Haunted Nevada - Softcover

Oberding, Janice

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1581126743 ISBN 13: 9781581126747

Publisher: Universal Publishers, 2001

Synopsis

Nevada is the nation's fastest growing state. And one of the most haunted. From the bright lights of Las Vegas to the small town of Virginia City, some of the Silver State's former residents still linger long after death has claimed them. Nevada's ghosts are a colorful bunch. Gangster Bugsy Siegel's lonely ghost has been seen several times in and around the rose garden and wedding chapel of the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas. Hank Parish was a despicable hombre who thought nothing of killing innocent people. Now old Hank is thought to haunt the building near the site where he was hanged over a century ago. Little Jennie Clemens was the joy in her parents' lives. When she died she broke their hearts and that of her uncle Mark Twain. She may be forgotten, but she's not gone. These are but a few of the ghosts that you will discover in Haunted Nevada.

About this title

About the Author:

Janice Oberding is a freelance writer/lecturer who has written several articles on Nevada's history, true crime, and ghosts. Ms. Oberding has been an advisor to television and radio shows on the state's ghosts and hauntings, and recently appeared on The Travel Channel's Haunted Las Vegas show as well as Fox's Scariest Places on Earth. Haunted Nevada is her first book.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

There is no better place to begin our foray into Nevada's ghostly past than the state's most haunted city. With a history of wild west violence and more people in its cemeteries than on its census rolls, Virginia City certainly qualifies for the title, dubious or not. Early in the 1850's gold was discovered around Gold Canyon and prospectors who'd lost out in California's gold rush came scurrying for another chance at wealth. When they came across bluish colored ore that got in the way of their quest for gold, they unceremoniously tossed it aside.

The ill-fated Grosch brothers were the first to realize the importance of the bluish colored ore, and how to correctly mine for it. Unfortunately both Hosea and Ethan Allan Grosch dided tragically within three months of one another, before they could enjoy the fruits of their labor.

In January 1859 four friends, James Finney ("Old Virgnia"), Jack Yount, John Bishop, and Alec Henderson discovered a small section of what would eventually be called the Comstock Lode. Later that same year Patrick McLaughlin and Peter O'Riley discovered the Comstock Lode in the Six-Mile Canyon arean. These finds would change the course of Nevada's history.

When he grew tired of mining in Aurora, Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain, walked the eighty miles to Virginia City and began his writing career as a reporter at the Territorial Enterprise. It was here that he met and was befriended by William Wright, "Dan De Quille", another Comstock writer who enjoyed poking fun at the vagaries of his fellow human beings.

Satisfied that he'd finally found his niche, Twain settled in, made himself at home and began writing the tall tales that would rouse the curiosity of those who lived in more civilized locales.

He was not alone in his quest for new beginnings. No sooner had the California Gold Rush played out then Nevada's equivalent, "The Rush to Washoe" began. As word leaked out about the riches that were being dug from the earth on Sun Mountain, people from all over the world made their way to Virginia City with one thought in mind, silver.

The mines could make or bankrupt a millionaire overnight. But it was a risk that most were willing to take. Sadly for every individual who struck it rich as a result of the precious ore, many others lost everything they owned in their quest for wealth. Financial disasters weren't the only sort faced by residents.

Life on the Comstock was perilous at best. Sudden and unexpected death became an everyday occurence. Drunken gunslingers, rampant fires, childhood diseases, and mining mishaps helped to fill the city's graveyards.

And that's the trouble. It seems that some of those who were consigned to the cemeteries so long ago weren't quite ready to go. So they hang around the town, still haunting the very places they knew in life.

Deep beneath the town arre the abandoned mines where men toiled long hard hours just to feed themselves and their families. So often these miners met with the cruelest of deaths. Some of them perished in horrible fires, like the Yellow Jacket, that swept unchecked through the tunnels. Others were scaled to death when boiling water spilled forth from deep within the earth. Many were grotesquely mangled to death by faulty equipment and falling debris.

It is the pitiful moans and terror filled cries of these ill-fated miners that some folks in these parts claim to hear in the calm pre-dawn hours.

The lust for silver was so strong that even death wasn't always enough to part a man from his claim. Even the weary ghost of Henry Comstock, for whom the Comstock Lode was named, is said to stand guard near the Ophir Mine site to this day.

About this edition

• Publisher: Universal Publishers
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1581126743
• ISBN 13: 9781581126747
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120