Name: Haunted Southern Nevada Ghost Towns
Brand: Heather Leigh Landon PhD
SKU: 9781467151504
Price: 21.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Haunted Southern Nevada Ghost Towns

9781467151504

$21.99

Discover what life was like in the heyday of the abandoned mines that dot the Nevada landscape, now host to the spirits of those who lost their lives in pursuit of gold, silver, and salt.

Step into the Silver State’s past, where the echoes of once-thriving boomtowns and mining operations reverberate through the desert to this day. Explore the remnants of a drowned town exposed by the receding waters of Lake Mead, and an abandoned pet cemetery sure to send chills down your spine. The bones of prehistoric creatures lie beside the former residents of Berlin, and in Goodsprings, reports of ghostly celebrity sightings stir up excitement.

Join author Heather Leigh on a journey through the eerie history of Nevada’s ghost towns.

The Curious Life of Nevada's LaVere Redfield

9781626197046

$21.99

LaVere Redfield was a prolific hoarder. When he died in 1974, his estate was estimated at more than $70 million. Executors found 680 bags of silver coins and 407,000 Morgan and Peace silver dollars in his Reno mansion. A local Reno legend, Redfield gambled regularly in Virginia Street casinos. He survived robbery and burglaries of his home, which contained false walls to store millions of silver dollars. Hating banks and paper money, as well as big government, Redfield opted to serve a prison term for income tax evasion rather than pay his debts from his ample fortune. Join author Jack Harpster for this first book-length study of this unconventional man behind the folklore and the myth.

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Ghosts and Legends of Nevada's Highway 50

9781467139441

$21.99

The 287-mile stretch of highway that runs east to west across Nevada's desert is billed as the Loneliest Road in America. But those who explore it find there is plenty to discover along the way in the towns of Austin, Eureka, Ely, Fallon and Fernley. Every one of these places has its own unique history, ghosts and stories to tell. From the sordid lynching of Richard Jennings to the humorous legend about a famous sack of flour, author Janice Oberding treks across Highway 50 seeking spirits and uncovering the tales of Singing Sand Mountain, the Red-Headed Giants, the Giroux Mine Disaster and many more.

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Haunted Virginia City

9781626199477

$21.99

Unlike any city in America, Virginia City epitomizes the notion of a western boom-and-bust ghost town. The Comstock Silver Rush lured wealth seekers from around the world, including a young Samuel Clemens. Despite the fortune some found, not all of the town's earliest settlers rest easy. Shops, hotels, boardwalks and cemeteries are said to be filled with the supernatural remnants of Virginia City's hardscrabble characters and their violent propensities. The queen of haunted Nevada, Janice Oberding, mines Virginia City's spectral history, from the ghost of Henry Comstock to the ghostly Rosie and William of the Gold Hill Hotel.

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The Boy Nevada Killed

9781467137683

$21.99

At seventeen, Floyd Burton Loveless became the youngest person ever executed by the state of Nevada. What led him to that end was just as tragic. Following a series of family catastrophes, Loveless was a petty thief by age twelve and a confessed rapist at fifteen. Sentenced to seven years at an Indiana state boys' reformatory, he escaped after a month in custody. The ruthless teen robbed his way to Carlin, Nevada, where he shot and killed a constable who spotted the stolen car he was driving and confronted him. After a protracted legal battle, Loveless died in the gas chamber on September 29, 1944. Author Janice Oberding recounts the sordid details that sparked national controversy over the constitutionality of juvenile capital punishment.

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Haunted Reno

9781626199484

$21.99

The flashing neon lights of Reno harbor a ghastly past. With its wide-open gambling, divorce laws and around-the-clock casinos and bars, the Biggest Little City in the World was a rough and wild town with a turbulent history. Victims of Priscilla Ford's Thanksgiving Day massacre haunt a downtown street. After a disappearance and death shrouded in mystery, the spirit of Roy Frisch still lingers near the location of George Wingfield's home. Lynched by a mob for a death that never happened, the angry ghost of Luis Ortiz still walks the bridge at night. The queen of haunted Nevada, Janice Oberding, unearths the goulish history that put the sin in Nevada's original Sin City.

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Lost Carson City

9781467138819

$21.99

Carson City has the distinction of being one of the least populated state capitals in the nation, but its contributions to Nevada's history are anything but diminutive. Set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it's a quintessential Wild West town. The gold and silver riches of the nearby Comstock Lode left a legacy that includes the Carson City Mint, one of only nine mints ever to exist in the United States, and the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, which still snakes through the hills. Residents once flocked to the Carson Opera House to take in a show and to the local racetrack to bet on the horses. Author Peter B. Mires explores the city's legacies, brick by locally quarried sandstone brick.

Haunted Carson City

9781609497644

$21.99

The Kit Carson Trail in Carson City, Nevada, is haunted by history. The footsteps of Abe Curry, the first superintendent of the Nevada City Mint, still echo in the halls of the building. Mark Twain's niece, Jennie Clemens, died of a fever when she was nine; her spirit peeks from the upstairs window of the family home and is said to visit the Lone Mountain Cemetery. In the 1800s, V&T Railroad baron Duane Bliss built his home on a burial ground. Today, the house occasionally chimes with laughter and music as spirits gather in the parlor in evening finery. Take a walk through Carson City's haunted history with author Janet Jones and meet the spirits that linger in the city's historic district.

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Hidden History of Elko County

9781626199958

$21.99

Elko County in Nevada's remote northeastern corner has long attracted independent, spirited individuals determined to carve out lives of their own. Born to former slaves, Henry Harris worked his way from John Sparks's house hand to one of the most respected buckaroos in the region. Pete Itcaina, the unlikely millionaire, once bought a local bar on the spot just to fire the bartender, who mistook Itcaina for a bum and refused to serve him. The beautiful cattle rustler Susie Raper charmed her way out of numerous arrests and trials, despite her trail of dead husbands. Local author Claudia Wines excavates sagas buried in the dust and probes conventional wisdom surrounding local legend.

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Wicked Virginia City

9781467144308

$21.99

Perched on the side of a mountain in the Nevada desert, Virginia City existed for one reason only: to make money. The mining frenzy of the mid-nineteenth century uncovered veins of precious metals that would be expressed in billions today, attracting the enterprising madam Cad Thompson, the charismatic highwayman Nickanora and a plethora of swindlers. Miners, flush with their wages, supported a healthy economy of gambling, drinking and prostitution and even launched a few political careers. Sam Clemens, who became Mark Twain while reporting for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, called it "the livest town that America had ever produced.'? Join author Peter B. Mires as he explores the seamy side of this quintessential mining boomtown.

Ghosts of Goldfield and Tonopah

9781626199453

$21.99

Echoes of prospectors, forlorn widows and politicians linger in the streets and historic remnants of Nevada's former boomtowns. In the throes of early financial disaster, the Silver State had little to entice newcomers or discourage residents from leaving. Jim Butler's silver discovery at Tonopah changed everything. With a subsequent gold discovery near Goldfield, the rush was on, and from these burgeoning mines, Nevada's early leaders amassed their wealth and power. Paranormal historian Janice Oberding shares firsthand accounts of ghostly encounters in the Goldfield and Mizpah Hotels and uncovers the history behind the mysterious cowboy ghost, the haggard hitchhiker and other eerie local tales.

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Boulder City

9781467137157

$21.99

In the depths of the Great Depression, the United States undertook a task so monumental it demanded nearly five thousand people to complete. The Hoover Dam stands as a modern marvel, a testament to America's ingenuity. However, few know the story of the town that built the dam. To house the workers, Secretary of Interior Ray L. Wilbur envisioned a model of city planning, giving birth to Boulder City. Wilbur intended for the city to be temporary, to disappear once the dam was complete, but it didn't work out that way. Local author Paul W. Papa offers a unique look at a town that may have been forged by a dam but took on a life of its own.

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Ghosts and Legends of the Vegas Valley

9781467153317

$21.99

Beneath the glittering façade of the Strip lies a ghostly history.

The mob, celebrities, gamblers and travelers have all left their mark on the Vegas Valley. From Bugsy Siegel to Tupac Shakur, famous—and infamous—ghosts mingle with the crowds that flock to Las Vegas. Rumor has it that the spirits of Redd Foxx and Elvis linger in their favorite places, while Liberace is said to appear in all the museums celebrating his life. Paranormal activity abounds within the adobe walls of the Old Mormon Fort, home of the oldest standing structure in Nevada, and the desert wind carries tales of tommyknockers in the mines.

Join author Heather Leigh as she shines a light on the dark history behind the Neon Capital of the World.

The Secret Genesis of Area 51

9781467138055

$21.99

In 1955, the Central Intelligence Agency established a clandestine base of operations in the Nevada desert with a mission to protect the United States from a growing communist threat. Special projects at Area 51 were shrouded in mystery, and the first was one of the world's most famous spy planes, the U-2. It fueled half-truths, rumors and legends for more than half a century. Now with many details of that endeavor declassified, the real story can finally be told. Author and Area 51 veteran TD Barnes sifts fact from fiction in one of America's most protected origin stories.

The Infamous Theaters of Virginia City, Nevada

9781467159746

$24.99

From Scantily Clad Women to Impassioned Suffragist Speeches

Virginia City boomed in the nineteenth century, with thousands coming to try their luck in the mines. The entertainment industry boomed with it. Piper’s Opera House became one of the most well-known theaters in America, attracting actors from the East and West Coasts for lauded performances. The Alhambra Theater took a different approach, advertising acts with women in scanty clothing to bored, restless miners. The vibrant scene drew in big names like renowned actors John McCullough and Lawrence Barrett, William Cody (better known as Buffalo Bill) and even Mark Twain.

Author Carolyn Grattan Eichin takes a deep dive into Virginia City’s theatrical history and its importance for the stars of the day.

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Lost Restaurants of Henderson, Nevada

9781467139373

$21.99

The story of long-gone eateries in Henderson is inseparable from the city’s unique origin story. Rising from humble beginnings, the population exploded during World War II due to the building of the Hoover Dam and an immense magnesium plant. Restaurateurs rushed in to feed the masses at places like the Swanky Club, famous for its smorgasbord, and Nick’s Supper Club. Dante’s Drive-In thrived, serving up burgers to hungry locals getting their cars serviced next door, and the Roadhouse was the place to go to unwind after a busy week. Join author Sharon Damon as she brings to life these gone but not forgotten restaurants, diners and casinos beloved by the people who are proud to call Henderson home.

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Nevada Beer

9781467140447

$21.99

Nevada's population boomed in the 1800s, ignited by the rush to find gold and silver. Thousands of prospectors, many German immigrants, passed through the up-and-coming mining towns, and breweries popped up in their wake. As the mining slowly wound down, whole towns disappeared, and breweries struggled to survive in the Silver State. Carson Brewing Company was closed in 1948, Reno Brewing Company shut its doors in 1957 and it would be decades before craft brewers like Great Basin, Big Dog's and Revision brought local beer back into the spotlight. Join author Pat Evans as he dives into the rough-and-tumble history of beer making in the Battle Born State and looks ahead to its bright future.