Winchester Mystery House

Reviews 3

BO

Bonnie A.

Honestly, our tour guide ruined our experience. I have been on this tour before and it was wonderful the last time (several years ago). We went on the 6:50 p.m. tour this past Friday night, 10/28/16. Our tour guide was incredibly rude. She was "in character" which was somewhat of an effort I suppose, but she went out of her way to embarrass, belittle, talk down to and single out different people in the group which was completely inappropriate and not cute in any way. Everyone was following the rules of the tour and because we were essentially in the dark and were not allowed to use the flashlights from our phones if needed and were not given anything to provide lighting in darker areas (the last time we went on the night tour we were given flashlights to use to see while in the house), some people were walking cautiously, especially on stairs and steps. It is very easy to fall or trip in some areas if youre not careful to watch where you are walking. She went out of her way to call out and try to embarrass people for being the last to get to the next room or being a little slower than some others. There was not one person that lagged behind far enough to not be with the group still. People want to get their moneys worth and the groups were too big this time so naturally everyone wanted to see the things the people in the front saw in the very beginning and looked at them on their way out of the rooms. One poor woman had her cell phone on vibrate and it was making noise because of what it was buzzing against in her bag so she raced to try and turn it off all the way and our guide stopped the tour, telling the entire room how unpleased and irritated she was about the phone and then proceeded to single out the woman, telling her if she touched the phone other than to turn it completely off she would break it. The woman was very embarrassed and the guide continued to use it as a punch line for the remainder of the tour. I have literally never felt more disrespected at any public venue in my life. Being treated like and spoken to like an unruly child, talked down to, called out for things like whispering to another person, being too slow, asking what she thought were "stupid, unintelligent" questions and not answering questions with the whole group, in front of 20 plus people and being made fun of was beyond inappropriate. We spent 50 dollars a person for this tour and the tour guide made it an unpleasant experience. Even the second we walked in to start the tour she was raising her voice at us. People were turned off right then, but wanted to give her a chance thinking it may just be a little overkill on her character. There is a no refund policy, so even though quite a few of us wanted to leave, we knew we could not our money back. Instead of giving us a little of the history on the house, we got the same treatment of an unruly kindergarden class. After the tour, we had other people from the group approach us to talk about the way the group was treated. Most people did the mature thing and ignored her, but she would again stop the entire tour to put them on the spot and try to embarrass them, refusing to proceed until they answered her on whatever she was asking. IE: "Do you think the rest of these people feel like waiting for you to get all the way in this room? I know it may be too intelligent of a question for you but we are all waiting." The staff in the store was very friendly and helpful and the grounds are pretty. They no longer have the haunted house/haunted corn maze attraction, which was one of the best Id ever been to and really made the price worth it. The tours were overcrowded and tour groups were running into each other in the house, making it difficult to hear your own guide. I used to recommend this place to everyone based on my first experience, and brought people with me this time that had never been, but going forward I think Ill be less likely to do so based on this last visit. Its too bad because it really is a beautiful place with a lot of potential.

JI

Jim Perkins

After seeing an episode of "You Asked For It" in the 1950s Ive always wanted to see the Winchester House. I finally got to see it with my family, in the middle of the week in late March. Our tour group through the house had about 15 people in it. My family and I found the tour very interesting. If youre interested in odd history, house construction, house innovations, glass windows, or Victorian architecture youll probably like this. Youll see numerous windows, hallways, closets, and stairs in the 40,000+ square foot home. Youll see the effects of the 1906 SF earthquake and youll get to ponder what Mrs. Winchester was planning for the future of this house. One needs to say is that the house is on the National Register of Historic Places but is not supported by government money. The grounds are well kept up (trimmed, pruned, and flowers planted) and the house is fairly well kept up and clean but showing some of the effects of the large crowds going through it (chipped paint, the need for runners, need for some painting of the roof, wear on the floors, etc). I was surprised to see that the numerous windows were clean. Like others have said the tour guide is a crucial element of your enjoyment of the house and grounds. Our house guide was very entertaining and made the tour interesting. He was knowledgeable and enthusiastic besides throwing bad puns throughout the tour that everyone laughed and groaned over. Our grounds guide was different and made you feel he was anxious to get the tour over. Although he did impart a lot of interesting information it was not with much enthusiasm. (For this I rate the service as not excellent) Others have complained there was little furniture in the house and that it was not original. This is an unfair comment since the original furniture was immediately sold off after Mrs. Winchesters death and could not be traced. Some rooms do have furniture in them to give you a feel of what it would have been like. But the majority of the rooms are empty. Others have commented on the need to sell the house as a mystery or haunted house and not as much as a historical relic. I feel this is true. However our house guide did do a good job of presenting both ideas. I did notice that the associated gift shop did not have any historical books about Sarah Winchester, the family, and the house but they did have the typical commentary picture book of the house on sale. Was Mrs. Winchester driven to do house construction because of the spirits of those who were killed by the Winchester rifle or was she a woman with unlimited means and a desire to continuously remodel? Its a fascinating question and youll have to visit the house to decide.

DA

Daniel Eakin

Theres two things I love: history and a good value. Youll find neither here. Face it, everything you know about this house came from paranormal TV shows. Let me clear up some of that. When the widow Winchester died in 1922, within 6 months her empty home--remember that--was bought by carnival hucksters looking to make a buck. They promoted outlandish stories about her and the house in order to draw people in, and those same stories persist to bring paying customers today. Im ashamed that I was one of them. For $94 for the two of us (thats right: $94!), we got to see most of the house and be inundated with cheesy ghost stories from teenage tour guides with such bad intonation that we seriously considered skipping out early. There were 25 people in our group. Picture 25 people standing in the biggest bathroom in your house. Thats how crammed-in we were for $94. The rooms are mostly empty, and what little furniture is there was added later. Almost none of it was in the mansion originally. As to the stairwells, windows, and doors "to nowhere" that make it so famous... the house was heavily damaged in the 1906 earthquake and parts of it are simply not there anymore. In fact, the only interesting thing I got to see were the rooms that were never used again after the earthquake. They still have shattered plaster walls and missing fireplaces, to give you some idea just how serious the quake was. Now, another word about those ghosts: at one point we were shown (with great fanfare) an enlarged photo of a bright figure standing in a window. We were told it was the ghost of a maid that worked there many years ago and never left. As the group moved to the next room, through a nearby door I spotted a mannequin dressed like a maid, carefully hidden out of sight. Hear me, people: there are no ghosts in this house. If there were, it would be Sarah herself kicking these people out of her beautiful home and punishing them for bilking tourists by telling lies about her. PS - They have a "no photography" policy, and even though its a registered historic landmark, its privately owned so they can do whatever they want. Just skip the place. Maybe eventually their prices will come down and theyll bother to do some actual historic research that gives the home some dignity.

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