Saturday night Ghost Walk in downtown Carson City
Madame Curry paid special tribute to the spirits Saturday night during the Mary Ann Bennett Memorial Ghost Walk through sections of Carson City’s historic west side neighborhood.
Curry, the wife of Carson City founder Abraham Curry, is portrayed by Mary Bennett, a theatre professional who now conducts regular ghost walks to the city’s most storied residences and structures.
Saturday night’s ghost walk was in remembrance of her mother, she said, and dedicated also to those anyone else has lost.
“Tonight we honor the spirits of those loved ones we’ve lost along the way,” she told the crowd of about two dozen during the first stop at the Ferris Mansion on the corner of Third and Nevada streets.
Relaying legends and anecdotes related to each stop along the tour, Bennett is as much a storyteller -- and a teacher -- of local history as she is an accomplished thespian who brings the founding people of the Eagle Valley to life.
She orates in vivid detail, combining humor and wit with drama, to both educate and entertain the crowd.
At the Ferris Mansion, the character of Madame Curry not only gives a biography of the home and the people who first lived there, but she then tells what she called “an urban legend” of the ghost bride, who disappeared the day of her wedding and was never found alive.
A century later, Curry tells the crowd, new owners of the mansion discover a trunk in the attic containing a bridal gown and a skeleton.
It is believed, she said, that the bride – experiencing a case of pre-wedding nerves -- had originally hidden herself in the trunk only to get accidentally locked in.
And there she remained for a hundred years, Curry said.
Then there was the story of Mr. Mason, who witnesses have spotted over the years climbing the back steps inside the passageways of the old brewery, a product of the Freemasons that is now the home of the Brewery Arts Center.
At dusk, there were stories told of hauntings at the Edwards house, located at the corner of North Minnesota and West Musser Street.
A resident deer family consisting of a three-point buck, a doe and two fawns perked their ears up with interest from a nearby lawn.
One of the spookiest stories told occurred in the dark, amid the faint glow of a distant street lamp, at a stone bungalow, located at 708 W. Musser Street at the corner of Mountain, where Curry related the account of a mysterious lady in black who would knock on doors at random.
When answered, she would ask for a stranger with a peculiar name, and then appear inside the home behind the terrified resident as soon as the door was closed on her.
But Bennett says her ghost walks are really about bringing the rich history of Carson City to life, and not so much the ghosts and the hauntings.
“We aren’t ghost hunters,” clarified Baylee, Bennett’s right hand on the tour. “It’s a common misconception.”
Bennett, however, does refer to her assistant, Baylee, as her “ghost wrangler,” who disappears at the start of the tour and then reappears half way through to offer refreshments for guests.
The mystery behind the legends and stories do help to make learning about the area’s past very interesting.
They are like a live history lesson with a dash – or two – of the paranormal thrown in. Or, perhaps more poignantly, the spice of a home-made apple pie.
Any two ways it's sliced, though, the Carson City Ghost Walk is a feature of the area not to be missed.
There are two more ghost walks on the schedule for the season, Bennett said.
The next event is Saturday, Sept. 24. The final tour of the season, a full day excursion that includes a walk-through of some of the historic homes on the tour, is just before Nevada Day on Saturday, Oct. 22.
For an entertaining history lesson, contact Bennett at 775-348-6279 to make a reservation.
Information about the tour can also be found here and on Facebook.
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