Halfway to Halloween Flashlight Tour @ WMH

The Winchester Mystery House celebrated Halfway to Halloween from April to May of 2025 with photo ops, special menus and a flashlight tour. If you are looking for a special way to explore the house without fear of jump scare while still embracing the spooky, let me be your guide! For starters, this was not intended to be a “Halloween haunt” type of tour. They advertised Halloween themed treats, activities and a self-guided tour through the house in the dark with only a flashlight to lead your way.

Flashlight tours are nothing new at the Winchester Mystery House. Typically, I have seen them held during a Friday 13th weekend or during special seasonal times, such as the house’s anniversary. However, this year, WMH attempted pairing the flashlight tour with a Halfway to Halloween Celebration. Naturally, I requested attending this event as my Mother’s Day gift. We went the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend and had a frightfully good time.

What to Wear for a Flashlight Tour?

Although it appears that I did doll up (I had JUST added this adorable purple number to my wardrobe on sale from Miss Candyfloss), my recommendation is to dress comfy. I don’t think first-time visitors truly understand how much walking you actually have to do throughout the house. Something you can move easily in and won’t kill your feet is key! Especially since for the tour part, there are NO lights. The house lights are completely shut off.

My full look included some Winchester cobweb stained glass earrings, a heather flower necklace and a pair of American Duchess Parker pumps. I love these shoes, however, they never broke in well with my feet. Which makes me sad. I’ve only worn them two times (both times for Winchester events), and they have been uncomfortable for my wide flat feet before even getting into the house. If you’re doing a flashlight tour, wear shoes you like walking and standing in. You’ll spend more time than a normal tour walking about and standing in a room to listen to staffs’ tales. Take it from me, you don’t want your feet begging you to leave.

Naturally, I also brought my Winchester house purse from The Oblong Box Shop. It was the perfect size for carting around my water bottle and other necessities like my pocket charger and camera case.

Investigating a Halfway to Halloween Menu

First thing we investigated upon our arrival was the menu. Food and drink can be found in the newly refurbished Cafe 13, which is connected to the giftshop. The event description had boasted Halloween treats and sips, so of course we had to check them out. To my disappointment, the food was not as “Halloween” themed as I was hoping, but my husband and I still sampled two of the cocktails and the littles each got a mocktail.

I loved the kids’ s’mores dirty soda most. My old fashioned was pretty standard and had nothing really special about it other than the cup of candy included with it. My husband’s spicy bear was a margarita and was pretty nice and the gummy bears were an unexpectedly fun touch. Personally, I felt they were a little too pricy for pretty staple cocktail recipes. Although, due to this being the first year attempting this, I’ll forgive them. You can only learn what guests want with each experience, right?

Halfway to Halloween Photo Opportunities

Exiting the cafe, we walked passed the bathrooms and shooting gallery to a lovely little space set up with loads of photo ops. If you’re not a stranger to Winchester at Halloween time, you’ll recognize many of these props and displays from then. It was fun to take photos around these since we’re usually too preoccupied with the kiddos when we visit for the trick-or-treat trail. I also appreciated the touch of the pumpkins carved with flowers for the spring time.

Additionally, you’ll notice that it’s pretty empty. We arrived before it was dark, which gave us the time to fully explore all of the offerings and take advantage of the dying light. Most guests coming for the tour waited to arrive until after the sun set, so it felt nice and empty until we made our way into the house.

Exploring the House with a Self-Guided Flashlight Tour

As previously mentioned, this was a flashlight tour. Any lighting within the house was purely mood lighting in certain areas. The bulk of the house had their usual lights turned off and guests guided themselves with the flashlights provided at the start of the tour. We did get to keep these flashlights and my littles still love pulling them out every now and again.

As I noted at the start, this was a truly self-guided tour. No rushing on to the next room if you wanted to linger. No feeling pressured to move on because guests behind you wanted to keep going. If you wanted to stay in one space for a little more time, you just waved the group behind you ahead. It was divine! On top of that, they had encouraged guests to bring their own ghost-hunting tools. It was fun coming across other guests using PKE meters and digital thermometers. I even saw that one person had brought dowsing rods!

Although no tour guide was leading you on your path, every other room had a tour guide or staff member of the house stationed in it. You had been encouraged at the start of the tour to ask about their ghostly experiences in the house. Most stories were quite fantastic, and I would say every staff member encountered had a tale to share.

If you are curious to hear some of these tales, I shared my full hour and a half walkthrough with my email subscribers. If you subscribe, you’ll have access to watch this and other special things I share ONLY with those subscribed to my email newsletter.

Would I Participate in a Halfway to Halloween Flashlight Tour Again?

My face right before I tell you a flashlight tour at Winchester is a MUST! I had way more fun walking through the house in the dark than I thought I would. I have experienced Winchester at night, certainly. But it has been for a high tea party or a Christmas experience. This was completely different from either of those. Not only that, my two littles (5 and 7 years old at the time) enjoyed themselves JUST as much as I did. Making this a family-approved event. If you are a seasoned visitor like me or new to Winchester’s halls, this is a wonderful tour to add to your repertoire. I, for one, cannot wait to bring my family to another flashlight tour, and maybe with some ghost hunting tools in tow!