I first heard of the The Winchester Mystery House in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing comic. As with most of the readers, I initially assumed it was something he had created, just as many people assume Neil Gaiman created The House on the Rock for American Gods. The house, though, along with its improbable origin, is real.

The sprawling, haphazard, and completely bizarre is located in San Jose, California. It's an old and legendary home, allegedly built by the heir to the Winchester fortune at the direction of some architecturally-perverse spirits. I had a chance to visit it back many, many years ago, and was admittedly a bit disappointed. Instead of the spooky old mansion I had envisioned in my mind's eye, it was a touristy location in the middle of town, next to a Taco Bell and a gas station. (Now that I think of it, in that sense it's rather like Miami's Coral Castle.) I guess the original 600+ acre estate couldn't survive in the face of real estate values. Still, it was an entertaining tour.

Now there's a blog with photos, purportedly by someone who was once a tour guide there. It provides a bit more information that the web site, but that isn't saying much. The best source of information — as is often the case — is Wikipedia.