Two years ago the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose (as seen in the lowly rated film Winchester released earlier this year) added a new tour, a Halloween season candlelight journey with ghost tales and a creepier than normal atmosphere plus a few surprises here and there. When last year rolled around your humble narrator must confess he was finding it difficult to generate much personal interest because, you know, been there, done that. Turns out there was an entirely new presentation with different stories meaning that the arrival of October, 2018 meant I was excited to see what would be lurking within the never ending corridors of the creaking estate this time around.
Cameras are generally verboten on these tours, but due to the fact that the spectral community holds MiceChat in high regard, they have made an exception. While I sort that out let’s send my son to the courtyard to see what’s interesting there, although the new Mystic Midway area of kids’ games and fun was not quite ready for public consumption (photos by Colin Ricketts).
Alreety alrighty, everything is set for letting you see what we will. What was immediately apparent was that these tours have become wildly popular. The small lot was full before dark, with the overflow sent to the lot at the old abandoned cineplex across the street (hmm, that could be transformed into a spooky…no, must stay on point. Still.). They have also instigated tighter security with bag checks, metal detectors, and a police presence -although that seems to just be a precautionary sign of the times.
My first time on this tour, I was escorted through the mansion between groups to set up a tripod and shoot long exposures. Now with groups are leaving every 5-10 minutes, that isn’t feasible, so like last year, I’m using a monopod and exposing all photos at the appropriate 1/13 of a second.
We were introduced to our caretaker, Eloise, the estate’s librarian.
In keeping with the subtle creepy atmosphere cultivated here, she didn’t announce “I’m a ghost”, but as she spoke that fact became clear. Indeed, this is an entirely new story-line involving 13 mysterious doors and their links to the supernatural. There are still cool little effects here and there that aren’t even mentioned, but the main effects are increasingly prevalent. In fact, there seems to be a steady movement for the type of experience envisioned by Rolly Crump when the Haunted Mansion was seen as a walk-through attraction: small groups spending a few minutes in a scene culminating with a special effect. And no longer content to simply create an atmosphere of general creepiness, the spirits of the house are resorting to full-blown scares that even includes a black-walled maze with lurkers waiting to hit you with shock and awe. If you’re considering bringing children under say, 10, make sure they’re of hearty stock. I love seeing a terrified child in It’s Tough to be a Bug as much as anyone, but that’s <1 minute of terror. When you see a child scream and cry uncontrollably every couple of minutes in scene after scene until ghosts are breaking character to ask if she’s OK, it does become somewhat disturbing (give her credit for sticking it out!). Different rooms were seen compared to the past, which even briefly ventures outside where one of the doors, from the Titanic’s sister ship, HMS Brittanic continually spills water. The house is still the star. We were often a bit behind the group getting photos, and it would consistently be unnerving to be alone until we caught up. Perhaps the best part of this is that they are upping the ante with every passing year, and I’m already anxious to see what will be in store in 2019. Grab hold of a close friend’s hand, double check to ensure that it is in fact your friend, we’re going in.
Before we leave, let’s take a look at all the effects that can be triggered by crack shots at the Mansion’s Shooting Gallery.
Candlelight Tours at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose continue on select nights through October 31, for full logistical details go here.
Could you spend 30 hours in a coffin? A few lucky souls found out at Six Flags parks throughout the land October 12-13, and MiceChat was on hand at 6 Flags Discovery Kingdom to see how they fared, and check out their new Fright Fest offerings for 2018; look for that on the next Day by The Bay.
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