I guess it was around Halloween — the exact date escapes me, since that pesky earthquake wiped all things from my brain around that time — when the Travel Channel presented the live ghost show from Winchester House here in San Jose. I was pretty amazed at the show, not for its alleged parapsychology but by the fact that the cast and crew were allowed to set up equipment and walk all over the gorgeous inlaid parquet floors in the front of the house, especially in the Grand Ballroom.
Well, yesterday I got some information from a Winchester House tour guide. Seems like ghosts weren’t the only trickery happening that night.
First off, the Travel Channel spent some big money on that show. They rented the entire house for two days, it was closed to the public as they prepped for the show. The cast and crew were allowed into rooms and places that even long-time tour guides had never seen before, which I think would be a dream come true — I’d love to be able to completely explore the huge house someday. The official count is 160 rooms, but I am certain that’s just an estimate; there are likely many rooms that are hidden or built around and no longer accessible.
Anyway, here’s the story of how they were able to stand on the forbidden parquet: it wasn’t real. In the live TV show, you can clearly see them wearing regular shoes in the ballroom, along with a large plasma screen on a metal stand. It turns out that the floor they are standing on was a fake one, overlaid on the real ballroom floor, covering and protecting the original.
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I guess it was around Halloween — the exact date escapes me, since that pesky earthquake wiped all things from my brain around that time — when the Travel Channel presented the live ghost show from Winchester House here in San Jose.
Couldn’t really tell by your eTone (uh, did I just invent a word?) but are you disappointed with the Travel Channel? Or just pointing out a fact?
Personally I think as long as the actually filmed there, its OK to do what they did to protect the floor…. but maybe you’re just pointing out how it was done.
I need to see that show. Mom et al took me there when I was a kid (I think you went too) and I was fascinated by it, kinda creeped out too. But I couldn’t get over its construction. Go figure, the straight cousin was interested in the construction while the gay cousin was fixated on the parquet. Even back then…