What to Know
- Friday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.
- Contest closes at a minute before midnight on Dec. 5
- Winner will need to get to and from the San Jose landmark on their own
There are a lot of "gets" when you're a ghost fan, those must-do activities and achievements that fill your spookiest bucket list.
Maybe you long to spend the night alone in a remote castle. Perhaps you'd like to visit every haunted maze in your city during the Halloween season.
And, if you're a fan of a certain rambling, room-filled manor in San Jose, you've probably been keen to be the person operating the clapper.
We're talking, of course, about the large and picturesque bell that's located on the property of the Winchester Mystery House.
And while bells attached to other well-known buildings do peal for a plethora of noble and nostalgic reasons, the big ringer at the sizable and spirited abode always sounds at 1 p.m. on any given Friday the 13th.
Yes, that's 13:00, if you're keeping track of how many times Sarah Winchester's favorite number pops up in this time-honored ritual.
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Mrs. Winchester, the former proprietress of the haunting house, left us long ago, but her said-to-be-haunted fortress still has its eerie observances, including those that cluster around Friday the 13th, whenever that date shows up.
And you could be at the center of the tradition scheduled for Friday, Dec. 13.
For "the first time in history," the world-famous attraction has sent out the call for a fan to ring its celebrated bell, and entries are now open, and will remain open through 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 5.
There are a few steps to entering. You'll need to "(u)pload your best photo of the house," and share a beloved memory "or strangest experience."
All of the details and must-knows are on this page, so bone up on everything ASAP.
"The winner will be selected at random and contacted via email on Friday, December 6th 2019," is the exciting word.
If you're chosen? You'll need to provide your own transportation to the Winchester Mystery House, wherever you're coming from. And, if you're staying over, your own accommodations, too.
But this is a sweet and slightly scary perk: The winner will receive two tickets to the Flashlight Tour that evening, so plan to stick around and enjoy that.
It's bucket list time, spooky fiends, er, friends. And we don't need to toll you twice: If you want to be the person behind the tolling of this great bell, you best enter faster than you can count up to the number 13.
