by Samantha Hendricks

Created on: July 14, 2009

If you've ever wanted to be in a 3D M.C. Escher painting, then be sure to visit the Winchester Mystery House as it is as close as one can get. Complete with staircases leading to nowhere and windows in the floor, the Winchester Mystery House will keep you guessing about whether your feet are standing on the floor or the ceiling. Keeping your bearings straight on a tour of this Victorian mansion will be an exciting challenge for all who dare to try it.

This 160 room mansion was built by the widow Sarah Winchester who believed that evil spirits lived in her house. Because of the death of her husband and the untimely death of her baby girl, she was determined to spend her inheritance keeping the evil spirits away from her. The design of the house is meant to mislead the evil spirits leading them up staircases to nothing and out windows in the floor. She never found the design to be enough and continued to build and add to it until her death almost four decades later. It even used to have seven stories before the earthquake of 1906, but since then it only has four.

One woman's obsessive attempt to keep evil spirits away has become a fantastic site for anyone in the Sane Jose area. You would get lost in this house without the guided tour. As part of the regular tour you see 110 of the 160 rooms, and for an extra fee you can go on a tour of some of the unfinished rooms and one of the basements which shows a more eerie side than some of the other wings of the house. In addition to the house tours, there is a garden tour, two museums, a cafe, and a gift shop.

The house and estate is open every day except Christmas day from 9am-3pm, or 9am-5pm depending on the season. During the summer it is open on the weekends from 9am-7pm. The house is even open for Halloween and the tours are meant more for people interested in truly being scared! You can get an annual pass for $55 and visit as often as you like which is a terrific deal for those living in the area. Otherwise tickets are $20-$31 depending on the tour you're interested in.

The mansion tour aspect of the mystery house is unfortunately not wheelchair or stroller accessible. Those with children in strollers should plan on carrying their children in a backpack or baby wrap or have them walk if they're old enough and able. People in wheelchairs will not be able to access the house but are allowed to go on tours of the estate grounds free of charge.

If you find yourself in San Jose, be sure to check out the Winchester Mystery House. You can call ahead or check out the website for more details on what's available. It's located at 525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose, CA 95128. The phone number is (408)-247-2101 and the website is http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/.

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