Evil Spirits

Background

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States and abolished slavery. The south, largely reliant on slave labor, decided to secede from the north, leading to the American Civil War. One of the things that led the North to victory in 1865 was the lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Company. Some of the people killed with those rifles held on to their grudges into the afterlife, turning into evil spirits who take vengeance against the Winchester family.↗

In 1866, one year after the end of the Civil War and the year of the Model 1866 Winchester rifle, the spirits caused the death of Annie Pardee Winchester, a month-old daughter of Sarah Winchester. In 1881, her husband, William Wirt Winchester, died of tuberculosis. Soon, her parents died as well. By killing her loved ones, the evil spirits had successfully instilled suicidal thoughts in Sarah.↗

The Mysterious Manor the Widow Kept Expanding: Winchester Mystery House

Prior to 1906, during the construction of the Winchester Mystery House, Sarah's butler, James, notices a dark, foul-smelling handprint in the wine cellar. He, as per his mistress’s request, demands the construction workers destroy the whole cellar. When one of the workers goes to investigate the handprint, he notices that it is made of dead flies stuck to a shelf. As he leans closer, the hand grabs his face; the shelf collapses as his face gets impaled by nails.↗

On April 18, 1906, after washing his face, James, disguised as Sarah to confuse the spirits, notices a peculiar smell seeping from the outside. He opens the window to investigate and sees a produce bag with a dark handprint. The handprint grabs James's hair and begins pulling it inside the bag. James shuts the window in panic. With his hair stuck in the window, James notices a drawer out of his reach.↗

James manages to force the spirit outside through a trap door, then he immediately calls the medium, begging for help. While being strangled by the spirit's right hand, she tells him to run, as the house is about to be destroyed by an earthquake. The building begins to collapse; the left hand extends from a piece of rubble and grabs James’s face. Suddenly, Sarah Winchester appears from a hatch on the floor, takes his arm, and pulls him to safety, to the bewilderment of the spirit.↗

Personality

They are malicious and vindictive spirits who hold a grudge against the Winchester family for creating the weapons that killed them in the American Civil War.↗

Profile details

Status Status based on their final appearance in the part(s) they are featured in: Deceased↗

Date of Death: 1861-1865↗

Cause of Death: Fatally shot with Winchester Company firearms↗

They are vengeful ghosts who haunt Sarah Winchester in hopes of taking revenge on the Winchester family, who were responsible for the creation of the weapons they were killed with during the American Civil War.↗↗