hauntings

CARSON CITY — With fall in the air and winter nipping at her heels, curling up with a good book is a great way to spend a few hours – or days – and learn about Nevada in the process.

During Thursday’s Board of Supervisor’s Meeting, the Board voted on a measure to transfer ownership of the site of the Brewery Arts Center into the hands of the Brewery Arts Center themselves. For the past 40 years, the City has held ownership of the property at 449 King Street, and has been leasing the property to the organization.

The site of today’s Brewery Arts Center has gone through several changes in its time. The Carson Brewery was first built in 1860 by John Wagner, who created the brewery during the Comstock rush to wet the whistles of all those hoping to become the next gold-rush billionaire, and it became Nevada’s longest-operating brewery to date.

On Thanksgiving Day almost forty years ago, a mentally ill woman carried out what would today be considered a terrorist attack on the streets of Reno.

Days after President Kennedy was assassinated, Frank Sinatra, Jr., just barely an adult, was in the midst of a tour getting his music career off the ground.

On his tour during a snowy Tahoe December, he performed at the Harrah’s Club Lodge in Lake Tahoe.

Little did he know he had a few followers trailing him from city to city, and they weren’t hopeful fans, but instead, hopeful foes.

On Fannette island in the middle of Emerald Bay, the only (official) island in Lake Tahoe, used to live a toeless hermit by the name of Captain Dick “Them’s My Toes” Barter, who some say still haunts Fannette Island to this day.

Vikingsholm, (literally meaning Viking island in the middle of a lake) named after its creator’s love of Scandinavia and viking culture, is a mansion on the shore of Emerald Bay, boasting 30 rooms and perfectly reconstructed viking treasures.

Lora Josephine Knight purchased the property where Vikingsholm now stands for $250,000 (which would be $3.6 million today) in 1928, and immediately began planning her creation. Lake Tahoe, she said, reminded her of the fjords and mountains of Scandinavia. Knight wanted to build a summer home that was reminiscent of the culture.

Most people forget that divorce wasn’t an easy thing to achieve up until the last part of the 20th century. So how is it that Reno, a tiny little railroad town in the middle of nowhere, became known as the place to flock to if you wanted to untie that knot?

People, even Nevadans themselves, often ask why Carson City is our beloved capital. It does seem odd, when you look at the “City,” half rural, half town. Reno has more than double our population, and Las Vegas even more. During the Comstock Boom, Virginia City was arguably the largest, most profitable city in the state.

So how did little Carson City become the central legislative hub of Nevada?

Legend tells of a terrifying monster that is supposed to reside in the depths of Walker Lake who has been sighted for centuries. For years, Cecil even had his own float in the Nevada Day Parade.

The legend of Cecil seems to have been first written down in the early-to-mid 1800s, when Nevada was first being explored by white settlers looking to spread out and maybe try their hand at finding gold or homesteading.

The Historic Gold Hill Hotel — the oldest Hotel in Nevada, first known as the Riesen House — can be found on the road to Virginia City from Highway 50, and is a popular location for weddings and events.

If you looked in your closet for pants right now, I can almost guarantee what comes to mind first is that traditional blue jean. Everyone likes blue jeans, right? They’re almost as American as the U.S Flag and apple pie.

Did you know we have Reno to thank for blue jeans?

On August 27, 1968, Richard Chartrand was going about his morning as usual in his Skyland Drive home in South Lake Tahoe, just north of Zephyr Cove, when things went horribly wrong, and a mystery began that is still unsolved today.

In the heart of the semi-ghost town of Goldfield, Nevada outside Tonopah rests the decaying beauty of the Goldfield Hotel, which, as it happens, is one of the most haunted places in America.

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.

Debbie Bender and Tom Cruz of Bats in the Belfry Ghost Tours have been busy preparing their tour guides for the upcoming Carson City Haunted Experience and the “Spooks & Spirits” Pub Tour. The first tour is Friday, June 13.

Pre-run groups have been spotted walking about Carson City, learning the well-researched historical stories and legends. Debbie Bender and Tom Cruz are longtime ghost tour experts and serious paranormal investigators. They have been successfully doing ghost tours in Virginia City for many years.

Genoa Historic Ghost Tours and Thin Veil Investigators present a Genoa Cemetery Interactive Haunted Hallowe'en Tour.

Saturday October 13th, 2012
6:00 - 7:30 pm

Genoa Cemetery, Genoa Nevada

f you are brave enough, join "The Festival of the Spirits" with costumed guides as they lead you through Carson City's historic district.
Spirits of the past will appear as you hear the stories of their hauntings on Carson City's Historic Kit Carson Trail.
There are two tour choices; the Curses Tour and the Rumors Tour. They depart from 3rd and Carson Street. First tour at 10 a.m. (departing every 30 minutes) and last tour at 2 p.m.

Friendly ghosts will lead tours along Carson City’s historic Kit Carson Trail offering tales of the city’s haunted Victorian homes and buildings along two different routes. The “Friends in Low Places” guided cemetery tour is a new addition to the annual festivities, Oct. 22 - 23.