BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Lauren Winnie, 3, of Carson City, checks out Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn's Halloween decorations at the Governor's Mansion on Thursday evening with her father Don. The Governor's Mansion is one of many in Carson City that are supposedly haunted.
Tombstones and mummies draped in cobwebs and orange lights adorn the Governor's Mansion for the Halloween season.
But the decor may not be all that's eerie there.
Nevada State Museum Curator of History Bob Nylen said ghost stories have always swirled about the Governor's Mansion. The stately white building on Mountain Street hasn't just been a home for Nevada's top official.
"There are stories of people seeing an image of a mother and child on the staircase," Nylen said.
He's also heard tales about a haunted clock.
"The clock would blow open and cold air and a cold feeling would come from the clock."
Trick-or-treaters can judge for themselves Sunday as Gov. Kenny Guinn and first lady Dema carry on the tradition of handing out candy on the mansion steps between dusk and 9:30 p.m.
And the ghosts at the mansion aren't the only supernatural residents of Carson City.
Carlita Ray said she's sure she isn't alone in the Brougher-Bath Mansion. But it's unlikely visitors will glimpse the elusive pair.
The mansion's two resident ghosts seem to be a little shy. Ray, owner of the Victorian mansion on Spear Street, has never seen them.
"They don't have names," Ray said. "One is like a child. One is a lady. I just feel them, they're friendly. Now, Roy Partridge (who did the house's wood stripping), he heard them. He said it was like people walking upstairs. He'd get up and go upstairs to see and it was nothing."
Other famous hauntings include Mrs. Anderson, the former cleaning lady from the Edwards House, at Musser and Minnesota streets. Some people claim they know Mrs. Anderson haunts the house because the piano in the parlor never needs dusting, even when the house is unoccupied. Mrs. Anderson was supposedly very fond of the piano before she died. Passersby have also reported seeing her sitting in the bay windows of the house.
Another popular ghost picks daffodils. Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Candy Duncan has said the ghost often picked daffodils out of the front garden of a Carson City home. Because the ghost can pass through the walls, but the flowers cannot, people have reported seeing daffodils lying on the ground near the front door.
IF YOU GO
What: Trick-or-treating
Where: Governor's Mansion, 606 N. Mountain St.
When: dusk until 9:30 p.m. Sunday
What: Safe Trick-or-Treat
Where: Children's Museum of Northern Nevada, 813 N. Carson St.
When: 6-8 p.m. Sunday
Call: 884-2226.
Cost: Children $3, adults free
What: Trick-or-Treating Safe House
Where: Carson Plaza, 2120 E. Long St.
When: 6-8 p.m. Sunday
Call: 883-1221
Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
