The Haunted West

It is August 11 th , night of the Perseids meteor shower. G. and I have made plans to revisit the Geiger Grade lookout for the event. Mariah wants to investigate the weird creature story, and to tell the truth, I am a little curious myself. Will it still be hanging around there after all these years? As we're getting ready for our little excursion, Levi and 5 of his buddies show up and spread out on the deck. G. tells them the story of the creature we saw so many years ago. After a lot of boasting, posturing and shouldering each other, the guys decide that they want to search for the creature too (one of them even made the claim that he would catch it and eat it!). Ah...to be 18 again. We head out around 12:30 a.m. It takes us about 45 minutes to reach the lookout. There are several vehicles there, other astronomy enthusiasts, scanning the night sky. Our group, 9 in all, head out across the clea ring to the far end and up to the stone seat. As luck has it, we have the lookout sea...

Looking at the calender, I am reminded of an incident that happened ...oh, more than 20 years ago. My longtime companion and I had just started dating. He came by late one evening and asked me out for a drive. It was a beautiful clear night in August, and right around the time of the Perseid meteor shower. We decided to get out of town, away from the city lights and take in the show. We headed south on 395, then left onto 341 toward Virginia City. About 4 1/2 miles up the grade, we pulled into the Geiger Grade turnout. The Geiger Grade is named after Dr. Davidson M. Geiger, a local physician who financed the building of the original road back in 1862. The road allowed the movement of gold shipments, supplies, and stagecoaches to and from the Comstock. Because of its many twists and turns, it was a popular spot for robberies. The road was rebuilt in 1936, and the turnout area with its stone walls and seating was built as a dedication to D.M. Geiger. It affords a spectacular view of the ...

Okay, so I'm on vacation from my job right now, and I've yet to complete any of the projects I had planned to do, or read any of the books on my summer reading list. I've pretty much just zoned on the couch, ate way too much junk food, watched far too much SciFi (excuse me, SyFy) and Discovery Channel, and logged a bazillion hours on the Internet. Should I clean out the storage closet like I planned? Reorganize my office? Catch up on over due bills and correspondence? No. No...I don't think so. What I need to do is get out of the house completely. I want to go exploring. Go on an adventure. Delve into the rich history of the Old West. In other words, do a little ghost hunting. What to do, where to go... I don't know. I'll have to think on it.

A couple of things we learned from our previous visit to Gold Hill, come early if you want something to eat, and the chance to explore the Silver Terrace Cemetery; which is larger than it first appears, and closes at dusk. With this in mind, Paula , Jessie and I met at the Gold Hill around 3 pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon. We checked into the cabin, unloaded our gear, and set off to the Silver Terrace Cemetery. Driving through Virginia City on this trip was a completely different experience than we had when we were up here in February. The good weather had brought out the bike enthusiasts by the hundreds. The town was hoppin '. We drove to the north east edge of town to the cemetery. There were quite a few visitors exploring the cemetery. Paula wanted to see if she could find any tombstones of miners of the Comstock Era that had died around the same time as the Yellow Jacket fire. No such luck. While there are some impressive marble to be found, I believe that miners, being of the...

In the 1800's, the large mines of the Comstock employed anywhere from 500 to 1000 men working in shifts around the clock to mine the precious ore. These mines were like ant colonies of underground activity. The men dug and blasted their way down into the earth, using forests of lumber to shore up the walls and work areas, called "cribs" with massive wooden beams and planks. The cribs were interconnected by miles of tunnels and wooden staircases, which in turn, interconnected the levels. Mines extended down hundreds of feet below the surface. Tons of dirt and ore were continually being moved through these pathways by means of chutes and winzes . Scores of wooden flues were constructed through out to dissipate the tremendous heat and to pipe in breathable air. The only light source came from candles or oil filled lanterns. It was a dangerous existence. Fire and cave-ins were a constant threat. Newly discovered ore veins needed to be blasted open and the wooden supports hol...

The Oscar party was winding down when we made it back to the hotel. We met the resident cat who took it upon herself to act as our unofficial escort as we wandered around the outside of the hotel. We stopped for a quick peek into the the hotel bar. Every inch of the ceiling and walls of the bar is covered with dollar bills. Most of them decorated and signed by patrons, I imagine. Around 10:00 pm, most of the party goers had gone, and things were quiet enough for us to begin our investigation. We turned on the camcorder and digital recorder in room 5, turned out the lights, closed the room, and went next door. While Paula turned on the camcorder in room 4, I once again did an EMF sweep. I didn't find any changes from earlier readings. We placed a K2 meter on the bed, we turned out the lights and began our EVP session. I took a few photos, none of which turned up any thing. Neither Paula or I got the impression of paranormal activity in this room. After about 50 minutes, we tha...

Initially, we had planned for 2 teams to investigate the Gold Hill Hotel. However, the best laid plans have a way of unraveling, and as as the investigation drew close, Paula and I were the only ones able to go. I was a little concerned about having to cover all the areas in the hotel. As we were going to be short handed, I wanted to know what we should concentrate on: video, photography or audio, and if any areas in the hotel were more "active" than others. I was also having some anxiety on a personal level. As a Native American, my early training was to treat spirits in a respectful manner, and under no circumstances "call" them if you could not send them back. I wondered if that is what we would be doing if we were inviting them to speak with us. So, I emailed Scott Truelove of the Ghost Posse team. Scott has a lot more experience than I do, has investigated the Gold Hill Hotel, and doesn't seem to mind answering my many questions on the subject of ghost hunt...