Having a Blast at the Winchester Mystery House

Its ballroom features two meticulously crafted Tiffany art-glass windows. Here, she inscribed her most elegant clues for us. The windows have stained glass panels with lines from Shakespeare.

Deposed from power and alone in his cell, the king has an idea to create a world within his prison cell, populated only by his imaginings and ideas. Perhaps she only dimly perceived the sources of her unease, whether ghostly or profane. But she wove anguish into her creation, just as any artist pours unarticulated impulses into her work. Over repeated visits, I came to think that if a mind were a house, it would probably look like this.

The house is an architectural exteriorization of an anguished but playful inner life. Ideas, memories, fears and guilt occur to us all day long.

They come to consciousness. If they displease or terrify, we brood or fuss over them for a while, then revise them to make them manageable, or we plaster over them and suppress them, or refashion them into another idea. The family name was synonymous by the s with a multi-firing rifle, and the Winchester family had made its fortune sending more than 8 million of them into the world.

Winchester made charitable donations, certainly, and if she had wanted to, she could have become a philanthropist of greater renown. But the fact remains that she chose to convert a vast portion of her rifle fortune into a monstrous, distorted home; so we can now wander through her rooms imagining how one life affects others.

Instead of building a university or a library, Sarah Winchester built a counter-legend to the thousands of American gunslinger stories. And in this counter-legend, the ghosts of the gun casualties materialize, and we remember them. Business and the Making of an American Gun Culture. She has published two other books and numerous essays on a wide variety of topics. Subscribe or Give a Gift. Humans Reached the Roof of the World 40, Years. Learning to Speak Latino. Science Age of Humans. A New Treatment for Blindness. America's Most Revolutionary Artist. At the Smithsonian Visit. Looking at Artists Looking at Themselves.

Photos Submit to Our Contest. Photo of the Day. Subscribe Top Menu Current Issue. History World History Video Newsletter. The Gunning of America: Despite its dry desert landscapes, Utah is a land of surprises, and Glen Canyon is one of them, rivaling Arizona's Grand Canyon for sheer majesty. A supernatural horror film based around the assumption that ghost stories are all a load of superstitious nonsense would not, I suspect, be a great success. The officers of the Winchester company, still based in Connecticut, have heard rumours that Mrs Winchester, who still holds a controlling interest in the company even though she lives on the other side of the country, has gone mad and that she believes herself to be haunted by evil spirits.

They therefore appoint Eric Price, a psychiatrist, to examine her, hoping that he will declare her to be insane which will allow them to remove her from any position of control in the company. Was Price's surname chosen in homage to the late Vincent Price, a noted actor in horror films? Price is that familiar figure from horror films, the sceptic who is proved wrong. He initially believes that ghost stories are all a load of superstitious nonsense, but his acquaintance with Sarah Winchester and her extraordinary home soon persuades him to change his mind, and it becomes clear that he and Sarah are indeed threatened by vengeful spirits.

Particularly malevolent is the ghost of a young man who, to avenge the deaths of his brothers, Confederate soldiers cut down by the rifles of the Union army, killed several employees of the Winchester Company at their headquarters and was in his turn shot dead by the police. The film received largely negative reviews from the critics, but I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to. Whereas the likes to "The Haunting in Connecticut" and the recent rehash of "The Amityville Horror" tried very dubiously to pass themselves off as "true" stories, "Winchester" builds upon an intriguing blend of true history, legend and outright fiction to produce something of much greater interest, a story which does not leave the viewer with a "seen-it-all-before" feeling.

The film-makers were greatly assisted by their coup in persuading an actress as distinguished as Dame Helen Mirren, an actress you wouldn't normally associate with haunted-house horror movies, to star in the leading role. She invests Sarah with a good deal of dignity, making her a woman who is eminently sane, even if much of the world believes her to be mad. Dame Helen receives good support from Jason Clarke, an actor I had not previously come across, as Price, a man haunted by a personal tragedy, and one which he shares with Sarah. I do not understand why this movie is so underrated. It has a good amount of jumpscares, it creates a horror atmosphere that makes you wonder how would you feel if you were there and it does not reveal the exact end.

The movie has a great acting from Jason Clarke and Helen Mirel. It has a great portrait from superstitious people from the previous 10 decades. The directing was really great and the movie has a simple lovely story with a beginning and an end. What more do you want people nowadays? You re never pleased with horror movies so if you don't like this one you deserve to spend your time with other low movies. If you want to take my advice, watch this movie! The movie takes place solely in the Winchester mansion.

It's a small cast, wandering around the place, and there's ghosts, which give you the horror element, and there are some scares. But the scares are just a part of a beautifully crafted story. There's no gory, bloody stuff, or any of the cheesy horror tropes. What starts off as a seemingly creepy and exciting story, slowly builds into a psychological thriller, and as things reach a crescendo, the pieces of the puzzle come together to form a heartwarming climax. You get horror, drama and romance in a film that clocks in at less than two hours. Very well-crafted, and I didn't want this thing to end!

The entire cast is top-notch. The mansion, the way the camera moves around the place I have to see this again in a few days. Basically, if you've seen the trailer and it's got you interested, I bet you'll enjoy it! While I went to see it alone, I would recommend this for an edgier date for folks who dislike slasher and exorcism flicks.

I'd sit through this one holding someone's hand, or burrowing my nose into someone's shoulder, but mostly because of the few jump scares and some not too bad moments of suspense. I would like it so much more if it did not call back to "Thirteen Ghosts" so much in my mind. I liked the main character, the protagonist Doctor, while the reveal a-la "Sixth Sense" could have been done more effectively, with a more sophisticated denouement, I suppose.

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The Winchester family story wasn't quite elaborately presented, if only the film mentioned some true aspects of the story in the beginning, I'd have a different attitude towards certain aspects of the film. For example, the footprint of the home, the photo of Mrs. Story is good or the 2 A-List actors wouldn't have done it. Of the literally thousands of horror movies I've watched, -at the top of my head I can only think of around 20 that were actually good.

This one is in that list. Horror is my favorite genre too. I believe Winchester is a result of the success of The Conjuring in that The Conjuring was a successful scary movie based upon real people and real events. Winchester wasn't quite as scary as The Conjuring but I don't think it tried to be.

Sarah Winchester Helen Mirren is a widow and heiress to the Winchester fortune.

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Incredibly haunted by the many deaths caused by her husbands rifles she builds and builds upon her San Jose mansion in hopes to keep the spirits satiated. This is all true stuff that can be easily found and is even in the Guiness Book of World Records. The other members of the Winchester Repeating Arms company want to drive her out with the help of a doctors analysis of her.

The movie is about guilt. Sarah Winchester's guilt and even the guilt of Dr.

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Price Eric Clarke , the doctor being paid to psychoanalyze her. The scares seem to take a back seat at times to the story. There are a few jump scares one which was really good because it wasn't telegraphed like most jump scares. The cast is a solid cast being that I recognize the main actors. The movie is dark and ominous but it isn't one that will give you chills or nightmares. It's PG and a fairly clean PG at that--no foul language, nothing close to nudity and no blood.

As far as scary movies go this was pretty good. This movie has a good storyline, and great actors. Costumes were so well done. MickandRorty 3 February I think the lead doctor was cast just fine. Very Depp-esque think Secret window.

Beyond the Ghost Stories of the Winchester Mystery House

Miss Winchester worked with what she was given. But, the whole movie was very slow, and ended with cheesy cornballs. I think there are 3 jump scares, which were all done just fine. I just feel the whole climax of this movie was something that could have been straight out of "Are You Afraid Of The Dark? The year was in San Jose, California. San Francisco-based psychiatrist Dr. Sarah Winchester Helen Mirren. She had been obsessed about constantly building new rooms and sections to her house with no clear reasons, which caused concern among the members of her board.



Upon visiting her house, Dr. Price began seeing frightful visions. At first, he thought that these were just illusions from his addiction to laudanum. Price needed to get his act together to help the Winchesters figure out how to fight back against the violently disturbed spirit of Cpl. Benjamin Block Eamon Farren who was determined to exact his revenge.

Despite the American topic, this was actually an Australian production. Just last year, they directed the 8th installment of the "Saw" franchise called "Jigsaw" which I was not able to see. Sarah's helper and Laura Brent as Ruby, Eric's wife.

The History Behind The Winchester Mystery House

Helen Mirren seemed to be having a lot of fun wearing her oppressively black widow's gown and veil, which she wore for the entire length of this movie. Her acting was on the hammy side and was actually quite amusing to watch. She somehow gave the impression that she was not taking this project too seriously, and that may be a good thing in this case. She knows her character had some over-the-top lines and scenes, so she wisely played her with tongue-in-cheek.

Him getting jumpy, startled and freaked out as the tormented Dr. Price in this film must have been quite a fun change of pace for him. It was his character who went through a more complete story arc in film, and he did deliver, acting-wise. There was a remarkable detail in Dr. Price's life that was a nice little twist in the film which I appreciated. The only other film I saw Sarah Snook in was "Predestination". She was just limited to playing the concerned mother. Viewers of the rebooted "Twin Peaks" last year will recognize Eamon Farren.

His character Block was given quite a back story behind his vengeful anger. Of course, Angus Sampson was the comic relief for all the "Insidious" films. Here, all he did nothing much but to hammer doors shut with 13 pieces of nails. It did not have the Hollywood polish in terms of its cinematography and special effects.

The scenes which were set at night or in darkness were too dark and were difficult to watch. The horror visual effects were quite basic, not up to present standards. A lot of the scares were jump scares brought about by sudden jolts of a ghostly face or a sudden blast of sound. While certain aspects of the story were interesting, the pacing of the storytelling was rather slow and tedious at parts. Honestly, I could give credit to the set design and the whole crew who did their best to make the film look historically accurate.

However, I can't say there was anything scary nor was anything new with the plot. Everything was pretty basic and so were the story of love and all the other elements about how to lay a spirit to rest. Yet, I can't help but feel like their were certain rules in the spiritual realm as to how violent a spirit could become once it has been tainted by anger and hate.

I suppose-- the reason here is because I was rooting for this Film and it ended up into nothing. Brilliant clinteastwooda 23 February Almost every scene in this movie, I could see coming from a mile away. Even the jump scares were to be expected. I mean, this is one of the rare times where I don't read the plot synopsis before seeing the movie which I do a lot , and I could correctly guess almost everything in this movie.

Predictability is a bad thing when it comes to horror movies. You wanna be on the edge of your seat, wondering what's coming next. If you can guess what's coming, it makes the film somewhat of a snooze-fest. The meh-dialogue and flat characters don't help much either. The only interesting things in this movie are the vintage clothes, in my opinion. CineMuseFilms 21 February The gothic supernatural horror is a low-prestige genre and a risky platform to use for a contentious political issue like gun control.

It takes a brave filmmaker to imply moral culpability for anyone who makes instruments of death: To understand the message of this unremarkable but well executed 19th century horror story, viewers need to be aware that the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was and still is one of the world's biggest arms manufacturers. It helps also to understand the impact of a rapid-fire lever-action weapon when pitted against older single-shot firearms.

It's the same as the difference between the modern AR assault rifles used in mass shootings and a regular hunting rifle. When it first appeared, the Winchester repeater was described as that "damned Yankee rifle they load on Sunday and shoot all week". It led to carnage in the Civil War, and like the AR, was the most lethal killing machine of its time.

Heiress to the company, Sarah Winchester Helen Mirren is a deeply troubled soul. She believes her massive sprawling mansion is haunted and she is cursed by the ghost of every person killed by a Winchester firearm. The company hires Eric Price Jason Clarke to fabricate a report on her mental state, knowing he is a doctor with a drug problem and heavily in debt.

As Price spends time at the mansion he discovers more than he expected.

The 'Winchester' Movie Is Getting Terrible Reviews | The Mary Sue

The set design is based on a richly ornate reproduction of what is today called the Winchester Mystery House, a popular tourist attraction in San Jose, California. British Shakespearean actress Helen Mirren is an odd choice for an American heiress, but her imperious performance is impeccable for a recluse burdened by grief, guilt, and the supernatural. Jason Clarke is well cast as a fallen medico struggling to recover from the tragic loss of his family. All the right ingredients are present and accounted for in what is solid B-grade shlock.

What is there to commend this film? There is a dawning moment of recognition in the film's early chapter when the parallel with today's gun control debate becomes apparent. That is not to say it is obvious, and many viewers will read it as a horror story, pure and simple. The filmmaker does not sermonise nor overtly point fingers, but the notion that there is or should be moral accountability on every weapon maker for every death brought about by their work will be confronting for many.

If that is so, this ordinary horror rises beyond its station. Who allowed this film to be made?