On November 11, 2014, The CW aired the 200th episode of Supernatural. We have selected 11 characters, 11 episodes and 11 songs from the series.
11 is ours Favorite number. It just so happens that on 11/11 the 200th episode of the show about how the Winchester Brothers destroy evil and expose angels is released. We decided to celebrate this event in our own way and put together 11 of the best episodes, 11 of our favorite characters and 11 best songs over the 10 years of the series' existence.
But first, a little history.
It all started with producer Eric Kripke's passion for American folklore and urban legends. Bloody Mary, Car Without Headlights, Killer with a Hook, Wendigo interested the future creator of the show since childhood. So it was only a matter of time before Supernatural appeared. At the first opportunity, Kripke tried to invest " folk mythology» into the correct shape.
The original idea was to make the main character a journalist who writes articles about urban legends. But the studio bosses gave Kripke a categorical no. At this very moment, in the head of “Satan’s chief PR man” (as Eric Kripke himself likes to call himself), an option is born about two brothers who travel around America in a ’67 Chevrolet - almost like in the old TV series “Route 66”, but only with the obligatory extermination of monsters. The project was given the green light. In 2005, Sam and Dean Winchester set out in search of their missing father, a hunter. supernatural creatures. In parallel in each new series they encountered typical representatives of the most famous urban legends.
Characters
Yes, of course, we also love and remember Ruby, Lucifer and the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Yes, you might say that Abbadon, Jodie Mills or Meg are missing here. Garth is adorable, and someone is still mourning Ash. But we tried to collect the key characters of the show. Vivid, Basic, Memorable.
1. Dean Winchester
The role of the rude, charismatic, unrestrained Dean went to Jensen Ackles, who previously appeared in the TV series Smallville and Dark Angel. The actor came to audition for the role of Sam, but the producers did not see Sam’s inherent gentleness in him. But Ackles, like no one else, was able to transform into the emotional Dean. The eldest of the Winchester brothers is not very well-mannered, but his childhood was far from cloudless. At the age of four, Dean survived the death of his mother, then, at the behest of his father, he became a hunter, exterminating terrible creatures from nightmares. He loves delicious food, doesn't trust his Chevrolet Impala to anyone, carries a whole arsenal of weapons in the trunk, and prefers the names of famous rock musicians as fake names. Even such an experienced hunter has his weaknesses - Dean Winchester is afraid of flying on airplanes. Around his neck he always wears an amulet that his younger brother gave him for Christmas. The series advertises Dean's phone number - 866-907-3235, if you dial it in the USA, you will hear a message on the answering machine: “This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you are calling about 11-2-83, page me with your coordinates".
2. Sam Winchester
Sam Winchester, on the contrary, is a gentle, kind and very educated young man. In the pilot of the series, we see that he wants to live a normal life - he runs away from his father and older brother, goes to Stanford College and firmly believes that monsters are just his childhood nightmares. Exactly 22 years after the death of his mother, a certain Yellow-Eyed Demon kills Sam’s beloved girlfriend, which leaves the young Hunter no choice. Because of this contradiction, Sam is constantly engaged in soul-searching, for which fans periodically mock him. Sam also has a weakness - coulrophobia, essentially a panicky, uncontrollable fear of clowns.
The younger Winchester was played by Jared Padalecki, who humbly kept watch on the TV series Gilmore Girls for five years. For the sake of filming Supernatural, he missed the audition for main role in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. But this is for the better, it seems to us.
3. Castiel
Actor Misha Collins quickly joined the team and became an equal member of the team. An angel who inhabits the body of a simple Christian, Jimmy Novak, helps the Winchesters fight demons. Cas does not show any emotions, periodically gets drunk in an effort to comprehend human soul, and his signature feature is a long coat. In the sixth season episode “The French Mistake,” the creators allowed Misha Collins to play a little mischief and play himself, and also laughed at the actor’s passion for Twitter. By the way, posts often appear there in Russian with the hashtag #Mishalubitrusskikh, although the actor has no direct relatives from Russia. In October of this year, Misha came to ComicCon Russia, which caused a great stir among fans:
4. Crowley
Now, in general, it’s hard to imagine that Crowley wasn’t with us before the fifth season. Yes, Azazel, Lucifer and Lilith were really big assholes and great villains. Crowley's caliber did not seem that great, but as soon as he appeared on the show, it became clear that the title of the Most Charming Villain of the Show was his! Mark Sheppard managed to not only organically join the regular cast of the series - no, he turned out to be such an unpredictable hero that you periodically forget how dangerous the King of Hell really is... and that’s what he is! Crowley is cruel, sarcastic, periodically addicted to blood and weaves intrigues. With him light hand Sam Winchester got the nickname Moose, which means “moose”.
5. John Winchester
For the first two seasons, the guys were accompanied by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who at that time became the father of the family, John Winchester. The actor left the series due to a busy work schedule, although he said many times that he would not mind returning for a few episodes. But, apparently, these are just words: Dean Morgan can’t find the time yet, so in flashbacks we see John Winchester from behind. However, looking back, you realize that Papa Winchester was not so cool... He definitely would not have survived a battle with angels.
6. Bobby
Bobby Singer (actor Jim Beaver) actually replaced the brothers' father. He was once one of the best hunters, but now helps by delving into books and providing his brothers with information on how to destroy this or that creature. Bobby was married, but he had to kill his wife, who was possessed by a demon. In the episode “My Heart Will Go On” we are faced with what the fate of this hero would have been like if... the Titanic had not sunk. One of the fallen angels did not like the film and decided to intervene in historical process. Spoiler! Spoiler: Bobby dies in season 7. And we come to the simple truth that sometimes what's dead should stay dead. In season 9, the creators offered viewers a kind of replacement - Sheriff Josie Mills tried to fill this niche.
7. Gadriel
Gadreel is my author's guilty pleasure. He appears only in season 9, and it cannot be said that he behaves very decently. At one time, he was entrusted with protecting the Gardens of Eden from evil, and Gadreel successfully failed this task, for which he was imprisoned in the Heavenly prison for a long, very long time. When the angels began to fall to Earth together in season 9, Gadreel was among them. Canadian Tamo Penikett made a wonderful fallen angel. Severe, like all this angelic battle.
8. Benny
When it seemed to us that Dean could no longer handle more than two bros (such as Sam and Cas), the absolutely charming vampire Benny appeared in the arena, who clearly proved that where there is room for two bros, he can always “fit” and third. Of course, the appearance of Benny could not help but drive a stake into the relationship between Sam and Dean, but you and I already know that Dean will not communicate with anyone. Let's assume that Benny is a trusted army friend with whom the elder Winchester went through Purgatory. Interestingly, Benny only appears in season 8 of the show, but actor Ty Olsson plays a vampire named Eli in one of the episodes of the second season.
9. Chuck
It doesn’t matter whether in the end he was God or not... Although actor Rob Benedict claims that he was called to play the Lord God... One thing we know for sure is that Chuck Shirley is cool! And not only because he actually created the Bible named after the Winchesters, but also because the hero... appeared very opportunely when all this apocalyptic nervousness needed to be calmed a little.
10. Charlie
The first girl in our top, but we couldn't forget about Charlie. She is charming, very smart, funny and brave. And she's not just an observer: Charlie Bradbury loves to get into the thick of things. So, in the episode "LARP and the Real Girl" brothers meet Charlie as queen role playing game Moondoor and help deal with the evil fairy. For Sam and Dean, Charlie is the little sister that (as Dean puts it) “we always wanted but didn’t know about.” There can be no romantic lines here, because Charlie is a lesbian.
11. Impala
Yes, the ’67 Chevrolet Impala has long been a full-fledged hero of this series. For Dean Winchester, the Impala is part of the family, perhaps because it reminds him of his father. The ashtray still contains the little soldier Sam left there as a child, and the vent rattles with the LEGO pieces Dean put there. Despite the fact that the brothers travel all over the country, the license plates changed only once. Both angels and demons have long understood the truth “if you want to set up your bros, use the Impala.”
Music
One big plus in Supernatural is that the right song almost always plays at the right moment, thereby making even small scenes unforgettable. And it doesn’t matter what we’re talking about now - about classic rock, which is recorded on cassette tapes and plays in the Impala's stereo, or what the creators choose to simply be background music. The truth is - music is one of the main aspects of the show.
1. Carry on my Wayward Son by Kansas
This song has become an integral part of the show, as it plays at the end of each season. And despite the fact that there are a lot of angels, demons and other evil in the show, let's not forget that this is still the story of the relationship between two brothers, so the song by the group Kansas fits perfectly here.
2. Highway To Hell by AC/DC
Even in the pilot episode, we understand that for Dean Winchester there is no one more important than Sam... and the Impala. And when Sam saves his life by slightly damaging the car, we see how Dean gets angry (after, of course, making sure that his little brother is healthy and unharmed). The Impala then drives off into the night to the sounds of Highway To Hell. And the song becomes peculiar business card cars.
3. Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
In the episode "Faith" we see one of the Winchester brothers die ( Spoiler! Spoiler! This will happen repeatedly). Sam tries to heal Dean, but it comes at a terrible cost. In this episode we are introduced to the Reaper. And the song "Don't Fear The Reaper" plays in climax, when the Reaper takes the life of one person and gives it to another.
4. Heat of the Moment by Asia
"Mystery Spot" is one of the funniest episodes of the series, but we'll talk more about that below. Remember in Groundhog Day when Bill Murray woke up to “I got you, babe” by Sonny & Cher? In this episode, such a day awaits Sam (thanks, Loki), only he wakes up to the song Asia. And he will have to go through many, many funny deaths of Dean.
5. Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor
It seems to be the most ordinary episode called “Yellow Fever”, where Dean is infected with attacks of fear after being in hell. But for fans, the song from this episode, “Eye Of The Tiger,” became one of their favorites, as it was associated with a funny moment that later went viral on the Internet. According to the script, Padalecki's character had to approach the car in which the frightened Dean was hiding and knock on the roof of the car. But Jared deliberately delayed this moment, so Ackles had to improvise. Something like this:
6. Smoke On the Water by Deep Purple
At one point, Dean decides to retire and goes to live in the suburbs, covering the Impala with a blanket in the garage. But Sam returns for his brother, explaining that the hunt does not wait. In general, this moment cannot be described better than “He’s back!” And Deep Purple are great in the background.
7. O Death by Jen Titus
The apocalypse is near. And we see how Death gets out of his white 1959 Cadillac to the sounds of the song “O Death” by Jen Titus. He walks along the street of Chicago, colliding with one unlucky businessman who is writing SMS at this moment. The outcome is sad. Never tweet on the go, kids!
8. Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi
Not a happy season 3 finale at all. Dean just sold his soul to get his brother back from world of the dead. Sam, of course, is upset that Dean is about to be torn to shreds by the Hounds of Hell. And to avoid an awkward moment, Dean turns on Bon Jovi, singing along off-key. It even seems to have calmed the situation. "Bon Jovi Rocks...On occasion"
9. Rock of Ages by Def Leppard
In general, this episode was intended as the finale of the entire show in principle (but then, as we know, another 5 seasons followed). Sam was possessed by Lucifer, and the youngest of the Winchesters, Adam, was possessed by Archangel Michael. And it was supposed to be a truly enormous battle. Castiel warned Dean that no one would survive, but Dean decided he couldn't let Sam die alone. Therefore, he arrives on the field of this battle to the sounds of “Rock of Ages”.
10. Back In Black by AC/DC
At the very beginning of the second season, Dean Winchester is completely broken - his father died (finally), there are problems with Sam, plus he almost destroyed the Impala with his own hands. But in the third episode, he gathers his courage, repairs the Impala, and, to the sounds of “Back In Black,” sets off to destroy the vampires of all America.
11. Fan Fiction
Yes, apparently, the 200th episode will be um... similar to a musical. And we will hear covers of some of the songs presented above. Let's see. Because if anyone could make fun of the "let's tie the 30th episode to something and make a musical out of it" trend, it's Supernatural. So we wait. “There’s no singing in Supernatural,” says Dean. And we, in general, agree with him.
Episodes
For the purity of the sample, I looked through nearly dozens of tops and fan forums. That's why the episodes below aren't just personal choices: they're episodes loved by millions of fans of the show. Choosing the best 11 from 200 episodes is not the best simple task. Therefore, only those that are voted for everywhere and almost unanimously are presented.
As practice has shown, the most impactful in the show was still the second season. You could easily take 11 episodes from it alone. But still...
1. "Pilot" / Pilot (season 1, episode 1)
"Pilot" isn't exactly the best episode of the series, but it wouldn't have happened without it. It all starts with mysterious death Mary Winchester. 22 years later, one of her sons - Dean - appears in student dormitory in order to ask his younger brother, Sam, for help in finding his father. John Winchester went on the Hunt and never returned. Hunting evil spirits is, in its own way, a family affair for the Winchesters. They, of course, don’t find their father in “Pilot,” but they deal with one of the visiting ghosts. In the same episode, Sam's girlfriend dies, which becomes the final straw for the younger brother to team up with the older one in order to continue exterminating all sorts of... supernatural things.
Dean: The driver chooses the music, the passenger remains silent.
2. “Devil’s Trap” (season 1, episode 22)
The shock finale of the first season. Partly because it is here that Bobby Singer’s character is revealed in all its facets. Spoiler! Spoiler! The yellow-eyed demon possesses John Winchester, after which events begin to develop so rapidly that the viewer does not even have time to blink. At the end there will be a huge accident where all three Winchesters will suffer.
Dean: Where is our father, Meg?
Meg: Ask more politely
Dean: Where's our father, bitch?
Meg: God. And with these lips do you kiss your mother? Oh, I forgot... you can't! After all, there is no mother!
3. "Night Werewolf" / Nightshifter (season 2, episode 12)
One of the most intense episodes, where the brothers find themselves locked in a trap with a shapeshifter who can change his appearance. The episode begins with Dean allegedly holding hostages in a bank. But the real beauty of this episode is in the finale, when the brothers manage to masterfully escape from FBI agent Victor Henriksen. At this moment, the wonderful song Renegade by Styx is playing, which by all rights should have appeared in the list of the best musical components of the series, but it lacked one point.
Dean: I like him. He said "okey-dokey."
4. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Season 2, Episode 14)
Spoiler! Spoiler! In this episode, Sam is possessed by a demon, which gives Padalecki at least some opportunity to turn around and show off. This is good, because before this, Jared Padalecki's character seemed somewhat boring and monotonous to many fans of the show. The episode's title is a reference to the song of the same name written by Booker T Jones and William Bell.
Dean: Two days ago you registered under the name Richie Sambora. And I think the worst thing about this story is that you really are a Bon Jovi fan.
5. “Tall Tales” (season 2, episode 15)
In this episode we meet the Archangel Gabriel, who will subsequently mock the brothers very, very often. Sam and Dean come to college to investigate a series of mysterious incidents. But who wouldn't be baffled by aliens or an alligator in the sewer? In “Tall Tales,” the creators of the series tried to properly ironize the characters, for this purpose somewhat exaggerating their “weaknesses.” Sam gets overly sensitive here, and Dean eats so much that he can't even chew his food.
Sam: Your dirty socks are in the sink! Your food is in the refrigerator!
Dean: What's wrong with my food?
Sam: It's not food anymore, Dean! This is Darwinism!
Dean: I like...
6. “What Is and What Should Never Be”(season 2, episode 20)
In this episode, Dean gets the alternate reality he's always wanted. His mother is alive, but his father died of a stroke, and his relationship with Sam is quite tense. What's great about this episode is that we get to look at the Winchester brothers as... ordinary people, and not like Hunters. That is, in other words, how everything would have been if Mary had not died and there would have been no Hunt. Again, quite a dramatic episode for Dean - he has to sacrifice happiness in a fantasy world and return to harsh realities.
Dean: Am I dating a nurse? Wow, this is very... solid...
7. "Vicious Circle" / Mystery Spot (Season 3, Episode 11)
In the opinion of many... very many... "The Vicious Circle" is not only the best episode of Supernatural, but also the best "time loop" episode on television in general. Sam experiences his own “Groundhog Day,” watching Dean die in the most unexpected situations over and over again. We see clearly that Sam's love for Dean is as strong as Dean's love for Sam.
Here again in the arena is one of the favorite characters - the Archangel Gabriel. In the Supernatural universe, he is Loki.
Sam: Because this is my hundredth Tuesday in a row. Yes, I'm a pessimist.
8. "Ghostfacers" (Season 3, Episode 13)
Why is this episode here? Partly because this is the first episode released after the Writers' Strike. Even though it had fairly low ratings, it now consistently appears on all the "Top 10/20/30/40 Best Episodes of Supernatural" lists. "Spirit Tamers" is a show by Ed Zedmore and Harry Spangler (hello, "Hunters" for ghosts!" These novice lovers of all things supernatural explore various paranormal activities. In a haunted house, they encounter Dean and Sam.
Ed: The nasty writers' strike has made life pretty difficult for everyone.
Harry: Fat lazy pigs!
Ed: But who needs writers when there are guys like us!
9. Changing Channels (Season 5, Episode 8)
And again, thanks to the Archangel Gabriel, the bros find themselves locked in the television world, where all the circles of hell take place - from idiotic advertising to series like "Grace's Anatomy". In a parody of the Knight Rider series, Sam actually turns into the soul of the Impala.
Dean: Hey Sam. What's happening?
Sam: Oh, nothing. Hmm... Just the End of the World!
10. “The French Mistake” (Season 6, Episode 15)
This episode was written by Ben Edlund, who wrote some of the show's most original episodes. The Winchester brothers find themselves in parallel universe, where they are actually actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who star in the TV series Supernatural. The one who burns the most here is Misha Collins, who constantly tweets and calls his followers “Mishamigos.”
Sam: I'm something called "Jared Padalecki."
Dean: What?! So are you also Pole?
11. "Victim" / Sacrifice (season 8, episode 23)
This is truly one of the best episodes of the show! There really is nothing superfluous here. Not a single sagging dialogue, not a single unnecessary character. Crowley is burning with napalm, talking about how much he loves Girls and HBO in general. And his speech under the motto “I deserve to be loved” is a delight! Especially considering some of the weakness of recent seasons in general.
Perhaps the most powerful “brotherly dialogue” (or, in other words, “broment”) in the entire history of the series takes place between Sam and Dean. Let's add that angels fall from heaven. In general, thunderous applause!
Crowley: "Girls." You are my Marnie, Moose! And Hannah, she deserves to be loved. You, me, we all deserve to be loved! I deserve it! I just want to be loved!
In fact, this article should appear somewhere where they write about mysticism or miracles, or about how aliens from the constellation Draco took our form and live among us. But since its topic is directly related to, then, in my opinion, it belongs here. The fact is that there are many people inventing, or trying to invent and design weapons. And some people are good at it. But what then? How do the curses of the people killed by these weapons affect us and our children (if they do?!), and what might they sometimes think about how these curses... affect their fate? The thought, having materialized, is horrible power, even if she is completely delusional. And it’s just one such example that the story will be about here.
Sarah Winchester's house.
“It seems, what else does a person need from fate, if, in general, you have become from the poor and the hungry famous person in the country? When you worked as a laborer on farms from your youth, then counted coppers, as a bellhop at a hotel, worked as a construction worker, but then you got so much money that you can count it not even in tens, or even hundreds of thousands, but in millions of dollars. ! However, at first there was at least some prosperity. Your own enterprise, your own company “Winchester and Davis” - simple and solid. And it was only later that he invested part of the money in a stake in the Volcanic Repairing Arms company and, as it turned out, he was absolutely right. Because in this country, producing men's shirts is, of course, a good thing, but still making rifles and pistols is much more profitable.
Henry rifle (top) and Winchester musket (bottom).
And Henry’s gun, this “devil’s rifle,” also came in very handy, although he, Oliver, set the price for it at $42, plus money for cartridges! In a word, a soldier’s three-month salary in years Civil War in the USA you had to give it away in order to buy it for yourself, and they bought it, no matter what, and even in whole shelves. Well, then, when the war ended, he was again lucky in that Nelson King came up with his “royal innovation”, and most importantly, agreed to sell him a patent for it!
Carbine 1873.
Because everyone liked Henry’s old carbine, but it was just too inconvenient to load it. By the time you push all fifteen rounds of ammunition into it - again, it was best to do it standing, because you had to push them into the magazine from the barrel - then, you see, they’ve already killed you. Well, now in his new carbines, thanks to King’s patent, everything has become completely different. There is a small cap with a spring on the side, you press on it and, cartridge by cartridge, fill the magazine. And at the same time, whether you lie in a ditch or sit on horseback, it makes no difference to you. And yet, for some reason, everything goes wrong, some inexplicable misfortunes happen around... No, not a single person can be truly happy, not even me, although, to tell the truth, everything is much better for me than many!”
One way or another, Oliver Fisher Winchester, the head and founder of the Winchester Repairing Arms company, thought so or not, now you probably can’t even say. But he definitely had to think about something like that, because in his old age he couldn’t help but look back at his past and think about his life path. However, in 1880, the year of his death, he, of course, did not yet know that his son William, who was supposed to inherit his father's fortune, William, who had married himself beautiful girl from Connecticut, Sarah Pardee, who knew four languages and played the violin and piano, suddenly fell ill with tuberculosis in 1881 and died. However, already in 1866, immediately after Sarah gave birth to her daughter Annie, numerous misfortunes began to haunt his family. So, little Annie became seriously ill and died two weeks later. And the mother’s grief was so great that for seven days she could neither eat nor sleep, did not speak to anyone, and kept sitting over the body of her dead girl.
Sarah Pardee, colorized photo 1865
Of course, they still managed to bury her, but Sarah ended up in the hospital, where she spent several years, and all this time she stubbornly remained silent. But before she had time to return to normal life, how William fell ill and died, and Sarah became the heir to a fortune of 20 million dollars, simply fabulous at that time. In addition, she owned 50 percent of the company's shares, which her father-in-law left her, and which gave her an income of approximately a thousand dollars a day!
But there is wealth - there is no happiness! Sarah Winchester was feeling very bad, and one of her friends advised her to go to a medium who was said to be able to communicate with other world and summon the souls of the dead. What if he manages to summon the spirit of her husband and he will be able to cheer her up and calm her down?! Since Sarah was very pious, she at first flatly refused to engage in such things, considering it a sin, but in the end she decided to do so. And during the session, the medium said, “Your husband is here,” and described her William’s appearance to her very accurately, although she had never seen him before and could not, of course, know what he looked like during his lifetime. Sarah believed him unconditionally. And the medium told her that the spirit told him that there was a curse on their entire family, and it caused the death of both Annie and her husband. The curse is the result of Oliver Winchester being the maker of a deadly weapon that has killed thousands of people whose souls seek vengeance. Then the spirit of her husband told Sarah to sell all her real estate in Connecticut and go to the West. The husband said that he would guide her on this journey, and as soon as she found a suitable shelter, he would let her know. There she will need to build a house where she and the spirit of her husband William will live. The spirit also warned her that the construction of this house should under no circumstances be completed. If this happens, then she, Sarah, will die immediately!
Photo of the Winchester house from the early 20th century.
What would you do in her place? Ten to one that everyone would have done the same as she did: sold everything and gone to California. In 1884, she stopped in Santa Clara, where she purchased a small six-room house located on a 166-acre tract owned by Dr. Caldwell. He was not going to sell anything, but Sarah offered him such a sum that the doctor could not refuse it. Then she hired workers, ordered an old house demolish and start building a new one. And although construction did not stop for a single minute, and the twenty-two carpenters she hired worked all year round from morning to night, this house was never built, as she was told!
Every day, Sarah gave instructions to the engineer who was in charge of the construction and said what would need to be done that day. Moreover, there was no trace of any plan to build a house, as is usually the case. All work was carried out in a completely chaotic manner. One room was attached to another, a staircase led from it to a third, then all this was connected to other parts of the house, which was replete with doors, behind which there were often blank walls, and countless staircases simply led “to nowhere.” In addition, there were long curved corridors and endless suites of rooms, one after another. Some bedrooms had fireplaces (and some didn't for some reason?!), and there were 47 of them in total. There were also hatches on the roof of the house that opened directly from the rooms, and there were also a great many false chimneys. Sarah, you see, believed that in this way she could deceive the ghosts if, according to legend, they decided to enter her house through the pipes. Dozens of fire escapes were placed against the walls outside to provide escape in the event of a fire.
This is how the construction proceeded, one floor was built on top of another, one wing was attached to another, and in different parts At home, the number of floors was also different, from one to seven. At the same time, the poor woman was simply obsessed with the number 13. The colored windows had 13 glass inserted, the parquet floors had 13 sections, the rooms had 13 panels on the walls, the staircases had 13 steps, and there were 13 domes on the roof of the building. The widow believed that in this way she could scare away the spirits of evil and deprive the power of those people who intended to harm her. All day long she wandered completely alone around her strange house, where it was easy to get lost, and at night she played the piano. It seemed that in all this she had found peace again, even if the meaning of her life was the construction of this ridiculous house. However, in 1906, a strong earthquake struck San Francisco, and Winchester House was almost completely destroyed. The top three floors of the seven-story wing collapsed and were never rebuilt.
The door to nowhere
And... the construction work began again! Sarah got down to business as if nothing had happened. Now many mirrors were installed in the house and even outside, since the owner decided that for some reason ghosts and spirits of evil were afraid of their reflection. Secret passages were built from one room to another; one could disappear in one room and suddenly appear unexpectedly in another. Sarah herself made a habit of wearing several dresses at once, one on top of another, in order to change her appearance in a matter of moments. All this was supposed to deceive the forces of evil, which, as Sarah believed, were constantly pursuing her.
Sarah Winchester's house: top view.
However, Sarah was not as crazy in everything as she seemed. For example, she donated two million dollars to a hospital in Connecticut, and with this money a tuberculosis department was built there, which is still operating there. On her forty-hectare plot, she began growing plums and apricots, which she then dried and shipped to Europe (in the Santa Clara telephone directory she was listed as “fruit merchant Sarah Winchester” No. M15). She brought gas into her house, then electricity, installed steam heating and sewerage, and even three elevators, the only one in the United States with a horizontal drive. Although Sarah invested five and a half million dollars in this house, after the death of the owner it went under the hammer for only 135 thousand dollars and not a cent more. But the furniture was removed from it for six whole weeks, with six trucks every day!
The interior of one of the rooms.
Sarah died on September 4, 1922, at 83 years old. She left all her property to her niece Frances Marriott, and she believed that a safe with the Winchester family’s gold was hidden in the house, but this safe was never found. There was also less money than expected, since Sarah spent a lot on building her mansion and improving it.
A staircase that reaches the ceiling.
Over time, the heirs of the Winchester family sold the house to a group of entrepreneurs who turned it into a tourist attraction. When we decided to draw up a house plan, it turned out that it was not so simple. At first, 148 rooms were counted in it, but every time they were counted, their number turned out to be different. They say that the arrangement of stairs and rooms is so confusing that even the people who participated in the construction sometimes got lost in them, as if in a labyrinth, and could only find a way out with difficulty.
The interior of one of the bedrooms.
Now the Winchester manor is a historical relic, and the prospectuses about it say that the exact number of rooms in it is unknown. Many people believe, or pretend to believe, that it is haunted. Well, many people saw Sarah’s ghost there more than once. Two servants who worked in this house swore that they saw in it the ghost of a man in a suit according to the fashion of the 19th century. Naturally, tourists flock to this house, so the estate brings in a good income. Now Winchester House is a three-story mansion with about 160 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, 40 staircases, as well as 2,000 doors, 450 doorways, 10,000 windows, and as many as 47 fireplaces.
There is only one photograph of Sarah Winchester, as she has always studiously avoided being photographed, which, in her opinion, only attracts the forces of evil. A servant hiding in the bushes took a photo of her as she went for a walk in her carriage. It is unknown whether Mrs. Winchester herself saw this photograph.
Sarah Winchester in a stroller.
One way or another, she was absolutely sure of the existence of a curse that had struck her family, and this was certain. But whether this was really revenge on the creator of deadly weapons or whether it ricocheted on the innocent is completely impossible to say. How, however, can we find out who cast this conspiracy or what resulted from it? Was it the action of many or just one? Well, who, pray tell, is capable of finding out the truth, which is never known for certain?! But hard drives very similar to the ones that made it all begin are still produced in the USA today, and their old models are extremely highly valued by collectors as memories...
Over the course of eight seasons, SPN fans have learned a little about Sam and Dean’s parents, mainly about the Campbells, who are related on their mother’s side. But in Wednesday's episode 8.12, "As Time Goes By," viewers will meet Henry Winchester, their paternal grandfather. Today, after the press screening, executive producer Robert Singer (pictured right) spoke about the choice of actor for this role, intrigued by several upcoming returns and a possible 9th season...
Casting for the role of Grandfather Winchester.
All Winchester men have a certain toughness, but when it came to casting an actor to play Sam and Dean's paternal grandfather, Singer said the show needed an actor who was different from the boys:
“He is a representative of a bygone generation. We were just looking best actor and a guy who would work well with the boys and create a contrast. This guy is more fashionable, more erudite and educated. In fact, we were looking more for contrast than family resemblance."
Indeed, second grandfather Henry (Gil McKinney) has found a way to get to 2013, but he has conflicts with his grandchildren. He's a little embarrassed modern technologies, trouble with Dean's car (ooh boy, that's not good), he doesn't approve of them life choice and disagrees with them on the conduct of affairs.
The return of familiar characters.
Despite the fact that most of the series is dedicated to the two Winchester brothers, Singer confirmed the imminent return of several familiar characters:
“Kevin will be back. Benny will be back. Castiel is back. Maybe Amelia. Or maybe not".
SPN fans know that Castiel is now closely connected with the tablet.
"He really plays decisive role in the history of the tablet,” says Singer. - He will have his own trials. Naomi is very unhappy with him, Crowley is very unhappy with him. And the angel is now in confusion.”
With Benny it's a little more complicated:
“He stubbornly fights his thirst for blood,” Singer intrigues. - To be honest, Benny is having a hard time with Dean ending their relationship. So, we are working on what he will have to go through in the near future. We do not want and have never wanted their story to come to an end. It probably won't be that great drama that ends with a phone call."
Although Felicia Day (Charlie) appeared in last week's episode "LARP and the Real Girl," the writers are already making plans for her third return to the show.
“Felicia will be back in an episode,” says Singer. “We love Felicia.”
Unfortunately, the details of the return are not yet known:
“We know she will be back, the plot is in development. I know that she will involve the brothers in the matter - I can’t tell you more.”
Will there be a season 9?
“I've been in this industry long enough to know that you can never be sure of anything,” he admitted.
“If I had to bet, I bet we’d be back.”