Visiting the Grave of Sarah Winchester

Yesterday, three former Winchester Mystery House tour guides (myself, Sarah, and Hannah) took a journey that I have been meaning to take since moving to the East Coast. We met in Grand Central Station at noon, boarded a train to New Haven, CT, and went to the Evergreen Cemetery to find the final resting place of the woman who built the House we all loved working in so much - Sarah Winchester.


This entry is going to be a hard one for me to write simply because I do not have the words in any language to articulate how much this experience meant to me, how moving it truly was to be there, but I am going to try my best.

First off, the Evergreen Cemetery is huge, and while the Winchesters have a fairly large grave marker (one we all would recognise, as the House in San Jose has a replica of it on display, or at least it did when I worked there), the cemetery is full of large grave markers. We had heard from other tour guides that it might take a while to find the grave. However, Atlas Obscura has helpful directions so we found it fairly quickly. We recognised the telltale shape of it as we walked up and excitedly whispered to one another "is that it?" Passing the grave of William Winchester's father (and Mrs. W's father-in-law) Oliver only increased our excitement.

And then... there it was.

(Former) tour guides represent!

It was both emotional and surreal seeing the grave plot in person. Yes, we all already knew what it looked like, but we were there. She was there. Sarah Winchester was right there! (And her husband William and their baby daughter Annie - though sadly Annie's grave marker had been vandalised and was missing. I hope the cemetery replaces it!)

We had hoped to leave flowers for this woman who meant so much to us, but sadly were unable to find a store selling any between Union Station and the cemetery. We made do, and left a bouquet of 13 dandelions and some beautiful pink magnolias that had fallen loose from a nearby tree. We also placed rocks on both Sarah and William's headstones, and found a particularly large rock for poor baby Annie because we felt as if something should be there. This was Sarah's idea and I much appreciated it. (Sarah my best friend, not Sarah W.) Hannah also had the idea to leave pennies on William's headstone. I found a penny in my wallet from 1981, 100 years after his death. It seemed fitting to leave that one for him.

There was also, next to the large memorial stone, a basin that had once held flowers. It was dated to 7 March 1884, exactly 3 years after William's death. We realised Sarah Winchester herself must have had it placed there for him. (Either her or a member of his family, but we chose to believe it was her.) It was inscribed with two quotes, from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Campbell respectively, so that altogether it read:

"Hearts are dust, hearts loves remain."/"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."

It was clearly meant as an expression of Sarah W's everlasting love for William, but it also was a fitting expression of our everlasting love for her.

As we were admiring the plot and leaving our offerings, the most incredible thing happened. A bald eagle soared overhead. I think one of us exclaimed "holy shit" (it was either Hannah or myself, sorry Mrs. W!) because it was just such a shock to see such a majestic sight. We didn't even know there were bald eagles in Connecticut. But sure enough, they're nesting in a tree close to William's grave. It's... fitting, somehow. Symbolic. You know? The bird perched in a nearby tree for our entire visit, almost as if it was watching us.

After we had gotten over our shock at seeing such a thing, we turned our attention back to the reason we had come - for Sarah Winchester. We thanked her and William profusely, especially her. After all, despite her dying long before any of us were born, she's done so much for us. I cannot speak for Hannah or Sarah, but for me, getting to work at the Winchester House, even for the short (too short) year and a half that I did, meant so much to me. I was happier after working there, more confident. Working there, getting to tell Sarah's story, changed my life - and that of my friends and fellow tour guides - forever. I don't think I'd be at Hamilton Grange now if I hadn't been at Winchester then. Sarah Winchester is honestly one of my heroes - as she is for all of us tour guides - and I have so much love for her that I don't know what to do with it. Of course I told her so.

Just getting to finally say this all to her would have been a perfectly moving ending on its own. But as we were wrapping up our speeches - mere seconds afterwards - a beautiful orange butterfly fluttered right over her grave.

In many cultures worldwide, a butterfly is a symbol of death/resurrection. Many believe that seeing a butterfly can indicate that a spirit is nearby. The fact that one greeted us as we were speaking to Mrs. Winchester may have been a coincidence. But it sent shivers down our spines regardless. It felt like she was telling us "hello." Or "you're welcome. I love you too."

All in all, I am so glad I went. I am so glad I finally saw it. It means so much to me to know that I have. She means so much to me.
-Nym