I like to think of this place as the beating heart of San Jose. It was always a bit of an enigma to me... having always driven by the house on my way to Santana Row and Valley Fair, but never peeked inside. The beautiful, elaborate, yellowy-orange turrets and roofs and neatly manicured hedges became a normal sight for me growing up. I don't know why I waited this long but over the week of Thanksgiving I was back home in the Bay Area and decided to finally visit the Winchester Mystery House.
There were two things that sparked my desire to finally visit the house: Christine McConnell, and having just visited the equally stunning Pittock Mansion in Portland. Christine, an enigmatic creator, first enchanted me in her spooky baking show on Netflix, titled "The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell." While the show only had one season, I continued to follow her adventures on YouTube and Instagram. From baking elaborate lookalike cakes, to sewing gothic aprons, and showing all the carpentry and interior work that she had done on her own house, I was excited when she posted a project she had done in collaboration with the Winchester Mystery House: she baked the house in gingerbread.
To my excitement, this creation was still on display in the Winchester gift shop, as shown above. Perched on a table in its own room, you can also find interesting vintage pieces from the Winchester family in display cases along the walls. Most poignant, old Winchester rifles are on display, the main contributor to the family's riches.
The plaque above stands near the main entrance of the house, stating the property's placement as a historical landmark of California (no. 868). The mansion features 160 rooms, of which about 120 are seen in the standard Mansion Tour, which is what my friend and I decided to do. An additional Explore More tour adds an additional hour and explores the basement of the mansion, for those who wish fora the most fully-immersive experience. We saw one of these tour groups wearing hard hats descending into the boiler room. As of today, the Mansion Tour costs $39 for adults with Explore More available as an optional $15 add-on. Specialty tours are available during Halloween and for other notable times of year, such as Friday the 13th.
A notable architectural statement featured throughout the roofs of the mansion are these glasshouses, or conservatories. Some of these rooms are actually filled with beautiful plants, for which Sarah Winchester had a state-of-the-art watering system built into the flooring to allow for water collection and recycling.
Another architectural statement that Sarah was fond of was stained glass windows. See below for some of the most remarkable pieces that I saw during the tour. The one on the right is said to be the most expensive, costing about $1.5K, which was a staggering amount for the time.
One of the most intriguing stories of the mansion is that a psychic told Sarah that she would be hanuted my ghosts unless she started building a mansion and never ceased. By doing this, the psychic promised Sarah immortality. It was said that Sarah was haunted by the ghosts of those shot by the Winchester rifles. To try to stop the haunting, she built staircases and doors to nowhere to trick and trap the ghosts. This resulted in all sorts of architectural pecularities such as the "Door to Nowhere" pictured below.
One thing I loved about visiting the mansion during the holidays was that the main state rooms at the front of the house were fully decked out for the holidays. The ballroom contained a beautiful Christmas tree, amongst a wreath and garlands. The most notable thing about this room is the door on the right wall which contains a safe, within a safe, within a safe. Inside, Sarah kept the obituary of her late husband and child, along with a lock of her child's hair.
While most would probably find Sarah's "seance" room to be the most haunting, I think I was most spooked out by visiting her bedroom, where she died. A rose was laid out by her picture, while another picture on the wall featured her husband looking over the room. It was lovely to see that they had decorated this bedroom for the holidays as well.
Overall, I was thoroughly delighted with my trip to the Winchester Mystery House. It is absolutely worth paying a visit and experiencing all of the wonders inside. From swirling staircases to fascinating features, there is so much to see that I have barely even touched on in this entry. If you have any questions about visiting the house, please feel free to comment below.
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