The Ultimate Haunted House Comes to the Big Screen
If you live in Northern California, you will know of the Winchester Mystery House. When I was a child, the famed gigantic mansion in San Jose had massive billboards in the city with a big grim reaper superimposed over the rambling mansion’s silhouette. I was entranced by the image of that haunted place. Despite my pleas, my parents never took me there, telling me it was a tourist trap (which meant nothing to me as a child… I also begged to go to any roadside attraction with a big billboard.) Eventually, my grandmother took me there and it was GREAT! Stairs that went nowhere. Doors that opened on to a twenty-foot drop! Rooms with no way in! It was all rather bizarre. I have grown up to be an architect, and without reservation, I can say that this house is one of my favorite places in the world. It’s a hot sprawling Victorian mess of a structure, but what better expression of madness in construction is there than this place?
Now this bizarre house, and its batshit crazy owner, Sarah Winchester, heiress of the rifle fortune bearing her name, is coming to the big screen. And the fabulous Dame Helen Mirren is going to play Sarah Winchester! Jason Clarke also stars as the psychologist brought in to evaluate Sarah’s mental state. The movie is definitely going to delve into the ghostly history of the building, and the trailer suggests fabulous sets and some decent spooks. Did I remember to mention Helen Mirren? So yeah, I’m going to go see this for sure.
Winchester is rated PG-13 and will be released Nationwide on February 2.