Read Online Chasing Spirits: The Building of the "Ghost Adventures" Crew by Nick Groff, Jeff Belanger - Free Book Online
Authors: Nick Groff, Jeff Belanger
Ads: Link
were brainstorming name ideas for the documentary. We had tons of different ideas for the name, but we knew we wanted “Ghost” in the title somewhere. One night Veronique and I were talking and thought this quest was like an adventure. I was telling Zak about it and we both said, “Ghost Adventures.” As soon as we said it out loud we knew that was the title.
I love knowing the history before I go into a location. The history gives some context to the haunting. When you look around Virginia City, it looks like the Old West—saloons, former brothels, an opera house, and it’s set up there high in the mountains. It’s a dry desert town with that dusty look like it’s been around long enough to see some shit go down.
ABOUT VIRGINIA CITY
In 1859, two miners named Pat McLaughlin and Peter O’Riley discovered gold at the head of Six-Mile Canyon. Soon after the discovery, another miner named Henry Comstock wandered into the dig site and claimed the men were prospecting on his property. McLaughlin and O’Riley believed Comstock, and were soon swindled out of a major find. The giant vein of precious metal was named the Comstock Lode.
Soon, other miners wound their way up the canyon into the shadow of Mt. Davidson, where more gold was discovered. A tent city sprang up and hundreds of miners flocked to the region.
One of those early miners, James “Old Virginny” Finney from Virginia christened the town during a drunken celebration. The story goes that he smashed a bottle of whiskey on the dirt and rocks and called the tent city “Old Virginny Town” in his own honor.
With pounds of gold and silver leaving the earth each day in the 1860s, thousands of prospectors were drawn to the region from around the country. Soon, the silver began yielding millionaires as much as the gold, and the first industrial town of the Old West was born.
The tents soon grew into a proper city with tens of thousands of residents. There were schools, local newspapers, an opera house, hotels, and restaurants. The town’s population peaked at around thirty thousand people. When you stand there today, it’s difficult to imagine so many people in such a small town.
Mark Twain even spent some time in Virginia City, as a reporter for the
Territorial Enterprise
in 1863. Was this town tough? Don’t take my word for it—Mark Twain himself wrote that there were so many tragedies in town from cave-ins to dead Indians that the paper never lacked material for its front page.
By 1898, the Comstock Lode had ended, and the exodus of people began. Those tens of thousands turned into a few hundred. If not for modern-day tourism, Virginia City would truly be a ghost town.
When you know the past before you begin investigating it, it not only helps you appreciate where you are and why a spot might be haunted, but it also helps you connect with the locals.
A few places wanted money for us to film inside, so we paid what we could. The Silver Queen Hotel just charged us for a room, as did the Miner’s Lodge at the Gold Hill Hotel.
It was that night in the Silver Queen where the provoking style of our show was born. Zak was trying to reach the spirit of the prostitute who’d killed herself in room 11. He sat in the bathtub pretending to slit his wrists while mocking her. He told the prostitute’s ghost to come and get him. I thought it was insane, but that was mostly me just egging him on. Before the camera started rolling, I told Zak, “What would you do? You’re sitting in the tub, you’d slit your wrists—mocking the spirit.” I know it sounds a little mean.
Here’s the thing. This prostitute committed suicide. I have some tough feelings on suicide. I know these people are sick—no one in their right mind takes his or her own life—but I feel like it’s a selfish way to go out. Especially when people have a family, kids, spouses, friends. Your life is all you get—that gift shouldn’t be wasted no matter how bad things get.
The real
I love knowing the history before I go into a location. The history gives some context to the haunting. When you look around Virginia City, it looks like the Old West—saloons, former brothels, an opera house, and it’s set up there high in the mountains. It’s a dry desert town with that dusty look like it’s been around long enough to see some shit go down.
ABOUT VIRGINIA CITY
In 1859, two miners named Pat McLaughlin and Peter O’Riley discovered gold at the head of Six-Mile Canyon. Soon after the discovery, another miner named Henry Comstock wandered into the dig site and claimed the men were prospecting on his property. McLaughlin and O’Riley believed Comstock, and were soon swindled out of a major find. The giant vein of precious metal was named the Comstock Lode.
Soon, other miners wound their way up the canyon into the shadow of Mt. Davidson, where more gold was discovered. A tent city sprang up and hundreds of miners flocked to the region.
One of those early miners, James “Old Virginny” Finney from Virginia christened the town during a drunken celebration. The story goes that he smashed a bottle of whiskey on the dirt and rocks and called the tent city “Old Virginny Town” in his own honor.
With pounds of gold and silver leaving the earth each day in the 1860s, thousands of prospectors were drawn to the region from around the country. Soon, the silver began yielding millionaires as much as the gold, and the first industrial town of the Old West was born.
The tents soon grew into a proper city with tens of thousands of residents. There were schools, local newspapers, an opera house, hotels, and restaurants. The town’s population peaked at around thirty thousand people. When you stand there today, it’s difficult to imagine so many people in such a small town.
Mark Twain even spent some time in Virginia City, as a reporter for the
Territorial Enterprise
in 1863. Was this town tough? Don’t take my word for it—Mark Twain himself wrote that there were so many tragedies in town from cave-ins to dead Indians that the paper never lacked material for its front page.
By 1898, the Comstock Lode had ended, and the exodus of people began. Those tens of thousands turned into a few hundred. If not for modern-day tourism, Virginia City would truly be a ghost town.
When you know the past before you begin investigating it, it not only helps you appreciate where you are and why a spot might be haunted, but it also helps you connect with the locals.
A few places wanted money for us to film inside, so we paid what we could. The Silver Queen Hotel just charged us for a room, as did the Miner’s Lodge at the Gold Hill Hotel.
It was that night in the Silver Queen where the provoking style of our show was born. Zak was trying to reach the spirit of the prostitute who’d killed herself in room 11. He sat in the bathtub pretending to slit his wrists while mocking her. He told the prostitute’s ghost to come and get him. I thought it was insane, but that was mostly me just egging him on. Before the camera started rolling, I told Zak, “What would you do? You’re sitting in the tub, you’d slit your wrists—mocking the spirit.” I know it sounds a little mean.
Here’s the thing. This prostitute committed suicide. I have some tough feelings on suicide. I know these people are sick—no one in their right mind takes his or her own life—but I feel like it’s a selfish way to go out. Especially when people have a family, kids, spouses, friends. Your life is all you get—that gift shouldn’t be wasted no matter how bad things get.
The real
Similar Books
