Q-Tip: Ghouls and Ghosts

Saturday is the seventh annual Ghost Walk along Carson City's historic Kit Carson trail.

This special, once-a-year activity will give you and the members of your family an opportunity to be frightened by various ghosts and spooks from Carson City's past.

The Ghost Walk, which is sponsored by the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Carson City Redevelopment Authority, is actually a self-guided tour of a series of open houses in the historic district of Carson City.

That three-hour tour follows the Kit Carson Trail, which is a blue line painted on the sidewalks through the historical area.

The event was conceived in 1993 as a way to showcase Carson City history, Victorian architecture and turn-of-the-century houses with their gingerbread trim. It also enables visitors and residents alike to have the opportunity to share in this history and to enjoy a first-hand look at life behind closed doors that hide secrets from the past.

At each open house, the visitors will be permitted to enter and will be regaled with ghost stories, history of the homes and anecdotes about their residents.

In those houses, professional actors and members of the Carson High School Drama Department will portray various ghosts from the past, who are reported to inhabit those old buildings.

Included in the list of those buildings are the Olcovich-Meyers House, the Cohn House and the Beckwith House.

The annual ghost walk will begin at the Nevada State Museum, where you can purchase your tour tickets. From there, you can begin your own self-guided tour, at your own convenience, anytime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The tour tickets, which include a walking map and descriptions of the various open houses, are priced at $7 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-12 and $3 for seniors over the age of 60. Tickets are free for children under the age of five.

So, if you would like to meet some interested people from the past, plan to spend Saturday with a walk among the ghouls, ghosts and spooks of yesteryear.

It's a great way to kick-off the Halloween season.

The Kit Carson Trail is open year-round as a self-guided walking tour. For walkers who are interested in a recorded "talking history," as they walk, it is available on AM 530 radio. That talking history covers many of the historical homes in the district.

For information about the Ghost Walk, call the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau at 687-7410 during regular hours or visit their Website address at www.carson-city.org