Sarah Winchester didn't have to be convinced of the spirit world.  The widow of the man who invented the Winchester rifle believed that the spirits of the people killed by Winchester rifles would haunt her unless they could be driven away by the sound of hammers.  So she had men construct a house built with stairways leading to nowhere and doors leading into one inch deep closets.  For 36 years carpenters labored 24 hours a day.  Eventually a house was built with 160 rooms, containing 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 10,000 windows.  Undoubtedly, it is the strangest house ever built.