I love my job, okay? I absolutely adore it, despite my antisocial tendencies. I love the history, I love the architecture and decor, I love the beautiful gardens, I love the creepy legends, and I love my coworkers. My biggest complaint tends to be the guests on my tours.
Which is no to say I hate everyone on my tours. On the contrary. Most people are great. I still rave about the really sweet man with the orange beard who bought his own flashlight on Christmas Eve (still one of the best guests I've ever had on one of my tours). Last weekend I had a pair of "Gravity Falls" cosplayers (my favourite show of all time) on one of my BTS tours and they were delightful and I genuinely wish I'd had more time to talk with them!
But occasionally we get the one crotchety person who ruins the whole fucking day even if everyone else we meet that day is amazing and wonderful.
That's where the idea for this post came from. But no one wants to be lectured of course. And often people find out I work here and ask me "Is it worth going? What should I expect?" So I decided to combine these two ideas into one post.
So you're going to visit the Winchester Mystery House? How can you get the most out of your experience and be the best possible guest you can be? Here are 10 tips!
1. Remember we can't control the weather.
Summer is upon us, which means tourist season and California sunshine. It is hot here - temperatures in the summer regularly get into the hundreds. And this house is an old historic landmark. They didn't have AC in the Victorian era, so no, we do not have AC in the house. We're not going to tear out the antique fixtures to put AC in the house and to expect it is frankly kind of ridiculous. The best we can do is put fans in some of the rooms. So dress for the weather! Wear shorts, not sweaters. Bring water bottles (water bottles are allowed in the house) to keep yourself hydrated, and bring sunscreen if you're planning to take the Grand Estate or Behind the Scenes tour. That will all help, but expect it to be hot anyway, and please do not complain to your tour guides. Remember, after your tour, you get to go into the air conditioned gift shop or car. We're stuck in the heat all day.
Likewise, if you come in the winter, the house is freaking freezing, so dress in warm layers and don't expect the rooms to be heated.
2. If you're genuinely uninterested, you are allowed to leave.
This is another pet peeve of mine, when people clearly only came on tour because a guidebook told them to, not because they actually want to see the house. These people tend to be very unpleasant and can sometimes ruin the tour for those who actually want to be here. If you're expecting something gimmicky like the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot or the fictional Mystery Shack from "Gravity Falls", you're going to be disappointed. Our mysterious element is still there, but it's more subdued. More Victorian if you will. A subtle creepy - think the subtle creep factor like an Edgar Allen Poe story, not an in-your-face creepiness like a slasher movie. And we are, over everything else, a historic house museum.
So if it's not what you expect and you want to leave, you don't have to suffer. You can tell your tour guide and we can get you out of the house. You don't have to give us a reason if you're afraid of being rude. You can just pull us aside before everyone gets into a room and whisper, "hey, I'd like to leave, is that okay?" It's okay, trust me.
3. Ask questions!
Your tour guide works here because we are enthusiastic about the house. We like talking about it, and about Sarah Winchester. Many of us like talking about history as well. And there is a lot of additional information that we will not give on the tour unless asked. You want to know if your tour guide has had any paranormal experiences or how the Victorians typically mourned or why there are little brass triangles in the corners of Mrs. Winchester's stairs? Don't be shy about asking - we love getting questions. Answering questions establishes a rapport with the guests, and my favourite guests tend to be the ones who are genuinely interested in learning these things. (The ginger-bearded man and the Pines twins cosplayers both were interested and asked questions, thus my affection for them.) If your tour guide doesn't know the answer off the top of our head, we will call the tour guide station and our superiors will answer your question if an answer is available.
However, the flip side for this is that there are some things we don't know. If you want to know Sarah Winchester's birthday, I am sorry, but that information has been lost. The courthouse in Connecticut that had her birth certificate burned down. You want to know her favourite colour or food? I'm sorry, the answer is going to be "we don't know." The woman did not keep a diary.
4. Follow the rules.
The rules are not that complicated. Don't touch anything except the bannisters if you need them. Don't take photos. Don't eat or drink inside the house except for water. Don't lag behind. That's it. Four simple rules. And yet you would be surprised how many people think they don't apply to them. Look, guys, if you don't follow the rules, we do have the right to kick you out. That's not pleasant for anyone. No one likes rules - even the tour guides don't really like all the rules - but everyone needs to follow them. Come on, don't be a jerk.
People complain about the prices rising in recent years, but maintenance on an old Victorian, especially one this size, is expensive. When people continue to touch the walls and antique fixtures, that means more maintenance, which means we need to charge more to afford it. If you want ticket prices to go back down, stop touching things. It hurts the house. Ditto for food and drink and gum. You may say you won't spill, but you will and it's a pain to clean up. Also it can stink up a room and ruin the experience for everyone else. The no photos thing is for your protection - the interior of the house is under copyright by a movie company, and if their lawyers see you posting photos you might get sued. Also if we catch you taking photos we have to kick you out. You can take photos outside so put your cameras away inside! And as for lagging behind, if you keep doing it we need to start in rooms without you to stay on schedule, which means you're missing information and screwing yourself over.
The rules are there to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for everyone. Be kind to your fellow guests and tour guides! Follow the rules!
5. You don't have to leave a tip, but it's nice.
Look, I get it. We're not a cheap attraction. I get that sometimes you just don't have the cash to tip your tour guide. It's totally optional to do so. If you're able to afford it, though, it is nice. We work really hard. We walk miles every day and talk the whole time, trying our best to be informative and entertaining, so it's nice to know we're appreciated.
If you want to show your appreciation but you can't afford to tip, however, that's okay too. There are comment boxes in the courtyard, so another way of showing appreciation would be write us a nice comment card saying what you liked about our tour. They don't have to be complicated, it can be something as simple as "My wife and I really appreciated how Gertrude was enthusiastic and eager to answer our questions!" (We don't actually have a tour guide named Gertrude but you get the idea.) Or if you don't have time to do that, maybe leave us a nice Yelp review. Even if you just tell us to our face at the end of the tour, "Gertrude, you were really great, we really enjoyed our tour," we will be happy!
6. Dress comfortably.
I already mentioned dressing for the weather, and I will repeat that here - wear shorts in the summer and jackets in the winter - but there's more to this than weather. Every now and then I'll get a woman on a tour in stilettos and every time I am astounded. The mansion tour alone is about a mile long, and you climb up and down 180+ stairs, some of them very tall or very short. That's not even including the Behind the Scenes tour. Heels are probably not the best choice.
Other suggestions? Wear loose and comfortable clothes, not tight jeans that will be hard to walk in. Dress appropriately - I will never forget the tour where a man was wearing a shirt that said 'FUCK YOU' and his girlfriend stood in front of him in every room so the little kids on tour wouldn't see it, glaring at him and once telling him "you should have worn something else". So don't wear something you wouldn't want children to see. Wear shoes that are broken in already so you don't get blisters. And wear clean clothes, because if you smell everyone will have to deal with that for an hour.
7. If you're a vegetarian, eat before you come.
We do have a cafe in the gift shop, but there aren't a lot of vegetarian options. I've been a vegetarian for about a decade now, and I can tell you I am not fond of the veggie burgers at the cafe. I've heard good things about our sliders and other meaty options, but if you don't eat meat, you're kinda stuck with either sweets, salad, or those unappetizing veggie burgers.
If you aren't from around here, there's a vegan restaurant in Santana Row across the street that's pretty affordable, it's called Veggie Grill. I'd budget enough time and money to visit there either before or after your tour.
8. Pay attention to the little details.
Victorians were all about little details, so really soak them in while you're here. Notice the beautifully designed hinges and the elegant wood detailing. Look at the hand-painted sink in the Hall of Fires, the daisy-shaped drain in the last kitchen you see, and the ceilings in the Grand Ballroom and Mrs. Winchester's bedroom. Even the air vents are beautiful.
Alternately, the house famously has many examples of the number 13, and the official tour script only points out a few of them. It's fun to keep an eye out - most of the rooms have at least one. Maybe there's 13 panels in a wall or ceiling, or 13 steps on the staircase you're walking on, or 13 petals on that stained glass daisy.
At the same time, accept that you will not see everything. I have been working here for over a year and I am still noticing little details that I didn't notice before. If you're not sure what to pay attention to or if there's a 13 in the room, you can always ask your tour guide to point out something about the room.
9. Be respectful of the house and of Sarah Winchester.
It's a tourist attraction now, but remember that this was once somebody's home. Please treat it as such - you are a guest in Mrs. Winchester's home. If you wouldn't go into someone's house and insult their decor choices, don't do it here either. That's just rude and makes everyone think you're an asshole.
Likewise, be respectful of Mrs. Winchester as well. She was a human being, and most of the tour guides are very fond of her and thus very defensive of her. She had a very tragic life and lived at a time where independent women like her were looked upon with suspicion rather than admiration. She wasn't "crazy" - she was likely depressed but she was NOT CRAZY so don't say that, that's rude as hell! Especially if you believe in ghosts - for all you know, her ghost is still around and can hear you say that, so why would you say it? Her life was hard enough without your judgmental ass. Personally, I think she was ahead of her time and had a lot of wonderful ideas. Dismissing her like this is the quickest way to make me hate having you on my tour.
10. Remember that San Jose has a lot more history and beauty to offer if you're interested.
Some of my fellow tour guides don't like being asked what else there is to do in San Jose, but a lot of us - including me - love answering that question. If you have one of the tour guides that doesn't, don't worry, I've got you. You ready for all these links?
If you like history and architecture, Ainsley House and the Campbell History Museum are right down the street. If you want to stay in the Victorian Era just a little longer, across the street there's a lovely Victorian-esque tea room called Lisa's Tea Treasures (they also have a second location in nearby Campbell). Also close by (in other directions) are the Naglee Park Area with the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and the gorgeous Rose Garden and many historic houses, a beautiful monastery, and San Jose's "Antiques Row" shopping area. A little further but still close enough are Mission Santa Clara, Hayes Mansion, Saratoga's Hakone Gardens, or Kelley Park with both History Park and the Japanese Friendship Garden. San Jose also has a historic Japantown with its own museum. If you're more interested in the recent history of the Silicon Valley's tech industry, the Tech Museum is downtown, and just a bit north of San Jose are the Computer History Museum and the Steve Jobs house.
Oh and hey I've also got a convenient blog post ready for you (though some things I've already said will be repeated) if you're looking for something else.
Above all? Keep an open mind. San Jose may not be as exciting as San Francisco, but if you explore it you're sure to find something that tickles your fancy.
So you're going to visit the Winchester Mystery House? Well if you do, I genuinely hope you have fun. And if I'm working that day, come say hi!
~Nym~
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