Architectural Anomaly Part 4: Winchester Mystery House

Sarah Winchester in horse drawn carriage

My grandfather was a endless source of old tales, traditions and sayings. One particular favourite of his that has stuck with me: "If you are rich, you're eccentric and if you're poor, you're crazy." This was the first thing that popped into my head when i read about Sarah Winchester, the woman behind the Winchester Mystery House.

Sarah was married to William Wirt Winchester, treasurer of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company . The Winchester Company was a prominent firearms company in the late 19th century and manufactured rifles that were sturdier and less likely to jam. These became known as the "Gun That Won the West."

Sarah Winchester circa 1865

In 1866, Sarah gave birth to their only child Annie but the infant died six weeks later. William died of tuberculosis in 1881. Losing the two most important people in her life plunged Sarah into a deep depression and driven by grief, she consulted a medium. The "Boston Medium" told Sarah that she believed the Winchester family were cursed because the rifles they manufactured has claimed so many lives and that the spirits of thousands of American Indians, Civil War soldiers and others were seeking vengeance.

Being Human

Being Human is a relatively new offering from BBC Three that I've discovered. The original Being Human pilot first aired on BBC Three in February 2008. It garnered such a positive response that the BBC gave a full series the green light. Series one was shown in 2009 and picks up from where the pilot finished (with some major cast changes). Each episode clocks in at a weighty 57 minutes.


To the outside world three flatmates share a house in Bristol and are regular twenty something year olds. However all is not as it seems.

George (Russell Tovey) is a mild-mannered hospital porter who, for one night a month; is transformed into a flesh-hungry and predatory werewolf. Mitchell (Aidan Turner) is a charismatic vampire who constantly struggles with going cold-turkey from the blood he craves. Annie (Lenora Crichlow) is a ghost desperate for company and is still pining after her boyfriend, whom she was due to marry before her fatal accident.

A werewolf, a ghost and a vampire sharing a house...It sounds like a bad kids TV show but after a few episodes i am absolutely hooked. It's refreshingly well written, tackles a jaded subject from an everyday perspective, isn't afraid to poke fun at itself and features a cracking soundtrack. Plus kudos for the use of prosthetics and animatronics rather than defaulting to CGI.

Watch the prequels below to learn more about the main characters

Annie’s Prequel:

Mitchell's Prequel:

George's Prequel:

Series two is due to air in January 2010. In the meantime you can watch and find out more by clicking:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/beinghuman/