The new movie is sure to draw even more visitors to the house. Image Credit: Public Domain
A major new movie based on the enigmatic mansion has seen interest in the house soar in recent weeks.
One of San Jose's most popular tourist attractions, the enigmatic mansion has 161 rooms, 40 staircases ( some of which leading to nowhere ), 10,000 windows and 2,000 doors.
Constructed in 1884 and owned by Sarah Winchester - the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester - the building is said to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles.
Its interior is as lavish as it is bizarre, with a peculiar room layout, doors leading to solid walls, windows on the walls of inside rooms, a large bell which is rung every Friday 13th and multiple 'decoy' rooms that Winchester used in an effort to fool the spirits she believed resided there.
Now a major new movie is set to bring the mysteries of the house to the big screen.
Starring Oscar-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, the $3.5 million movie, which is simply entitled Winchester, is set to hit theaters on February 2nd.
The movie's release has unsurprisingly inspired a lot of people to go and visit the real thing.
"We're very excited about this," said general manager Walter Magnuson. "It's hard to believe it's really happening. We are already well known but this movie will raise the profile of the house even higher."
Yes, it's really one, huge, bizarre house. I've been on the tour of it a couple of times, over the years. Sarah Winchester reputedly believed that she could live only as long as she continued building onto the house. She did so in an erratic manner, leaving many curious, unfinished, and unusable alterations to the structure. She had the means to do so, having inherited the Winchester gun-smithing fortune from her husband. She had 'speaking tubes' all over the house, the Victorian version of the intercom. She used these to spy on her servants, discharging those who spoke disparagingly... [More]
I am not going to say whether or not I believe what she believed or if I think it is even remotely possible. it makes a great story and a better ghost story but I do think she kinda went overboard, way kinda overboard.
An extraordinary place. Went there in early 70's, there were still many of the original furnishing and the area wasn't as developed. The house was once surrounded by open farm land and now it has apartments and malls on every side. You have to use your imagination a bit. I still find it fascinating, it's right up there with Hurst Castle for me if you're doing a west coast tour.
I agree, the trailer looks like it will be a good ghost story, The Others was also a very good ghost story. Hopefully it will sit up there with The Others. But yep, she was certainly obsessed and of not a normal mind, but her mind did for sure have built a very interesting house. I would love to visit it, not because i believe in ghosts....but because i love interesting buildings. I have visited many and the first thing i do is touch the walls, i feel a great sense of respect to those who built and those who designed such buildings and i feel honoured to be able to touch the same w... [More]
As far as being well known, this is the first I've heard of it. I believe there's something that interacts with our plane or reality, whichever way you want to take it, but something as aggressive as the trailers I've seen is hard to believe. I like Helen Mirren. I'm sure she did a great job. I don't think my wife will want to go see it, so I'll have to catch it on pay per view I guess. (Hate going to movies by myself, eating at restaurants. You get the idea.)
The house wasn't really designed, in any formal sense. Reportedly, no blueprints were used. Additions and alterations were made, and old work removed, in a haphazard manner. This led to things like windows with walls behind them, so offering no light or view, upper-story doors that open out perilously onto open space, closets a few inches deep, stairways that lead up to blank walls, and so on.
Seems she wouldn't have to pay property taxes on the place as long as it were under construction. Not so crazy after all, except that the ghosts advised her to do that...
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