Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/388750
off. This is because I am a yellow-bellied scaredy-cat who has watched way too many horror fl icks — and none of them ends well for blonde s like me. The only thing I would love right now is a shot of whiskey from a nearby saloon, but I'm out of luck. The fl ashlight fl ickers, then snaps on. And I'm scream- ing like the freaked-out chicken I am. Say howdy to Virginia City, Nev., identified by the SyFy network show Ghost Hunters as one of America's most haunted towns. Roughly 25 miles from Reno and 35 miles from Lake Tahoe, Virginia City was a mining boomtown in the 19th century, thanks to the fabled Com- stock Lode, the largest deposit of silver ever discovered in the U.S. The bonanza turned destitute prospectors into millionaires, and they built opera houses, hospitals, churches and schools, and furnished their mansions with imported furniture from Europe and Asia. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY By K athleen Pa r r ish Illustr ation by Mich a el Kir k h a m Ghost Stories You can probably recall sitting around the campfire as a kid, swapping spooky sagas with friends, but this isn't your average roast-marshmallows-over-the-campfire tall tale. Our fearless — well, most of the time — writer ventured to the historically HAUNTED TOWN OF VIRGINIA CITY, NEV., to see what true ghost-busting is all about. I t's nearing midnight, and we're sitting on the ballroom fl oor of an abandoned building in an old Western mining town. As if this wasn't spooky enough, a professional ghost-buster is attempting to conjure a spirit in the pitch-black room. Our guide for the evening, Debbie Bender, places a plastic fl ashlight in our circle — but out of reach. "We would be super impressed if you would turn it on," she says to one of the many entities that allegedly haunt this building, once home to a secret society called the Knights of Pythias. "We know you're trying really hard and we appreciate it." Nothing. "Pleeease," she cajoles as if talking to preschoolers. "We would all love to see you do it." Technically, this is not true. I, for one, would not love to see a ghost. In fact, I'm hoping they all take the night 4 8 O C TO B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY