The Winchester Mystery House is eerie enough as it is, making it almost redundant to stage a Halloween haunted house event there. But as someone who has toured Sarah Winchester’s sprawling mansion more times than I can remember, I have to concede that the new Festival Fright Nights event won me over.
And based on the screams and laughs coming from crowds the night I visited, lots of other visitors are getting a kick out of it, too.
Festival Fright Nights, which opened last Friday and run through Nov. 1, is produced by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment, which produces other Halloween themed events in historic locations like the Queen Mary in Long Beach and the Old Joliet Prison in Illinois. So they definitely understand how to be respectful of a historic property, while having fun playing with both the unique locations and the lore.
At the Winchester Mystery House, they’ve set up three main attractions that take people through the mansion itself, the outdoor greenhouse and carriage house — which are entirely unrecognizable and frightening — and, finally, into the basement. There are also two add-ons: a creepy flashlight tour through a different part of the basement and a thrill-ride of a séance show that has its roots in Harry Houdini’s actual 1924 visit to the mansion. The performers scattered around the house and grounds provide just enough interaction — and jump scares — to make the whole experience unnerving.
It takes about 90 minutes to get through the whole thing, though it could be more if you meander at an outdoor carnival where Smashing Plates has put together an appetizing snacks menu, including a few cocktails and mocktails that lean into the theme including a red drink served in an IV blood bag. (There’s also a speakeasy bar for VIP ticketholders, which is the only spot you can actually have a drink inside the mansion.)
Winchester Mystery House Executive Director Walter Magnuson said he was very impressed with the way Thirteenth Floor utilized all the house’s spaces in their narrative, which involves a new owner taking over the mansion after Sarah Winchester’s death and throwing a Halloween ball there in 1924. But all of his servants seem to be undead or unhinged. There’s a lot of “American Horror Story: Murder House” vibe, for sure, but it works.
Get tickets and more details at www.festivalfrightnights.com.
AWARD MATERIAL: Hunger at Home packed the Corinthian Grand Ballroom in downtown San Jose last Friday night for its annual Bridge the Gap gala, which featured Suzanne St. John-Crane doing double duty. She was both the emcee and the entertainment, providing vocals with her band, Pearl Alley.
That wasn’t the only surprise of the evening, though. Hunger at Home CEO Ewell Sterner provided that when he called up board member Michael Miller for an unexpected honor, the inaugural presentation of an award in his name. Miller — who previously led American Musical Theatre San Jose, CMT San Jose and San Jose Jazz — has worn several hats for Hunger at Home over the past few years.
“Whether navigating complex financials or rolling up his sleeves at a food distribution site, he led with humility and purpose,” Sterner said. “He reminded us that behind every budget line is a family, a neighbor, a life we have the power to uplift.”
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Four Santa Clara County artists have been announced as recipients of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards, an honor named in memory of the late Mercury News columnist. This year’s honorees, selected from nearly 100 applicants, are actor and singer Lauren Berling, paper artist Bernadette Fahmy, musician William Johnston and opera singer Deborah Martinez Rosengaus.
They’ll each receive a $5,000 unrestricted grant, and they’ll perform or otherwise present their art Oct. 15 at the Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose during a special meeting of the Rotary Club of San Jose, which sponsors the awards. The 12:15 p.m. event is free and open to the public, but you need to RSVP at weimersawards.com to attend.
DOG-GONE ACTORS: The cast for Palo Alto Players’ production of “Annie” in November is set with one exception: the orphan’s four-legged pal, Sandy. The company posted a video of its “Sandy Paw-ditions” — featuring lazy cats, wild pooches and even a tortoise. Not quite what the producers are looking for.