Helen Mirren to Play Haunted Heiress in Upcoming 'Winchester' Movie

Helen Mirren in costume as Sarah Winchester, next to a real-life image taken of the heiress.

Academy award winning actress Helen Mirren is slated to star as haunted heiress Sarah Winchester in CBS film's upcoming movie titled 'Winchester.'  

According to a press release containing the film's official synopsis:

“Inspired by true events, Winchester follows the story of firearm heiress Sarah Winchester (Helen Mirren), who was convinced that she was haunted by the souls killed at the hands of the Winchester Repeating Rifle. After the sudden deaths of her husband and child, she threw herself into the 24-hours a day, seven days a week construction of an enormous mansion designed to keep the evil spirits at bay. But when skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist Eric Price (Jason Clarke) is dispatched to the estate to evaluate her state of mind, he discovers that her obsession may not be so insane after all. The film will take audiences inside the labyrinth-like house that is believed to be one of the most haunted places in the world.”

While Mirren is herself skeptical of spirits, she is reportedly still excited to play the widowed Winchester.

“I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe people can be haunted, and Sarah Winchester is a haunted person,” Mirren told People magazine. “That was the appeal in the role.”

The Winchester Mystery House. (Image credit: winchestermysteryhouse.com)

Built in 1884 by Sarah Winchester, widow of famous gun magnate William Wirt Winchester, the Winchester mansion was under near-continuous construction for 38 years, until Sarah's death in 1922.  The mansion sprawls over 162 acres in Santa Clara Valley, California, and is made up of seven floors, 300 rooms, 13 bathrooms, two ballrooms, six kitchens, 47 fireplaces, two basements, three elevators, and 2,000 doors.  The Winchester Mystery House, as it is now known, is famous for its bizarre architecture; including doors that lead nowhere, and long, labyrinthine corridors.  According to legend, Sarah built the deliberately confusing house as a means to avoid the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles.  

Production on the film has already begun, and it is expected to be released in spring of 2018.