Winchester Mystery House embracing its scary side this fall
The San Jose landmark attraction is going full horror with "Unhinged," an immersive show running from September to November.
For years, the Winchester Mystery House has leaned on the spooky myths surrounding Sarah Winchester and her sprawling mansion and let the imagination of its visitors provide the eerie chills during its Halloween season candlelight tours. But that’s changing in a big way this fall when the San Jose landmark attraction opens “Unhinged,” an immersive, walk-through experience that is pushing the house toward full-on horror for the first time.
“Unhinged,” — produced by ThemeDream Productions and the creators of The Speakeasy, an immersive theater show in San Francisco — is described as stepping into a real-life paranormal thriller during which “the audience will trespass into forbidden rooms of the house — never before seen on public tours — confront malicious spirits, and encounter terrifying scenes that will reveal the home’s twisted tales and secrets.”
That sounds fun. Totally made up, but fun. And note the use of the word “audience.” This isn’t a tour, it’s a show, with storylines, actors and special effects that are scary enough that it’s recommended for ages 13 and up.
“Unhinged” will run 28 nights — mostly Friday through Sunday — between Sept. 6 and Nov. 2. Tickets go on sale starting Aug. 1, and you can get the schedule at winchestermysteryhouse.com/unhinged. Besides the new spooky show, the mansion’s facade will be used as a canvas for a nighttime, 3-D light projection show produced by Paintscaping, a Los Angeles-based company that’s done projection mapping on buildings in places like Los Angeles, Quebec City and Las Vegas.
The Winchester Mystery House has been an attraction almost from the time the Winchester arms heiress died in 1924, and its caretakers quickly built up the legend of the “house that spirits built” to explain the 160-room mansion’s quirky architecture, including a stairway that goes into a ceiling and a door that opens to a two-story drop. It’s too bad that Sarah Winchester’s acumen as a businesswoman and generosity as a philanthropist got lost along the way.
General Manager Walter Magnuson — whose career included a stint with Disney before he came to San Jose — says this is a whole new way for guests to “engage” with the house. Does it — like last year’s Helen Mirren movie “Winchester” — reinforce the more outlandish ideas about the house? Sure, but that ship sailed for the Winchester Mystery House a long time ago. And for anyone who prefers the old way of engaging, the regular daytime tours aren’t going away.
PLAYING TO WIN: If you’re looking for someone to root for now that the Sharks are out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, how about San Jose native Sarah Tuan? The 16-year-old is one of 24 pianists competing in the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition, a weeklong event that starts in Dallas on Friday.
The Valley Christian High School student, who made her concerto debut at age 10 and recital debut at 12, has won several competitions in California, as well as the Philadelphia International Piano Competition. She says the music of Chopin and Rachmaninoff resonates for her as an Asian-American girl. “Their music expresses a sense of longing and a desire to belong, which reminds me of my two cultural identities and how I belong to both worlds,” she said.
SUSHI AT SHORELINE: Sushi Confidential’s Randy Musterer is thrilled about his new location at Shoreline Amphitheater for the summer concert season, starting with Friday’s Dead & Company show. Musterer says they’ll be serving up poke tacos, the Cabo Conspiracy Roll and a signature Shoreline Roll right next to Guy Fieri’s burger joint.