Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Mystery House have brought intrigue to the Bay Area for decades. This month, they also brought us Helen Mirren.
The Oscar-winning actress arrived in San Jose last week to film scenes for the new movie, Winchester, a thriller about gun heiress and possibly insane person Sarah Winchester. Written and directed by brothers Peter and Michael Speirig, Winchester has filmed most of the movie's scenes on a replica estate in Australia. Mirren came to town to shoot scenes in one particular room of the original house.
The Winchester Mystery House, for those who've never enjoyed a tour, is a Victorian-era home of 160 rooms, many of which were added by Winchester herself as she spun deeper and deeper inter her own world of seances and spirituality. Stairways lead straight into ceilings and some doors open onto blank walls—all designed to keep evil spirits away. The estate is a popular tourist spot, especially around Halloween, and night tours are particularly spooky. Naturally, it's said to be haunted by Winchester herself.
It looks like Mirren might agree. "This house is a manifestation of Sarah Winchester," the actress told CBS5. "And I think in that sense it’s haunted."
Mirren and co-star Jason Clarke have been making the local media rounds while in town.
"We're not in Silicon Valley. We're in America of the 1890s," Mirren told NBC Bay Area. "I wonder, if Sarah were born today, what she might have become in Silicon Valley."
Winchester is expected be released in early 2018.
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