Editor’s note: Every weekday in October, former Mystery House blogger Stephen will post an excerpt from his in-progress guide to the Winchester Mystery House. Previous entries can be found here.

As your tour group leaves the Grand Ballroom, you’ll head to a room in the mansion that contains ‘the largest and smallest cupboards.’ On the way, you’ll pass back through the pre-1906 Kitchen you saw just a few stops before, but this time you’ll be on the other side of a dividing wall where there are a few more interesting things to see.

As you re-enter the kitchen, notice the antique water heater, which the house management believes was the first installed in California. The water was heated using exhaust heat from the oven.

If you have a moment, walk over and stand next to the water heater, then look straight up and you should be able to see daylight. There’s a ventilation shaft (pictured above) that passes through the top three floors of the mansion. What’s most interesting about this shaft is that there’s a door on the third floor that opens right into it. It also piped heat into an office used by Mrs. Winchester prior to 1906.

As you reach the actual stop, the tour guide will show you the largest and smallest cupboards in the house. I won’t spoil any surprises for you, but I will say that this room is a true test of comic timing and skill. If the guide does it correctly, the brief moment of comedy serves the tour well, but woe be it unto the guide that blows his line or doesn’t put enough energy into his delivery.

Which makes this as good a time as any to discuss the tour guide situation. Many of the guides at the Winchester Mystery House are quite good, but many of them are not. Particularly in the busy summer season, the mansion operators hire dozens of high school students and plunks them into the role of tour guide without regard to their delivery.

Unfortunately, the experience of the Mystery House tour is entirely dependent on the individual guide. The reality of the tour will never match most guests expectations, making it the guide’s responsibility to make it work with a new set of expectations. Many guides just aren’t equipped to do this. So how can you ensure a good experience when you visit the mansion?

First, keep an open mind. Despite the scary billboards and specials on the Travel Channel, it isn’t a particularly spooky experience, but it is an opportunity to see interesting things and get to know a fascinating story about rich and lonely woman.

Second, don’t go in the summer if you can help it. The Mansion is open year round, but most of the short-term staff is hired on during the summer. If you go during the late fall or winter, you’re much more likely to get an experienced guide. You’re also more likely to be in a smaller tour group, and your guide will have more time to point out small details of the house. If you can only visit during the summer, go early in the day. Many of the most experienced guides are older or retirees, and they tend to take morning shifts.

My final advice, and this applies to everyday life too, not just Winchester Mystery House tours: wear comfortable shoes.