Winchester Mystery House tours are a popular attraction among people who love paranormal activity, history, legends, well, all in all a bit of MYSTERY. Even Josh Gates of Discovery Channel’s “Expedition Unknown” visited the mansion and made a program about it. So if you travel to Bay Area, a visit to Winchester Mystery House is a great day trip from San Francisco.
A little history, a little mystery
Winchester Mystery House is a 135 year old mansion located in San Jose, California that was built by Sarah Winchester, the wife of the late firearms magnate, William Winchester, the inventor of the “gun that won the West”. The mansion is an architectural wonder consisting of 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys, 2 basement levels and 3 elevators. The whole property covers the whooping 4.5 acres!
There are lots of beautiful elements and oddities in its design but architecture is not the only thing Winchester Mystery House is famous for – it is also notorious for being haunted. Old records mention that Sarah believed in ghosts and even organized spiritual seances at Winchester Mystery House. Various incidents of paranormal activity have been spotted at the mansion over the years. All being said, this mansion became an inspiration for the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney Parks. Do you need more of an intrigue?
When is the best time to do Winchester Mystery House Tour?
The best time to do Winchester Mystery House tour is, of course, when all spirits come to live – at Halloween time! During the months of September and October Winchester Mystery House is transformed into one of the best Halloween attractions in California. Winchester Mystery House’s almost 2 months’ long event is called “All Hallows’ Eve” and it definitely brings out the spirit of Halloween better than any other place, honestly. The whole event is a perfect combination of tastefully done decorations, spooky (but not too scary) experiences and an overall ambiance of mystery with a dash of supernatural.
What is there to do at Winchester Mystery House at Halloween time?
The All Hallows’ Eve event at Winchester Mystery House consists of three main parts:
PART 1: The self-guided tour of the garden around the mansion. I think it is great to see all the decorations both at day time and when it is dark, when they are all lit, because they look totally different during the day vs. night. This part is suitable for all ages.
PART 2: Winchester Mystery House tour with “paranormal activity” and lots of spooky surprises. This is a guided tour with theatrical components. My husband played along, my 14 year old was skeptical, my 8 year old loved it and I personally think it is worth experiencing, for sure, just keep an open mind and have fun! I have to caution you that it will probably be too scary for kids 6 and under and no kids 5 and under are officially allowed on the tour.
PART 3: Movie projection on the front of Winchester Mystery House which tells a visually stunning story of a tour guest who got lost in the mansion. This was my absolute favorite part! I cannot explain it all with words, it is a MUST SEE! The movie is suitable for all ages and it is being played every 20 min or so when it gets dark (you can see the best portions of it in my video review below).
If you are not able to come visit in person, below is a fun video review of our visit. Photography and videography is not allowed during Winchester Mystery House Tour – but we were invited to the event as members of the press so we were allowed to film inside. The video below will show you what NO ONE ELSE will be able to show – see it for yourself! Our video covers all 3 parts of the All Hallows’ Eve event in detail:
How much time do I need for Winchester Mystery House Tour?
To experience everything that All Hallows’ Eve has to offer I suggest planning to spend a couple of hours at Winchester Mystery House. In addition to the outside and inside tour at Winchester Mystery House and the movie, don’t miss an opportunity to play with the famous Winchester pistols and rifles at an outdoor shooting range (additional fee).
You are not going to be shooting with real bullets, don’t be scared. You will be hitting targets with lasers, but it is no less fun, trust me. All three guys in my family were thrilled about this experience and I am thinking they loved it as much if not more than Winchester Mystery House tour itself 🙂
There is also axe throwing in the garden near the stables that you can practice (additional fee) but we did not try it. It involves a real axe so I wouldn’t recommend it for you kids but adults who tried it seemed to enjoy the activity.
Additional tips for visiting Winchester Mystery House
1.Winchester Mystery House is conveniently located right off HW-280. It has sufficient free parking on site but on weekend nights closer to Halloween it may get busy so I suggest coming early.
2. Winchester Mystery House offers regular day time tours as well. These are historic tours suitable for all ages.
3. If you have small kids and want to enjoy Halloween at All Hallows Eve event, you can buy cheaper tickets that do not include paranormal Winchester Mystery House tour, which basically will give you access to PART 1 and 3 of the event, as described above, but not PART 2.
Conclusion
We had a great time at All Hallows’ Eve at Winchester Mystery House. If I were to change anything I would love to have had a shorter tour of the house (there was lots of walking around) but instead have an ability to participate in an actual spiritual séance in the room where Sarah Winchester did it herself, rather than hearing the guide just briefly talking about it. I think it would have enhanced the whole experience so much more.
That said, may be Winchester Mystery House management is concerned about the liability: what if the spirits DO show up at the séance? The mansion IS haunted after all… 😉
If you found this Winchester Mystery House tour review useful, please, do me a small favor and share it with others as it may help them with their travel plans. Happy Haunting!
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