Ghosts expected for dinner party

Anyone with a love of history and an interest in ghost hunting is invited to An Elegant Dinner & Ghost Hunt at The Mackay Mansion on Saturday, June 25.

The evening opens the historic home in Virginia City and begins at 6:30 p.m. with a champagne reception in the upstairs parlor. The mansion was built in 1859 by George Hearst and served as the Gould and Curry mine offices. It was later purchased by John Mackay, one of the Comstock's Bonanza Kings.

"Guests are encouraged to dress in period costume for the first part of the evening and can change before we begin the ghost hunt if they want," said Janet Jones, psychic and paranormal investigator who was featured in an episode of The Biography Channel's "My Ghost Story." "Spirits come forward more readily when the ambience is (in keeping) with what they experienced while living."

Dinner will be served in the formal dining room, and the seat at the head of the table will be left empty for Mr. Mackay.

"We set a place for him with a glass of good whiskey and a cigar," she said, adding a full-length mirror sits directly behind that chair and photos shot into the mirror often reveal the image of Mackay's face. The glass for his whiskey is one that Frank Sinatra is known to have drank from.

The catered formal dinner includes spring salad, blackberry filet mignon, roasted rosemary potatoes, fresh green beans and vegetables and cheesecake. A vegetarian option also is available.

Octavio Cresta, who is leasing the mansion, will give a history of the home followed by a presentation by Jones about some of the past occurrences that have taken place there, as well as explaining the ins and outs of ghost hunting, since people of all paranormal experience levels are encouraged to attend.

Ghost hunting takes place until midnight.

"We encourage people to bring their cameras, recorders, EVP's (electronic voice phenomena) - any equipment they would like," Jones said. "Following dinner, guests will have the opportunity to go throughout the home and into spaces not seen during a regular tour, to explore and see what they find.

When I give my talk, I like to leave everyone with questions, so the evening becomes a bit of a scavenger hunt and since I am an intuitive, I will be there to help them understand what they may be experiencing and seeing and to fill in any blanks."

This is just the third dinner party in more than 100 years that has been hosted at Mackay Mansion, though tours take place all the time.

"So much of its (paranormal) history has already been revealed, but there is still so much to discover," Jones said. "This is a unique adventure and opportunity for believers and skeptics alike."

Tickets cost $100 per person and are limited to 16 guests.

To make reservations, call Jones at 775-721-9305 or e-mail her at jjtyg@hotmail

.com.

Additional events are planned for Aug. 20 and Sept. 24.