The Haunted West

This past Saturday was the second class of the Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series offered by TMCC. The first session of the class involved a preliminary investigation of the Silver Terrace Cemetery in Virginia City, Nevada. There were about 15 students signed up. We all met at the Miner's Park, a short walk away from the cemetery. Here we got our instructions from Janice Oberding, divided up into 3 groups of 5; each group having a dowser and at least one person with psychic sensitivity. We introduced ourselves to the others in our group, filled out our investigations logs and proceeded to the cemetery. Ten cemeteries actually make up the Silver Terrace Cemetery: Masonic, Oddfellows, West End, Firemen's, Silver Terrace, Wilson and Brown, Improved Order of Redmen, Knights of Pythias, City/County, and Catholic. The population of the cemetery is at least triple the population of modern day Virginia City. It's a reminder of the towns glorious past...

Paula takes great exception to being referred to as a "tech whore". She's says that while, yes, she is addicted to paranormal gadgetry, she wouldn't necessarily sell herself for for a piece of equipment. Okay Tweaker, I won't call you a whore anymore, if you promise to stop scratching yourself every time you browse the surveillance camera aisle of the local spy shop.

When I first signed up for the TMCC's Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series, I really didn't know what to expect. I've been on ghost tours before, usually around Halloween, when most people's curiosity in the paranormal is peaked. I've been to a few lectures and I've visited a few places online, read a book or two and explored a few local spots. I don't consider myself outlandish or weird, and if asked, I would say I am a skeptical believer in the existence of hauntings. I believe most claims can be debunked, however, my own personal experiences have led me to believe that there are some things that just cannot be explained away. Most people, upon hearing that I seek out places that might be haunted, give me a look of disbelief, followed by, "REALLY?", a nervous pause, then a change in subject. Ghost hunting has become my guilty pleasure, not discussed with most co-workers and friends. So, when I showed up for the first lecture, I was ...

TMCC is offering a series of eight classes this Fall for the fledgling paranormal investigator, beginning this month and running through October. The series includes: Paranormal Investigator I on Sept. 12, Paranormal Investigator II on Sept. 19 and 26, Psychic Ghost Hunting Tools on Sept. 22 and 29, EVP Recording the Voices of the Dead on Oct. 3, Downtown Virginia City Ghost Hunt on Oct. 10, Scientific Tools to Evaluate the Paranormal on Oct. 22, Religion and the Paranormal on Oct. 27 and the St. Mary's Arts Center Ghost Hunt on Oct. 30. The instructor for Paranormal Investigator I and II will be Janice Oberding: historian, author and paranormal investigator. I attended a lecture she gave about the history of the Cal-Neva Lodge. She is an interesting and knowledgeable lecturer, and for that reason I went ahead and signed up for the series. I am unfamiliar with the other instructors, but it's all good. One can never have enough knowledge or a different ...

Here it is, the end of another beautiful summer. What better way to end the season but by spending a few days investigating a Nevada ghost town? Paula and I tossed around a few possibilites. We've been wanting to get out to Leadville, and Unionville sounded pretty good too, but in the end we settled on Humboldt City; and what a great choice it turned out to be. Humboldt City is located some 33 miles east of Lovelock, Nevada. The town is situated in a spring fed canyon at the base of the Humboldt Range, nestled among old strands of cottonwood. Remnants of firepits, and adobe and stone buildings dot the landscape. It is a quiet oasis in the middle of the Nevada desert, and one is struck by the quietness of the place-during the day, that is. The mining settlement of Humboldt City was founded in 1860. Within its short lifespan of 9 years, over a 1,000 silver discoveries were made in the Humboldt City area before its abandonment in 1869. Louis Barbeau was the first m...