On Saturday, the Winchester Mystery House announced some of its plans for the remainder of the year, which include honoring the life of Winchester Rifle heiress Sarah Winchester on the 100th anniversary of her passing and the return of its Halloween event Unhinged.
Sarah Winchester passed away at her home in her bed on September 5, 1922. 100 years later, the Winchester Mystery is inviting guests to celebrate her legacy with a special event on September 5, 2022. Details around the event are still being finalized, but General Manager of the Winchester Mystery House, Walter Magnuson, shared that the event will include a special tour and a special commemorative gift.
During the day, the tours will feature special remembrances of Sarah and focus on some of the charitable work she did in her life. At night, the Winchester Mystery House has invited medium James Van Praagh to lead a special seance in the grand ballroom of the home and walking tour. Details on the special 100th-anniversary events are expected to be available on the Winchester Mystery House website soon, and tickets will be limited.
For fans of the Winchester Mystery House Halloween event, Unhinged, it was announced that after a two-year hiatus, the event would be returning for 2022 with Unhinged: Nightshade’s Curse. The event will feature returning favorite characters, the Wheelbarrow Ghost, The Bride, the Swamp Hag, Little Mary, Headless Helena, and The Caretaker, among others, along with all-new characters, the biggest of which is Madame Nightshade. Madame Nightshade is an entrepreneurial owner of a small traveling carnival and self proclaimed investigator of supernatural phenomena. She has convinced the owners of the Winchester Estate to set up her show for thirteen nights.
Unhinged: Nightshade’s Curse will tell an all-new story and feature both an outdoor and indoor show. Outside will be Madame Nightshade’s Spirit Carnival, which will be filled with plenty of entertainment and games, but will also be where Madame Nightshade appears as she obsessively tries to contact and control the spirit world with the help of the audience in an attempt to create a bridge between the two worlds. The carnival’s look and feel is inspired by the old medicine shows, spookshows, and the spiritualist movement.
After helping Madame Nightshade connect with the spirit world, guests will be lead by phantasms to the Winchester house, which for the first time will feature two routes. Unfortunately, guests won’t be able to select their route, it will be chosen for them, but Winchester Mystery House Creative Director Michael Taffe jokes, “bring your Depends,” because his goal is “to make it as scary as possible this year.”
Unhinged: Nightshade’s Curse will take place on 13 select nights in September and October. Tickets will be available soon. For more information visit winchesterunhinged.com
