The strange and unconventional mansion, Winchester Mystery House, 525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, invites visitors to tour this Victorian manor, designed and built by the Winchester Rifle heiress. The Winchester House has 160 rooms, 40 staircases, 2,000 doors, 40 bedrooms, and six kitchens and an array of random and weird architectural installations. Sarah Winchester kept hammers pounding as the mansion was built and rebuilt for nearly 40 years.
Winchester tour tickets can be purchased for the Grand Estate, Mansion or Behind the Scenes tours. Tours begin each day at 9 a.m. Adult tickets range from $27-35. There is also a snack shop and store inside the mansion.
Fright Nights at the Winchester Mystery House begins 6:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 30, and continues on these dates: October l, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. The grounds of the estate are transformed into a haunting experience with attractions, performers and tales. Tickets range from $15 for general admission to the “Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze,” to $60 for a combination ticket including VIP admission to the maze and the “Halloween Flashlight Tour.”
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The Flashlight Tour has been a mainstay of the mansion's seasonal Fright Nights' event for over a decade. Lindsey Huffman, marketing coordinator for the Winchester Mystery House, said the 65-minute Flashlight Tour is similar to the mansion tour but with all the lights out.
"Guests are given a free flashlight for the tour, and they can take it home," she said. "There will be many different tales told on the tour.”
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The Winchester “Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze” is premiering this year.
"We're excited about the addition of the maze," said Huffman. “Many of the (maze) props have been made just for us.”
The maze creators have worked with Universal Studios, and in the entertainment and event industries.
For the first time, guests at “Fright Nights” will have the opportunity to experience this 15-20 minute interactive, multi-sensory “Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze.”
“There will be elements in the maze that tie into the Winchester story,” said Huffman.
Call the Winchester Mystery House at 408-247-2101 for more information.
After the Winchester tour, walk across the street and wander through the shops, dining, salon and entertainment stores in the Santana Row complex, 368 Santana Row. You can take in a movie at the Century’s CineArts 6 at Santana Row, an art and indie house that brings independent, documentary, foreign and art films to San Jose.
