FAQs

With a house as mysterious as this one, guests are bound to have questions. If one of your questions isn’t covered below, please contact us.

Open daily from 10AM-4PM on weekdays and 10AM-7PM on weekends (closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day). 

Closing times vary, please check our Buy Tickets page for current tour times. For up to date information, call us at 408-247-200 or visit our Facebook page

Because we are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, we understand all about traffic making you late for something!  Never fear, our team will take care of you.  If you are 5-10 minutes late, you can be caught up to your tour or we will get you placed on the next available tour.

If you have a ticket voucher or complimentary ticket, please come to the estate and redeem it at the box office. You will be put on the next available tour.

Guests with a ticket voucher must come to the box office on estate to redeem their tickets.  You will be put on the next available tour.

Yes, we have two complimentary parking lots available onsite. One is directly on property and the other is directly across the street. We do advise larger vehicles and RV’s to utilize the lot across the street. If both parking lots are full, you can find additional parking located at Santana Row. Please be aware that Olsen Drive does not permit on-street parking, and towing or ticketing may occur. We also offer lockers on site for valuables and luggage.

All that talk of paranormal sometimes worries parents that the tour will be to scary for children. Not to worry – all ages are welcome and the tour is very family friendly! Children five and under are free and ages 6-12 will need a ticket. However, due to the exposed areas of the Walk With Spirts Tour and safety concerns, children under 5 are not permitted. We do ask that any minor be accompanied with an adult at any time. So go ahead, bring the family!

We love furry companions, but unfortunately, we do not allow pets on the estate except for service animals. Visiting and need a place to leave your pet? There are a few doggie day cares nearby.

 

Due to the age of our historic home, there is no central air or heat. While we do have fans in the summertime and heaters in the wintertime, we cannot heat/cool the entire house completely. We do advise all guests to dress for the time of year, light layers during summer and a warm jacket for winter. If you get uncomfortable on tour, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to assist you.

Yes, we do! We have several special event spaces, and can do buy outs and group tours. We even host weddings! More information can be found on our Book An Event page.

We would love to host your group. We are a very popular option for groups and team building. We ask that our private group tours are 20 or more guests. For school and youth groups, the minimums are 20. Please contact our group sales team for more information.

We get it, our gift shop is filled with some amazing stuff! We offer some items online and are always looking to expand our product lines. If you saw something you really can’t live without, or need to do a return, call us and we’ll do our best to help!

Nothing worse that missing that one of kind photo. What’s the opposite of buyers remorse? Never fear, you can contact our photography vendor, Mystery Pix to get your photos!

We are happy to announce that our photo policy has recently changed due to overwhelming customer feedback. As of September 2018, we allow photography during daytime tours inside the mansion. There is still no photography during nighttime tours due to safety requirements. Videography or live streaming is not allowed on while on tour due to copyright. So, take some pics, share them on social and tag us #winchestermysteryhouse.

We have many guests who believe that they have captured something unexplained in a photo. While we would love to be able to confirm, or deny that you did, the Winchester Mystery House® staff are not photo experts. We do encourage you to post your photo on Instagram with hashtag #winchestermysteryhouse, and let the community decide!

Tickets to Sarah’s Winchester’s Garden Tour grants you access to the gardens and grounds if you would like to visit the estate.

Due to Sarah Winchester’s home being built in a period even prior to elevators, the house is not easily accessible. We do have three elevators she installed later in construction of the Winchester Mystery House®, but due to safety of our guests, these are inoperable. We do offer a video access tour on the property, click here for details.

Winchester Mystery House® is a historic home and is not currently wheelchair accessible. However, the grounds and gift shop are wheelchair accessible. In addition, there is a video access tour available by appointment.

Spending the night in a reportedly haunted house sounds like fun – if you are into that sort of thing. But unfortunately, at this time, Winchester Mystery House® is not open for overnight guests. We are always looking at offering new experiences, but for now you’ll have to settle in for the night somewhere else. However, a few times a year there are nighttime tours. Check our calendar for dates & details.

Onsite dining is currently unavailable.

Unfortunately, food is not allowed on tours, however bottled beverages with a sealed cap are. We do encourage guests to bring a bottle of water on tour, especially during the warm summer months.

Over our 95 year history we have hosted famous investigators like Houdini, Sylvia Brown, James Van Praagh, Zak Bagans and most recently TAPS West Coast. We’ve been featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Ghost Adventures and many others. As the caretakers of Sarah Winchester’s home, we do limit investigation to those that will respect Sarah Winchester’s memory and her beautiful, yet bizarre home. You can contact our marketing department to inquire further.

That’s just part of the mystery, right? Since 1923, many guests and employees have experienced strange phenomena while inside Sarah Winchester’s beautiful mansion. We’ve been listed on plenty of “world’s most haunted places” lists. We encourage you to come and find out for yourself.

Winchester Mystery House receives a large number of requests for donations to worthy causes, therefore we require all requests to be done through our donation request form here. Donations requests via email, mail or phone will not be processed. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your patience while we process your request.

At this time, we are not purchasing or receiving donations of any furnishings or guns that are not historically significant to our property.

It is owned by Winchester Mystery House®, LLC, a private organization dedicated to sharing Sarah Winchester’s mysterious home in an unforgettable way.

Throughout the year, we may offer seasonal or promotional discounts. Please see our Discounts & Promotions page for current information on offerings.

Guests that purchase onsite are given the first available tour, which during busy days may be up to a 1-2 hour wait time. The benefit of booking your tour online is the ability to select your tour time in advance and plan your visit accordingly. There is a convenience fee when buying online that does not apply when purchasing at the box office.