Nevada Lore Series: the Haunting of the Gold Hill Hotel, Nevada's Oldest Hotel

The Historic Gold Hill Hotel — the oldest Hotel in Nevada, first known as the Riesen House — can be found on the road to Virginia City from Highway 50, and is a popular location for weddings and events.

However, the Gold Hill Hotel is also a popular location for a different sort of activity: the paranormal kind.

The town of Gold Hill was swept up in the Comstock gold rush craze, with several mines that were carved beneath the city.

One particular mine was the Yellow Jacket Mine, whose tunnels claim the unfortunate title of the worst mining accident in all of Nevada’s history.

On the morning of April 7, 1869, the mining day crew began their descent when a fire broke out around 800 feet. The fire quickly ate through the wooden framing, causing tunnels to collapse.

As we know, Nevada is a prime location for natural gas, and on this day, poisonous air from the belly of the earth began flooding into the tunnels, reaching as far as the Kentucky and Crown Point Mines nearby.

Few escaped, and firefighters were unable to get very deep due to the collapse and the flames. The gas fed the flames like a barbecue.

Somewhere between 35-40 miners lost their lives that day in the Yellow Jacket Mine, and many of the bodies could not be retrieved. Because the gas continued to feed the fires, they simply sealed off the offending tunnels, and miners for years after said they could feel the heat coming through the walls from where the fire was still burning in the sealed off tunnels.

Now the lost souls of the miners haunt the mine, and the Gold Hill Hotel, as the mine runs beneath the hotel.

The Hotel is a popular location for ghost hunting, and for good reason. One of the spookiest areas on the property is the Miner’s Lodge, which can be found in the back of the hotel, right next to the mine shaft from where the lost miner’s bodies were never removed.

The two other rooms in the Hotel that are said to be the most haunted are “Rosie’s Room” and “William’s Room”, where items will be moved around, doors will creak and slam, and sometimes, apparitions will appear to guests.

Rosie is said to live in Room 4. Some believe she was a lady of the evening, who took up residence in the room after it was renovated.

People say upon walking into the room, they sometimes smell a strong smell of roses around them. They also say Rosie likes to turn the lights on and off in the room, move guests’ belongings around, and generally just cause a bit of mischief.

William is said to live in Room 5, and people believe he is one of the lost miners from the Yellow Jacket Fire.

They say upon entering the room, you can smell a strong odor of tobacco, as if someone had just been smoking a cigar or pipe tobacco moments before.

Revelers are also said to run into a ghost or two in the Great Room, where guests and spirits alike come to quench their thirst, and even child spirits have been reportedly heard running around at all hours of the night.

The Gold Hill Hotel now offers Historical Ghost Tours once a month during the winter.

December 21 is the next tour, which benefits the Comstock Foundation for History and Culture, and it’s hosted by the Northern Nevada Ghost Hunters. The event includes a gourmet meal at the Crown Point restaurant, a guided tour complete with spooky and historical tales, and ghost hunting tools.

For more information on the event, click here.

— The Nevada Lore Series focuses on the legends of Nevada and the surrounding areas that help build our culture, from ancient Washoe stories, to Old West ghostly visions, to modern day urban legends.

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