See last week’s post for details about three ghostly buildings.

Gold Hill Hotel, Gold Hill, Nev.

Not to be confused with the Goldfield in central Nevada, the Gold Hill Hotel is located about a mile southwest of Virginia City. Probably established around 1859, it’s one of the state’s oldest continually operating lodging establishments and has its fair share of resident specters. Employees talk about guests hearing disembodied voices and room keys being jingled, feeling their beds shaking and smelling overpowering scents that disappear as soon as they are detected.

At least two ghosts reside in the original part of the hotel. In room 4, Rosie announces her presence through her signature rose-water scent. Next door in room 5, William tends to smoke his cherry tobacco.

The Miner’s Cabin, a corrugated metal shack next to the hotel (but available for rental through the Gold Hill Hotel as the Miner’s Lodge) is known for its unsettling eeriness. Once a building for the Yellow Jacket Mine, it’s situated just outside the mine’s entrance. In 1873, a fire in its tunnels killed dozens of miners. It is said those who perished in the inferno traipse in and out of the Miner’s Cabin today. During investigations, we’ve gathered EVP (one was a deep laugh), photos of shadow people and the unmistakable sensation of someone standing beside me. I’ve been told guests in the southerly bedroom of this inelegant accommodation have been awakened by something jumping on their bed.

Truckee Hotel, Truckee, Calif.

This historic railroad/lumber town, located at the base of Donner Summit, is home to the Truckee Hotel, established in 1873. While the building burned in the town’s devastating 1909 fire, the current hotel displays an original mirror at the base of the stairs. What’s so interesting about this mirror is the finger-smudged mark “SOS” that cannot be wiped off. Rumor has it the chandelier moves when there is no breeze and a ghost dog roams its halls.

Like all old public buildings, the Truckee Hotel has seen its share of tragedy. A little girl drowned in the fourth floor bathtub in the 1930s—I’ve seen a photo of a young child apparition emerging from that bathroom wall. In room 212, a woman was murdered by her husband in the 1970s and guests have claimed to see this “woman in red” while staying in that room. On the stairwell between the third and fourth floors, it is said the apparition of a man fleeing the 1909 fire, who hit his head on the low overhang and broke his neck, lurks on the steps.

Do you have a favorite haunted location within an hour’s drive of Reno that’s open to the public? If so, please share your stories here.