and Ohio's great outdoors. They also speak to hundreds of clubs and groups about conservation and wildlife programs, perform fish and wildlife surveys, and provide technical advice and instruction about wildlife management issues, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor related recreation. Step outside • Just months after a new Ohio state record hybrid striped bass was taken from the Muskingum River, the record has been beaten by another hybrid striper. Identified by state fisheries biologists and certified by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, the newest record weighed 20.83 pounds and measured 32.5 inches long and 24 inches in girth. Larry Powers of Oregonia, Ohio, caught the hybrid striper on Aug. 16 from the headwaters of Caesar Creek Lake in Clinton County. • Hunter and Trapper Education Class information and registration is found online at www.wildohio.gov or call 1-800-WILDLIFE. • Oct. 20: 75-Bird Trap Shoot, traps open at 11:30 a.m. program starts at 12:30 p.m. UCOA, 6943 Marion Township 243, Findlay. Jackpot is over $400! These trap shoots will continue on the third Sunday of each month. Information: Sandy Thomas, sandthm@aol.com. • Oct. 26: Seneca Co. Youth Pheasant Hunt, Oct. 19 Deadline for participation application to be submitted. Apply at pheasantsforever@bright.net.com. Must include name, phone number, address and age of participant. No walk-ons. Must be 17 or younger, possess a hunting license, pay $10 for insurance, and wear a hunter orange vest and/or hat. Lunch, dogs and handlers provided. Information: Don 567-278-1551 or senecacountypheasantsforever.org. • Nov. 9: Ladies Only Hunt, Hancock County Pheasants Forever. Deadline for application is Nov. 3. Limited to 20 participants, all hunters must possess a current hunting license. Youth hunters must be accompanied by a non-hunting licensed adults. Pre-registration is required and will be handled on a first-come basis. Your application should contain: name, address, phone, email, birthdate (if a youth), and a friend with which you might like to hunt. To apply or for information: mark_plesec@goodyear.com. • Nov. 10: Turkey shoot. Includes 10-bird shoots, still shoots, protections, and Annie Oakley's. Shooting begins at noon. Mount Blanchard Gun Club, 21655 Delaware Township 186. Public welcome. Questions: Bob Yoder, 419-273-5057. Jim Abrams is a retired wildlife officer supervisor for the state Division of Wildlife in Findlay. He can be reached at P.O. Box 413, Mount Blanchard, OH 45867-0413 or via email at jimsfieldnotes@aol.com.