Heck yeah… we totally hit the Winchester Mystery House… I think it’s a must if one is visiting the area… such interesting history and stories… there is something for everyone!
We went with our New in Town meetup.com group… the whole group went on the full Mansion Tour, then Dano and I continued on to the Behind-The-Scenes tour… where we got to check out the basement, a bit of the garden, and the outbuildings!
Firstly, let me tell you that I found an awesome website that lists a bunch of California-based adventures AND coupons!
I printed out a few of the Winchester House coupons for our group… and we were off on our tour!! 🙂
Get your COUPONS right here…
http://www.visitcalifornia.com/Fun-Spots/#bayarea
Now, let me tell you about the tour :
History & House…Interesting! Interesting!
Spirit Life… Not so much!
If you know Dano and I, you’ll know that we are interested in investigating ghosts/spirits/afterlife energy of locations. Photography is not allowed in the home, however we did have our EMF meters with us… we never really got a truly active hit on either of our meters. Of course, there was actual Electrical Energy that we got hits from… as well, we like to use our meters in conjunction with our cameras to see if we can capture anything. (but with photography IN the home off-limits, we were… well… limited 😉
The Mansion Tour :
takes you everywhere inside the huge home… and it is HUGE!
There are fun little facts of history and quirks you’ll learn along the way. They take the group up to the very top room of the house… where there is quite a wonderful view of the surrounding area! It is also a long tour with lots of steps/stairs… so be mindful of this depending on whom you have in your party.
The Behind the Scenes (BTS) Tour :
timing is rather important for this tour!
Since, we went during the Halloween session, we were unable to take the full Garden Tour (which is part of BTS tour) due to the kitschy, scary Halloween Maze and Scenes they had set-up.
However, going down into the Basement was way cool!
The Flashlight Tour :
we have not taken the flashlight tour yet. This tour takes place at night and the only light comes from the souvenir flashlight that every guest is given! It includes history as well, but it also includes personal and handed-down ghost stories of the house itself!
It is available every weekend the month before Halloween and on Halloween night. It is also available on every Friday the 13th throughout the year. We decided to hold off on this tour for two reasons…
1) Cost! During Halloween time, it is an expensive tour
2) Lack of Authenticity! During Halloween time, they have the kitschy, scary Maze going on outside at night time… people screaming getting scared by employees jumping out at them along the maze, ugh! Just doesn’t seem like the best environment for an ‘open’Â and fruitful investigative session while on tour.
All in All… If I only went to the Winchester Mystery House once in my life… I’d be A-OK with that… Though I know Dano will want to hit it during a Flashlight Tour and “Hey! I’m down for the adventure!” 🙂
SFO Newb 