Skip to content

Breaking News

  • San Jose's Winchester Mystery House was named one of the...

    San Jose's Winchester Mystery House was named one of the "Most Haunted Places in the World" by Time Magazine. (Photo: Patrick May/Staff)

  • The basement holds a coal buring furnace where visitors will...

    The basement holds a coal buring furnace where visitors will see the original furnace and the directions from the Herendeen Company of Geneva , New York at at the Winchester Mystery house in San Jose Tuesday April 29, 1998. (Contra Costa Times/Bob Larson)

  • The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose is the subject...

    The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose is the subject of "Winchester," a supernatural thriller that began filming Wednesday, March 15, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

  • Architectural components that were never installed are left in an...

    Architectural components that were never installed are left in an attic, which is a part of Winchester Mystery House's new Explore More Tour, on Sept. 9, 2016 in San Jose. The Skeleton Key Club is the mansion's new annual pass program which includes discounts, special benefits and the new Explore More Tour, starting in November. The tour will take visitors to rooms that have not been part of the general tours in the 93 years the mansion has been open to the public -- places such as an attic over the ballroom, or inside the unfinished north turret. For now, Explore More is only available to club members, but may be open for general admission next year. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

  • An exterior view of the Winchester Mystery House on Sept....

    An exterior view of the Winchester Mystery House on Sept. 9, 2016 in San Jose. The Skeleton Key Club is the mansion's new annual pass program which includes discounts, special benefits and the new Explore More Tour, starting in November. The tour will take visitors to rooms that have not been part of the general tours in the 93 years the mansion has been open to the public -- places such as an attic over the ballroom, or inside the unfinished north turret. For now, Explore More is only available to club members, but may be open for general admission next year. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

  • A view of a bedroom that is a part of...

    A view of a bedroom that is a part of Winchester Mystery House's new Explore More Tour, on Sept. 9, 2016 in San Jose. The Skeleton Key Club is the mansion's new annual pass program which includes discounts, special benefits and the new Explore More Tour, starting in November. The tour will take visitors to rooms that have not been part of the general tours in the 93 years the mansion has been open to the public -- places such as an attic over the ballroom, or inside the unfinished north turret. For now, Explore More is only available to club members, but may be open for general admission next year. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

  • The view at the end of a long corridor that...

    The view at the end of a long corridor that is a part of Winchester Mystery House's new Explore More Tour, on Sept. 9, 2016 in San Jose. The Skeleton Key Club is the mansion's new annual pass program which includes discounts, special benefits and the new Explore More Tour, starting in November. The tour will take visitors to rooms that have not been part of the general tours in the 93 years the mansion has been open to the public -- places such as an attic over the ballroom, or inside the unfinished north turret. For now, Explore More is only available to club members, but may be open for general admission next year. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

of

Expand
Sal Pizarro, San Jose metro columnist, ‘Man About Town,” for his Wordpress profile. (Michael Malone/Bay Area News Group)
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

The Winchester Mystery House is almost ready for its closeup. Production on “Winchester,” a supernatural thriller starring Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, kicked off Wednesday in Melbourne, Australia.

Filming at Winchester’s landmark Victorian mansion in San Jose — which has been a tourist destination since shortly after her death in 1922 — is expected to take place in May. The movie’s being directed by Australian identical twins Michael and Peter Spierig, who also wrote the screenplay.

The story follows the familiar — though probably fictional — lore that Winchester had the house continuously under construction for more than two decades to appease the spirits of those killed by the famous rifles made by her husband’s family. A skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist played by Jason Clarke (from “Terminator: Genisys”) investigates and creepiness ensues.

Sarah Snook (“The Dressmaker,” The Glass Castle) and Angus Sampson (“Insidious,” TV’s “Fargo”) have also been announced as part of the cast of the CBS Films production, expected to be released in 2018.


Reading this on your iPhone or iPad? Check out our new Apple News app channel here and click the + at the top of the page to save to your Apple News favorites.