The Haunted West

What's with all the vampire movies and television shows nowadays? Don't get me wrong, I love vampire movies. Like every other girl in the world, I like horses and the sexy undead. However, I prefer the Anne Rice/Brad Pitt sort of vampire. Eric Northman on True Blood is pretty hot too. (Getting the idea that this girl likes bad boys?) The Twilight movies and the Vampire Diaries TV series are a little too teen crush for my tastes, what with all that "noble young vampire wanting to be good" story line. (Gag!), but then again, the books were written for a juvenile audience. Still I feel that to truly appreciate the full scope of vampirism, one needs to check out the earlier vampire flicks: Bella Lugosi and later, Christopher Lee. Now those dudes were truly horrifying as well as compelling. Here's the thing, the idea of eternal life, and the severe costs that come with it: the monstrous acts they are forced to commit to sustain themselves, the long lonely...

My friend and fellow ghost hunter Mona grew up in Truckee, California. She has interesting (and eerie) stories to tell. Truckee began as a supply stop along the transcontinental railroad that was being built in the 1800s. It has a compelling history. Many buildings built back in the 1800s still stand today, and ghost stories abound. Mona had caught some interesting pictures while exploring the Summit Tunnel No. 6, one of the most difficult portions of the railway built. She asked if Paula and I were interested in joining her to investigate the tunnel further. Not knowing much about the history of this area, I went online and found out more about this incredible feat of engineering. A HISTORY Constructing a railroad 88 miles over the rugged Sierra Range between Newcastle and Truckee, California, took 12,000 men 3 years and 2 months (February 1865 to April 1868). The Sierra crest, the most challenging section, required 14 tunnels to maintain a maximum grade of 105 feet to ...