Halloween in 2020 is undoubtedly different because of the coronavirus pandemic, but San Jose’s historic Winchester Mystery House is still keeping its haunting traditions alive.
To celebrate the spooky season, the mystery house is offering nighttime, self-guided Hallowe’en Flashlight Tours that allow guests to live out a haunted mansion experience while maintaining social distancing guidelines.
I had the opportunity to take the flashlight tour this weekend. At times, I was in a room in the mansion entirely alone in the dark, listening to the floorboards’ creaking and the hair-raising wind soundtrack.
Guests also taking the Halloween tour said they are making the most out of this year’s unusual circumstances.
San Jose resident Natalie Zamudio got married at the Winchester house in 2013 and visits the mansion every year. This year she decided to celebrate Halloween by going on the tour with her family who were dressed up for the occasion as Disney villains.
“We are just trying to make the best of it, there are still obstacles but we are out trying to have fun,” she said.
The mansion requires attendees to pre-purchase tickets online to ensure a contactless check-in. Once guests arrive at the mansion, they are asked if they have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms and reminded to keep their face masks on while on the premises.
At the start of the tour, guests are advised to maintain a six-foot distance from others outside of their party and are given their own Winchester Mystery House mini flashlight, before being sent into the dark depths of the mansion.
Each tour group is sent into the house in about five-minute intervals to maintain social distancing. The house is entirely dark with the exception of a few sporadic black lights, candles and ghoulish flickering lamps.
Guests travel through the eerie mansion in the dark while a soundtrack of an ominous breeze is played throughout the house, setting a chilling tone for the entire tour. At various spots in the mansion, a ghostly recorded tape recounts chilling tales about the house’s history and its previous owner, Sarah Winchester.
The recordings also point out the mysterious quirks that make the home so intriguing, like the stairs that lead to nowhere and a trap door that opens to a treacherous two floor drop.
The low lights did make it challenging to see the dark corners of the mansion and pick out each of the unique qualities the attraction is famed for, like stairways that lead to the ceiling or doors that lead to
two-story drops. However, the darkness added to the thrilling aspect of the tour.
This was Noelle Mills’ first time at the Winchester House and she said the spooky effects were a nice touch for the Halloween tour.
“With COVID this year, there’s not a lot of Halloween celebration but this felt even more special with the added sound effects,” she said. “So many things got closed down. This is a big deal so it was
definitely a nice Halloween outing.”
To top off the experience, the haunting tapes tell stories of reported disembodied footsteps, voices and shadow figures seen in the mansion.
Employees working at the flashlight tours also added their own chilling tales to the evening.
Susan Delance, who began working at the Winchester house as a tour attendant in 1985, recounted her own experiences of unexplained tugging on her hair and skirt inside the mansion. She said that a tour in the dark is a special opportunity for guests.
“The house feels different in the dark, you really do feel more mystery in the house at night,” Delance said. “Even for someone like me who’s been working here for a long time, there’s more hesitation making your way around in the dark.”
Although the tour had a constant eerie vibe, the only screams of fright I heard throughout the evening came from members of tour groups using the opportunity to scare each other by hiding in the crevices of the home.
The flashlight tour can easily become a popular yearly attraction for the Winchester Mystery House, continuing even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tickets went on sale in late September, with tours offered from October until Nov. 1. Seemingly popular and with limited availability, all of the remaining flashlight tour dates are sold out.
The tour was informative, entertaining and eerie, while also providing an enjoyable experience for adults and children. Under the extenuating circumstances, the Winchester Mystery House successfully adapted to offer its guests a safe and spooky experience.
The self-guided aspect of the tour enhanced the experience because it allows guests to take their time in the mansion and investigate each shadowy corner.
