Friday the 13th Flashlight Tours Illuminate the Winchester Mystery House

JANUARY? It's a month known for its short gray days and lengthy, bundle-up nights. The stars begin to twinkle when it still feels like late afternoon, which means we're constantly looking for sources of light, the illumination that will help us weather the shadowier side of wintertime. It's a prime month for flashlights to make frequent cameos, those handy torches that give us a quick beam at the fast flick of a button. But at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, flashlights will play a slightly different role in January 2023, and into February, too: They give visitors a chance to peek around the rambling, said-to-be-haunted mansion after the daytime guests have departed. For flashlight tours? They're a major part of a certain spooky holiday, which is just ahead.

FRIDAY THE 13TH... is always a major occasion at Sarah Winchester's fabled home — the heiress did dote upon the number 13 — and to honor the superstition-packed holiday? The attraction offers evening tours, shutting down the lights and handing guests flashlights. Those circles of brightness will make dark corners pop and Victorian nooks shimmer, and if a person happens to see something phantasmagoric out of the side of one eye? Well... it has been reported before. But here's a 2023 twist made for devoted fans of the bewitching manse: The Self-Guided Flashlight Tours will begin on Jan. 13 and continue each Friday night through Feb. 24. Which means if you already have Friday the 13th plans, be not blue: You'll have more opportunities to explore the house on your own.

BUT FRET NOT... if you feel lost in the famously twisty-turny space, for "Tour Hosts will be stationed throughout the house to ensure guests don't get lost." Tickets run from $29.99 to $49.99 and can be secured through the Winchester Mystery House site.