Ready for some spooky travel inspiration? Visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California and walk through a Victorian mansion believed by many to be one of the most haunted in the United States.
The house was under construction for 38 years under the direction of Sarah Winchester, the heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. There is a theory that Sarah was acting on the advice of a medium who said she needed to build enough rooms for all the souls of those who’d been killed by Winchester rifles. Legend has it that the home’s maze of rooms, doors to nowhere, and interior-facing windows were created to “confuse” the spirits. The Winchester family story is interesting, the house is unbelievable, and the tours are well worth the price of admission. Public tours of the home began in February 1923, just five months after Sarah Winchester’s death.
Interesting Facts
The Home has:
– Over 160 rooms and was built without an architectural plan
– 40 bedrooms, Sarah never slept in the same room twice in a row
– Only one working bathroom, the others are fake to confuse spirits
– 47 fireplaces with 17 chimneys
– 3 elevators, including the first Otis Elevator in a home on the West Coast
The 2018 movie Winchester with Helen Mirren has created renewed interest in the home.
Tours
The Winchester Mystery House opens at 9:00am. There are two daily estate tour options that each cost $39 for adults and $20 for children. You can save money by purchasing a combo ticket for both tours.
– The Mansion Tour takes you through 110 of the 160 rooms of the mansion while learning about the architecture of the home and story of the Winchester family. The tour takes just over an hour.
– The Explore and More Tour requires a hardhat and takes you into sections of the home formerly off limits to tours. Venture into the basement, the attic, unfinished rooms, and rooms damaged by a 1906 earthquake.
– Don’t forget to stroll through the Victorian Gardens and have lunch at the Mystery House Café after your tour. There is also a vintage arcade-style shooting range in the attic with 38 targets.
Coming Fall 2019:
Winchester Mystery House “Unhinged” Tour – an intense experience through the dark hallways of the mansion. See if you can solve the mystery of this psychological and paranormal thriller!!
Getting There
The Winchester House is in San Jose, California, the largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area. The attraction is a short distance from Interstates 280, 680, 880, and the 101. Guest parking is free and there is an overflow parking lot across the street.
Bonus: Spend the evening in San Jose and stay at the Hotel Valencia Santana Row, just a short walk from The Winchester House. Have dinner at Zona Rosa, a farm-to-table upscale Mexican restaurant located in the Garden Alameda neighborhood of San Jose.
Winchester Mystery House
525 South Winchester Boulevard
San Jose, CA 95128
