Ghost hunters, join others if you dare for a historical nighttime walk around downtown Gardnerville, in search of the living dead. Rumor has it, this year's Haunted Gardnerville Ghost Walk is bigger and better. You will walk down the streets in the cold fall wind, with leaves going crunch under your feet, as you walk past haunted buildings and sites where former residents met untimely deaths by murder or suicide.
Ghosts from Gardnerville's past will be found along the route as they tell their stories and the story of the town. Jack Carrerow and Jo Rafferty will portray John and Mary Gardner, early Mormon pioneers for whom the town was named. Dwight and Dianna Borges will become Leander Socrates Ezell and his wife Caroline Jacobsen Ezell, large landowners and prominent early settlers of Gardnerville. Lawrence Gilman founded the town when he bought seven acres from the Gardners and moved his Kent House Hotel from Genoa to Gardnerville, changing the name to the Gardnerville Hotel. Donnis Thran will become Anna Norgard Harris Behrman, a shrewd business woman, who went to district court and became a trader, one of the few times the law was used in the State of Nevada. This was the late 1800s and she was a woman. The history of the East Fork Hotel and old brick yard and the Brown and Borda families will be brought to life by descendants Michele Leonis and Darlene Nevins.
The focus of the Haunted Gardnerville Ghost Walk is the history of the town, the buildings, and the people, but those on the walk may encounter a few other ghosts along the way. Last year a group of spooky characters were at local dentist Dr. Michael Fischer's office. Walkers have to pass that office again this year, and can hope those spooks will be out of town.
Last year's participants were also harassed by a man, an old witch, and if that wasn't bad enough, a ghost in a car almost ran them down. There were a few strange things that happened at the old Gardnerville jail, when a fellow in a Civil War uniform appeared. At the old hospital, now the Manoukian Building, strange things were seen and heard inside the building. Visitors didn't linger there too long.
Since last year, a new battery operated portable PA system has been added, thanks to Chuck Wayne of Wayne's Family Music and the Town of Gardnerville.
So join others if you dare ... on a spirited adventure into Gardnerville's haunted history, an evening for families or a perfect opportunity for adults to step back in time to when they used to go trick or treating on those brisk fall nights.
The Douglas County Historical Society's Haunted Gardnerville Ghost Walk is Oct. 20. Guided walking tours will depart from the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, 1477 Highway 395, in Gardnerville at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. The cost is $5 per person. Advanced reservations are recommended, as each tour group is limited in size. For reservations call the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center at 782-2555.
Haunted Gardnerville is the first event in Haunted Weekend, a collaboration between the Douglas County Historical Society, Town of Gardnerville the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Authority and the Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Other events offered during the Haunted Weekend:
n Carson City Ghost Walk, Grave Concerns, is Oct. 21, and will take ticket holders on a tour along the Kit Carson Trail with stops at some of the city's oldest buildings and Victorian homes. Tickets are $15 per person and advanced purchase is recommended. Tours depart every 30 minutes from Third and Carson streets, beginning at 9 a.m. Contact Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau, (800) NEVADA-1.
n On Oct. 21, at the Genoa Cemetery on Jacks Valley Road in Genoa from 6:30-8 p.m., the ghosts of Nevada's earliest pioneers will be on hand for the Douglas County Historical Society's 11th annual Cemetery Tour. Admission is $5 per person. The guided cemetery tour lets you step back in time as family members and others bring to life some of Nevada's earliest pioneers. Free hot cider and cookies will be served. For reservations call the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center at 782-2555.
n On Oct. 22, the Haunted Genoa Ghost Walk will depart from the Genoa Court House Museum at 10:30 a.m. Mormon Station, later known as Genoa, was the first permanent settlement in Nevada and has a rich and exciting history with or without ghosts. The cost is $5 per person. For reservations call the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center at 782-2555. Free cookies and cider will be served.
Oct. 22 is the last day the Genoa Court House Museum will be open until next May.
Things to remember for the Haunted Gardnerville Ghost Walk and the Genoa Ghost Walk and the Genoa Cemetery Tour: Bring a flashlight, dress warmly with a hat, coat and gloves. Warm and comfortable walking shoes are recommended, to keep you from becoming dead on your feet.
A Haunted Weekend package deal to attend all four events is $30. Application forms to attend the four-tour VIP Haunted Weekend package are now available online at www.visitcarsonvalley.org or www.visitcarsoncity.com.
