At the historic Sugar Hill Inn, guests have been surprised to see an elderly couple enter the inn and float right through a set of closed doors. The shadow of a man also appears near where Mr. Oakes, a former owner, passed away.
Sugar Hill Inn
Blaser's Fireside Tavern
Blaser’s Fireside Tavern’s ghosts may cause your car battery to fail just so you will stop at the tavern. The owners say it happens on a regular basis. When they leave the tavern, the car starts up just fine. A ghost called Frank makes footsteps and likes to shake things up by turning a power saw un unexpectedly.
Bowers Mansion
The Bowers Mansion is rumored to be full of spiritual activity, perhaps due to the fact that Sandy Bowers married Eilley Cowan, who liked to read fortunes with crystal balls and hold séances. After a string of bad luck, Sandy died and Eilley lost the mansion to foreclosure. She became known as “The Famous Washoe Seeress” just to be able to make a living and perhaps resides here still. Witnesses have described cold spots, eerie mists, unexplained voices and an apparition.
St. Mary's Art Center
St. Mary’s Art Center, formerly the St. Mary Louise Hospital, is said to be visited by ghostly hospital staff from its old days. Witnesses describe apparitions inside the building and on the front lawn, plus heavy bootsteps in the halls and the sounds of rolling gurneys and ladies’ voices. Shadow figures and EVPs have been reported along with phantom smells such as rubbing alcohol, flowers and pipe tobacco.
Silver Queen Hotel
The Silver Queen Hotel is said to be home to a ghostly 1800s prostitute named Rosie, who committed suicide in Room 11.
Piper's Opera House
Piper’s Opera House is said to be haunted by many spirits, and even sells a DVD called Ghosts of Piper’s on its website. Some of the ghosts are a man with a handlebar mustache, a young woman in a blue evening dress, several ghosts in the balcony seats, and a man who stands on the attic ladder.
Washoe County Courthouse
The 1909 Washoe County Courthouse is believed to be haunted by unknown ghosts who have had unhappy dealings with the court system here. Apparitions have been seen moping around the grounds and witnesses have described cold spots and an overpowering feeling of sadness and despair.
Lake Mansion
The Lake Mansion was built in 1877 by W.J. Marsh, then sold to Myron and Jane Lake in 1879. The mansion has been the setting for some strange phenomena over the years.
Thunderbird Lodge Historical Site
Thunderbird Lodge, built in 1936, is haunted by the ghost of a workman who visits the pool room. The man was a painter, and he fell off of a ladder to his death. Other spooky spots are the cook and butler’s house, the boathouse, and the lodge stairways, all reported to be the sites of apparitions, ghostly whispers and other eerie happenings.
Cal Neva Lodge and Casino
Cal Neva Lodge and Casino, reported to be temporarily closed for complete renovations, is said to be haunted by some famous spirits: Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. Frank Sinatra owned the place in the 1960s and Marilyn Monroe stayed in a cabin here as well. Both Sinatra’s and Monroe’s cabins are available to guests. An Indian spirit is rumored to reside here too, and was once captured in a photograph on the stage.
