An exciting audio-visual tour of Winchester Mystery House San Jose

Nestled in Santa Row is a strange house, the Winchester Mansion. It has its own idiosyncrasy. From the cabinets that are anything but that to secret passages going through a wardrobe into another room, the house has a mystery at every turn. As you stroll into the gardens awaiting the guided tour to start, you will notice some of the beauty and the wonders in store ahead. From the stained windows with daisy patterns to the 'Door to nowhere', you are going to be further intrigued by the expanse of the house you are about to enter. Do take an interest in the architectural features as well.

With a fountain, a barn, a clock tower, a fruit storage space, a stable, and sculptures, the garden takes a good 20 min to explore, either prior to or after the house tour. 

Don't miss the fine detailing of the sculptures, such as the designs and folds in the garment of the lady with the basket of flowers, or the tresses of the winged angel.

Garden Sculpture

For each of the outdoor buildings, there is an audio guide that provides details about the people who worked there, their daily lives, and titbits on the lady of the house, Sarah Winchester.

The tour began with a warm greeting by a lady dressed as a chambermaid who led us (tourists are taken around in small groups) on the tour of the house for the next one hour. As we passed from room to room, she shared nuggets on the history of the house, its surprises, and quirks, and last but not least of how it came to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The house is much like a maze where it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know your way around. Let's roam around and get acquainted with some of the fascinating quirks...

The Nowhere Twins

The door to nowhere and the staircase to nowhere

Who knows? Perhaps due to the earthquake connecting floors were destroyed and not rebuilt, as mentioned in some writeup that I had read (could not locate that source to mention here).

The steps to somewhere

Yes, there are proper staircases, too! One such has 40 steps from the first to the second floor and all the individual steps are mostly 2-inch in width. There's a reason for this, and it's not quirky-  In her later years, Sarah suffered from arthritis which made it difficult for her to travel much. To make it easier to move around in the house, she made the steps extremely thin so as to not put pressure on her knees.

Staircase going upstairs

The mysterious cabinets

The photo below shows the largest and smallest cabinets. The smallest cabinet is about half-inch deep,  while the largest one opens to the back thirty rooms of the mansion. Isn't that thrilling! 

Mysterious cabinets

Is #13 a lucky number?

There is also the number 13. For reasons unknown, certain parts of the house have features that are 13 in number, such as the number of steps on a staircase, the number of circles on a stained glass window, the number of gaslights on the chandelier in the Grand Ballroom (more about the Ballroom later). Here's where I came to know about the extra gaslight.

The floral motif

In plenty of places, you will come across a floral motif, such as on stained glass windows, on curtains, on the wallpaper, and even on doorknobs. That flower is a daisy, named after Sarah's niece, whose bedroom was one of the rooms that were damaged by an earthquake.

Floral motif on curtain

Speaking of stained glass windows, those are really stunning! Posting just one set here-

Stained glass windows

The Paper on the Walls

In some of the rooms, such as the Oriental room, you will see a charming Japanese touch, as, in that era, Britain bought a lot of its wallpapers and decorations from Asia, especially from Japan after it opened borders to trade. There is also the Lincrusta wallpaper from London, seen in the image below-

Lincrusta Wallpaper

The Grand Ballroom

My niece mentioned that this room, which was the final room on the tour, was her absolute favourite part of the house. It has a Clough & Warren organ.

Clough and Warren Organ

Also in this spacious room are the much-discussed quotes from the works of Shakespeare that appear on the stained glass windows-

Check out the Shakespearan quotes on the windows

There's lots more at the Winchester Mystery House San Jose...visit, explore, and discover!

Final review

Overall, the experience was wonderful, with the only shortcoming being that an hour just isn’t enough to explore this house. You are so completely awed by its beauty and Lady Winchester's history, you really do need some more time. As they say to a woman of details, limited time is a bane. And for the cost you pay, frankly, it is definitely not affordable to make a second visit. Learn more about the ticket price, location, and get tips.