“Sidewalks Entertainment” host Lori Rosales visits The Winchester Mystery House: Unhinged in San Jose, CA. She gives us her thoughts on the Halloween event.
I’ve been to Halloween Haunts and Halloween Haunted Houses before, but never have I experienced anything like Winchester Mystery House: Unhinged. It’s not just a Haunted House, it is an unworldly experience.
We had the VIP or as they named these passes, “RIP” tickets. With the “RIP” tickets you get expedited access through two haunt routes and early estate admission. Included with your ticket are an limited edition Unhinged lanyard, 1 drink voucher (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), an Unhinged t-shirt, and a coupon for 10% in the gift shop. All in all, the RIP ticket was well worth it and really added to my experience at the event. I highly encourage experiencing both* routes. You definitely don’t want to miss either one and with the RIP tickets you won’t miss a thing.
The theme for this year’s “haunt” was “prohibition era”. So if you have any “Great Gatsby” or “Roaring Twenties” costumes lying around, these will come in handy if you want to dress to impress and Unhinged. My bestie and I were given many compliments from both the staff and guests on our flapper costumes at Unhinged. It was a lot of fun.
When we arrived to the mansion (and once we went through security) we entered the garden where we were greeted by a butler. Not only was he in costume but he was also in full* character. Every character of Unhinged was in costume and in full character. Not once in our entire time at Unhinged did any one of them break character. The butler explained the festivities of the night, who our hosts are and their backstories, and reminded us of our reserved time to enter the mansion (Winchester House).
After our interaction with the butler, we explored the garden where the party and festivities were taking place. There were plenty of tables and seats for the guests, 1920’s dressed actors were greeting guests and taking photos with them, there were Tarot reading tents where guests were having their fortunes read, 1920’s style carnival games, an area where a Hollywood Producer (character) was filming movies and looking for the “next big star”, and an outdoor 1920’s style stage for the night’s performances. The performance included flapper dancing, magic tricks, Charlie Chaplin, our hosts (fictional characters) Miles and Flora Taylor and more.
The bar had spooky themed drinks. Some here even served in “blood bags” and oversized syringes. All food and drink booths were easy to locate and though the lines were a bit long, they moved quickly without compromising quality. Everything was tasty and delicious.
After enjoying the garden party we went on our first mansion route. The trail to enter the house was covered in fog. It felt like we were entering the opening scene of a scary movie. There’s a small cemetery you walk past with a groundskeeper who is very much in costume and very much in character. The entire set-up looks just like in the movies and we didn’t even get to the entrance yet. The line goes along the house and has rigged props for jump scares like falling “peek-a-boo” spooky mannequins and ladders and paint cans that appear as though they’re about to tumble on you but don’t. When we finally arrived at the entrance we are welcomed by a Maître d’. In character, he informs us of what is in store for us in the mansion and to enter at our own risk. Before entry, he has us watch a short film that explains the rules of the haunt. The film itself is also in 1920’s theme and is in black and white (Like a Charlie Chaplin film). After the film, we finally entered the house.
Much of the house is very dark with nothing but shadows and flickering lights. It genuinely felt like I was the protagonist of a horror film. In hindsight, the production of this haunted house experience seemed to touch on every fear anyone could have. From aliens, to zombies, gore and murder, ghosts, giant spiders, and so much more. There were rooms and corridors with these themes to them. If you’re a big movie buff you’ll definitely feel a sense of nostalgia in that these themes are similar to scenes in many horror film classics.
Continuing on along the route, there are performances made by characters. These performances are Prologues to what we see the further in we go. Their performances give back stories to what happens in the rooms ahead. These performances were truly a highlight. It really added to this haunted house experience and took everything to the next level. The professionalism and dedication the actors had in their performances throughout the night (in and out of the mansion) were fantastic.
Both routes provided this same experience but each with it’s own “charm”. Both routes were so great, I wouldn’t be able to choose between the two. They were both fantastic. The actors and even the props were movie quality. If I didn’t already have plans the following weekends I definitely would have gone again.
All in all I am very much looking forward to what they have in store for next year. If you’ve never been and are available to attend The Winchester Mystery House: Unhinged on Halloween night I highly recommend it. It’s more than haunted house. It’s a horror film experience. Or maybe it’s your worst nightmare. Either way you should definitely go and find out.
Official Site: The Winchester Mystery House