Monday, February 24, 2014

Group Blog: The Winchester House Mystery And The Conjure Woman Tales


Our source tells the story of Sarah Winchester and the mystery behind the Winchester House. Supposedly, Sarah saw a Medium after her husband and child died and the Medium told her that her bad luck came from all of the people who had died by being shot by a Winchester rifle (for which her husband was the inventor). The Medium told her the only way to save herself from the bad luck was to move to the West and build a mansion. As long as she continued to build onto the mansion, she would be saved from bad luck. The moment she stopped building, her life was in danger.  So, Sarah began construction of the Winchester house and continued to do so until her death. This is because she believed the medium, and believed that this was the only way to save her self.
Mediumship or channeling is the purported ability to mediate communication between living and the dead. Attempts to contact the dead report back to early human existence. It gained popularity in the 19th century, but was questioned because of a large amount of fraud. Most mediums communicate by hearing the spirits message or when the spirit takes over the medium's voice to relay their message. Mediumship is most commonly associated with Spiritualism.
The Winchester House Mystery parallels to Annie in Conjure Woman Tales because both women possess similar qualities. Sarah and Annie were both in a position where they felt powerless and dependent. Instead of looking at this situation logically, they sought guidance from the supernatural. Both women believed in what they were told, and followed accordingly.


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