The Haunted West

This past October, KOLO, a local news channel, reported on a small park in southwest Sparks that had been built over a cemetery. It seemed outrageous to me that a park would have been allowed to be built over bodies that remained interred on the property and I wanted to learn more; what I found was sad and  tragic. From 1882-1947, approximately 600 patients from the nearby State Mental Health Institute have been buried on an adjacent piece of property with little or no ceremony. If there were any markers placed, they have long disappeared. In 1959, the city leased a portion of the land and built a park; no bodies having ever been removed. For the past 41 years, children have played, families have picniced and basketball games have been played over the graves of anonymous inmates of what was formerly called the Nevada Insane Asylum. In 1977 road construction on 21st street unearthed several coffins. The Nevada State Journal reported that bones were discovere...

Truckee Meadows is getting snow...lots of it. I was so looking forward to going up to Virginia City today to participate in an investigation of the Saint Mary's Art Center. Unfortunately it's a no go. The weather conditions up on Geiger Grade are pretty severe right now, chains required, etc... The Grade can be treacherous...I prefer to hunt the dead, not be one of them. So I'm going to put on a pot of soup and enjoy the snowfall with family and friends today. Keep Safe...

I noticed that my solar activity application indicated a solar flare today along with an electromagnetic storm in space. I have heard said that weather conditions can cause an increase in paranormaL activity. I wonder if storms in deep space apply? I know that lunar conditions effect tides and such. I went onto the National Weather Service space weather predition center to see what these solar flares looked like. I have posted a picture here, Courtesy of NOAA (I know, I know, that's not really the color of the sun, but it's wicked cool).

Donner Ski Ranch is one of the oldest ski areas in the western United States. The area was first utilized for skiing in 1937. It is located near the scenic Old Highway 40 which was the transcontinental route before I-80 took its place in 1964. It is 45 miles west of Reno and 10 miles west of Truckee. The history of this area is both interesting and deadly. Native Americans traveled the Summit thousands of years ago leaving the evidence of their presense in petroglyphs and grinding rocks. Wagon trains began crossing the Summit in 1844 headed for California. The ill fated Donner Party attempted to cross in 1846, but was unable to conquer the Summit. They had to turn back and spent a tragic winter on the shores of what is now Donner Lake. Untold numbers of chinese laborers were killed during the building of the first transcontinental railway through this area. Changeable weather conditions are common in the Lake Tahoe Basin throughout the year. Winter storms may occur from Sept...

Our third and final field trip with the TMCC Paranormal Series was held on October 30, the night before Halloween. We were scheduled to investigate the St. Mary's Art Center (SMAC). The Daughters of Charity, also known as the Sisters of Charity, served the mining town of Virginia City from 1864 to 1897. Led by Sister Frederica, Sisters Xavier and Mary Elizabeth traveled to the Comstock in 1864 with the directive to open a school and hospital in Virginia City. Other sisters soon followed. The Sisters of Charity established a small boarding school and orphanage that constantly struggled to keep up with the demand of the community. Within the first year, occupancy of the institution rose to 25 residents and 112 students, all the while maintaining a small number of sisters, only sixteen in 1880. The orphanage largely subsisted on contributions from local citizens who donated money, food, and clothing to the convent. In 1876, along with the support of Father Patrick Manogue, the ...

I'm seriously behind on my blogging, so I sat down at the computer with all good intentions of catching up. I wanted to check on a few historical facts relating to one of my blogs, and the next thing you know, I'm surfing the web! Amazing how one can get swept away. Needless to say, I never did find what I was looking for. I did however, find some information on a couple of paranormal events happening in our area in the new year. I'm posting two of them to illustrate how these sort of things have become quite a money making venue for some. The first event I ran across caused my jaw to drop. It is a 4 day event, advertised as "A Paranormal Interest Retreat". It is limited to 30 guests, all who will be staying at the St Mary's Art Center (SMAC). Other investigation sites include The Old Washoe Club, Piper's Opera House, and the Peace Officer's Museum. Sounded interesting, until I saw the cost...close to $400! Yikes! Now in defense, the organizer p...

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...