The Ghost Town of Bodie, truly worth the visit

 

John R Beyer - ready for some visiting

According to Ranger Jake, the ghost town of Bodie is truly haunted.

“Well, I’ve never had an encounter with any real ghosts or stuff like that,” he stated. “But, the state rangers who reside in the town itself says there are some really strange things that go on after dark.”

“With the staff, or the ghosts?” I asked.

Being a ranger, Ranger Jake didn’t see the humor in my question. “No, with things they cannot explain.”

Bodie, which is part of the California State Historic Park system, was known for all sorts of things in its heyday – a mining boomtown, violence, drinking, violence, gambling, violence, and more of the same.

A section of downtown Bodie

The state park is located about twenty miles south-east of the town of Bridgeport. It’s an easy drive, suitable for any vehicle. 

Just east of the tall and beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountain range, the drive to Bodie is beautiful any time of the year. Highway 395 is always a great route to take, and the thirteen mile easterly drive along Highway 270 to Bodie is paved all the way, excepting the last three miles. But, those three miles are hard packed making the journey relatively easy.

Except in winter, when a snowmobile or a bunch of Huskies dragging a sled should be the mode of travel. They get a lot of snow in this part of California.

In fact, one of the original discoverers of the gold in the area was W.S. Bodey, who perished in a fierce snowstorm in November of 1859, while bringing supplies back to the small mining camp from nearby Monoville to the west. 

His friends decided to name the town after him, but the name was misspelled when a sign painter in another mining town, Aurora, mistakenly painted ‘Bodie Stables’ over a horse stable. The spelling stuck.

Though gold had been discovered in Bodie in 1859, it was years before the settlement went from a few tough and stubborn miners to its boom years.

It wasn’t until 1876, that the Standard Company found a large and rich vein of gold-bearing ore. Almost overnight, the sleepy little town of Bodie suddenly found itself on the verge of becoming one of the largest towns in California.

With all that gold, there has to be a bank vault

By 1879, the population had soared to nearly ten thousand folks and two thousand buildings, which consisted of houses, saloons, hotels, meeting halls for the miners, fire stations, schools, and so much more that makes a town a town.

According to some research I did, Bodie, at its peak had 65 saloons just on Main Street, which was a mile long. That is a lot of places to wet one’s whistle, and all in walking distance.

But, as I stood overlooking what was left of Bodie, it didn’t seem that large. Sure, there were two to three streets with homes, businesses, a church, and a school, but not much more to hint that ten thousand people had resided here at one time.

 “You have to understand that Bodie, like many frontier towns experienced numerous fires,” Ranger Jake stated. “It was like a plague for these places built out of wood.”

In fact, so many fires occurred in this town that only five percent of the structures remain to this day. The last major fire was in 1932, which pretty much wiped out the downtown district of Bodie.

As I wandered through the town, I wondered how it would have been to live here during the great mining days. Bodie was a twenty-four/seven sort of town.

Nine large stamp mills crushed the ore dug up from the ground around the clock from the thirty mines located in the area. The echoes from the machinery must have been loud in this town built in a valley. The gold bullion was shipped to Carson City, Nevada and each shipment had to have armed guards since robbery was something Bodie had to deal with.

With mining booms, no matter where, lower social elements usually arrived to take advantage, and Bodie was no exception.

Robbery, gun fights, stabbings, opium dens, gambling halls, brothels, were an integral part of the life in Bodie. In this incident, integral is not to be misunderstood as something positive – nope, not positive but just a fact of life for the towns in the Wild West.

A horse drawn hearse, appropriate for Bodie

As with any mining district, there is the beginning and eventually the ending. Bodie saw the population start to dwindle starting in 1880 when other ‘promising’ booms were reported in places like Butte, Montana and Tombstone, Arizona.

With miners leaving, so did much of the rougher crowds which meant the remaining citizens of Bodie were families. In 1882, the Methodist Church was built, and still stands today. Then a Roman Catholic Church was built, followed by a school house, and more properties suited for a more genteel population.

The Methodist Church in Bodie

The ore was not good, but not bad either, and families were able to make a living in Bodie. With new technology in the 1890’s though, more ore could be found using a cyanide process, which allowed miners a chance to go through the old mill tailings and extract the gold and silver just lying there.

I’d explain the cyanide process, but I don’t want to sound too scientifically nerdy.

But, things eventually turned south for Bodie and according to the U.S. Federal Census of 1920, only one hundred and twenty people resided there. The post office officially closed in 1942, and by 1943 only three people were on hand to keep the town from being looted and vandalized.

In 1961, Bodie was designated a National Historic Landmark, and in 1962 it became the Bodie State Historic Park. With nearly one hundred and seventy buildings still standing, the town has become known as California’s official state gold rush ghost town.

It was early, being the first tourist there, I wanted the place for myself – the park closes at six p.m. during the summer, and though I had planned to spend the night there to see if any ghosts or goblins walked the streets, no overnight stays are allowed – unless you are one of the ranger residents.

As I wandered here and there through the dusty streets of Bodie, I could almost hear the mills thumping away in the nearby hills. The sounds of people laughing seemed to be floating along the slight breeze heading east along Main Street. 

Bodie is referred as in a state of arrested decay, which gives the illusion of people just getting up and leaving their abodes.

The houses, businesses, and the rest which remain today have heavy metal screens over the windows and doorways for good reason.

Looking in through those windows is such a strange sensation. Dinner tables with dishes, utensils, and drinking glasses set around empty chairs. In an accountant’s office, there are ledgers, ink pens and a pair of reading glasses on a desk. In the schoolhouse there are desks with text books resting on them as if the children are simply out for recess.

It's as though the family will be returning

      

A tailor shop, waiting for customers in Bodie

It is a haunting experience to walk the streets of Bodie.

Prior to the anti-theft measures put up by the state, visitors would often take ‘relics’ or ‘souvenirs’ with them when they left the town.

So much so, that the Bodie Curse was invented by a ranger at the park. Legend has it that if an article is taken from Bodie, then bad luck will surely be upon the thief and their family.

When news of this was made public, all sorts of things were mailed back to the park with notes such as: ‘Hey, didn’t mean to steal the shoes from the schoolhouse but now I have two noses.’

I met up with Ranger Jake during a tour of the Standard Mill, and after a great and interesting hour long tour, I asked him more about the paranormal sightings in the park.

“Like I said,” he stated. “I have never had experienced anything out of the ordinary but those rangers who live here say they see shadows going across doorways. Perhaps, voices where no one should be. It seems that in the evenings is when spirits, if there are any, tend to come out.”

According to some other ghostly research, there is a woman with a large basket in her hand, wearing a white hood and wearing a black and white dress, who comes out at midnight and walks a bit before vanishing. Another is a tall figure carrying a light who enters the mines and wanders there until dawn.

Just before the last folks left Bodie, a man murdered his wife and then three men killed him for the murder. Later, the killer returned and yelled at his killers – those three other men died of diseases shortly there-after. Now, these four seem to visit the town or the cemetery from time to time.

Is Bodie haunted? I don’t know, but walking those lonely streets with houses, businesses, and other establishments as though people just stood up and walked away, is creepy enough.

It’s as though, at any moment, a door will open and a family will descend onto the street wondering what activity may be awaiting them.

I didn’t see that happen, but in Bodie, it seems anything could.

A haunting view, east of downtown Bodie

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Is the Mizpah Hotel haunted?

A few years ago, Laureen and I drove through Tonopah, Nevada on the way to see one of our daughters in Idaho. The town was founded around 1900 when a rich silver deposit was located in the nearby hills.

And that silver was founded by nothing more than serendipitous luck. 

Turns out that a miner, Jim Butler, was looking for a lost burro and had to spend the night hunkered below a rock outcropping. The next morning he located the burro, and picked up a large rock to heave it out of frustration.

“Wait,” he is rumored to have said to himself. “This rock is plenty heavy. I think I will have it assayed instead of just chucking it.”

In fact, that certain rock started the second richest silver strike in the state’s history, only behind the Comstock Lode near Virginia City.

Tonopah is the county seat of Nye County and is about midway between Las Vegas and Reno at the junction of U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 95. It’s a small town of just over two thousand folks, according to a 2019 statistic from the US Census Bureau.

We could only stay a couple of hours but learned a few things about this little berg during that time.

Wyatt Earp arrived in 1902 and opened the Northern Saloon. Hugh Bradner, the physicist, invented the neoprene wetsuit had lived there. Tasker Oddie, the 12th governor of Nevada and United States Senator lived there. And, Dennis Avner, also known as the Stalking Cat died in Tonopah in 2012 – he was the guy who had fourteen facial surgeries (body modifications) to make his face look like an actual feline.

So, there was a lot to this town – and, it is haunted.

Words can not explain this - really!

According to tonopahnevada.com, the whole town has ghosts and goblins hanging around.

There’s the prank loving ghost, George ‘Devil’ Davis, who plays gags on people at the Tonopah Liquor Company.

 

Then there is Bina Verrault, who left New York City under nefarious reasons, and ended up dying in Tonopah – she loves to stare out the windows of the Tonopah Historic Mining Park’s visitor’s center.

Then there is the cemetery which is haunted right next door to the infamous Clown Motel. Strange lights, full body apparitions, and weird noises can be heard coming from the cemetery.

Tonopah cemetery, next to the Clown Motel

But, isn’t a clown motel creepy enough without worrying about supernatural goings-on in the grave yard?

“Dad, I think that clown opening our door has a machete in his hand.”

“Not to worry, son, I’m only concerned about white orbs floating menacingly about the Old Tonopah Cemetery.”

And, according to USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Award in 2018, the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada was voted the most haunted hotel in America.

Hotel Mizpah, Tonopah

So haunted, that many paranormal professionals have visited this town in the south-western part of Nevada to investigate the numerous sightings of things with no explanations.

This hotel really has tales to tell.

Three of the most famous other-worldly residents at the hotel is the Lady in Red, who was stabbed and strangled between rooms 502 and 504 on the fifth floor. Then there are some children who are heard and seen running around the third floor and then just disappear into thin air. And finally, a murdered miner or robber hanging around in the basement – not really hanging there, more like, just hanging out.

Lady in Red suite at the Mizpah Hotel, Tonopah

“We’ve got to come back and book a room on the fifth floor,” I stated to Laureen, as we sauntered through the lobby of the gorgeous hotel.

The Mizpah Hotel was started in 1907, and was going to be the center-piece for the entire region. Architect, Morrill J. Curtis designed the large hotel and for a cost of over two hundred thousand dollars when completed in 1908, the town had their grand hotel.

It had fifty rooms, two restaurants, a bar and other rooms for meeting and social functions. Everything went well for the town and hotel, but like most mining communities, there is always an end to the gold and silver ore bonanza. By 1920 the population had dwindled, with miners looking for the next big strike.

Tonopah hung on with the induction of dollars from the military from the Tonopah Test Range, which was also used for the development of the F-117 Nighthawk. In 2014, a solar energy company dumped millions into the economy by constructing a solar plant nearby.

But, there wasn’t quite enough business to keep the Mizpah Hotel from closing, which it did in 1999 and fell into disrepair. An enterprising couple, Fred and Nancy Cline bought the vacant hotel for two hundred thousand dollars and retrofitted it to its former glory.

They did a marvelous job.

As we walked around the hotel, it felt as though we had stepped back more than a hundred years in time. The lobby, the reception desk, the wide stairways, and every other area in the hotel is painstakingly stunning.

Lobby at the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah

We had to stay – but we didn’t. Time was not on our side that trip, but we made a vow to spend the night in this haunted place the following year.

Nope, Covid-19 struck and that idea floated away like a paper boat in the gutter.

Well, on a recent trip through Nevada, sans Laureen – her schedule is a lot busier than mine – our friend, Paul Bakas, and I decided to see if the hotel is really haunted.

I contacted one guy, who I knew could give me the information I needed for this venture, and I got more than I needed to book a room at the hotel.

According to Cody Dare, from the paranormal investigating team of New Reality 11, they had a lot of action while filming a television episode at the Mizpah Hotel in the spring of 2021.

Cody Dare and his partner Shawn Warren on an investigation

“The basement is no joke. There is an old miner down there, very tall and very territorial. Lots of activity there. Lady in red, we didn’t catch much, but we did feel her presence there.”

I nodded at Paul. “I’m booking room 504.”

He was silent for a moment. “That’s kind of creepy. Trying to sleep in a room where there may be a ghost wandering around.”

“It is cool,” I returned.

Unfortunately, the room wasn’t available, and had a waiting list of about a year, according to the front desk clerk, Brittany.

“Everyone wants that room,” she said. “Weird, how people would want to sleep in a room a woman may have been killed in or near.”

“Yeah, that is weird,” I replied. We got a suite on the second floor and I put Laureen’s name on the waiting list.

All this ghost talk got me thirsty, so we stopped at the long dark polished wood bar on the first floor of the hotel for an adult libation.

Gorgeous bar in Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah

Alex, the bartender then shared some ghostly history of the hotel. There was plenty for at least two rounds of libations, we weren’t driving.

“I don’t believe in that stuff,” she stated. “But, I’ll tell you, I don’t like going into the basement.”

“I know, all those stairs going down that you have to come back up again,” I replied.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Alex said. “There’s just this strange feeling I get down there. As if someone is watching me. I usually ask someone else to get whatever I need, so I don’t have to experience those feelings.”

Cody Dare was correct, there was a lot of activity in the basement.

My plans were solid – stay up and be on the watch for anything out of the ordinary.

I spent the evening sitting in the large and wide hallway outside of the room, but no ghosts or paranormal activity greeted me. After midnight, I called the investigation over – I was tired.

In the morning, just prior to our leaving, we headed upstairs to the fifth floor, to snap some photos of room 504. I brought my phone, since it took excellent photos. Just being past six, no one was stirring, not even a mouse.

Stairwell at the Mizpah Hotel, Tonopah

I shot a few photos – looked at them – and felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

“Look at this,” I stated to Paul.

As I ran wiped back through the five shots I had taken of the door, there was nothing but a tenth-of-second view of the door and then the screen went blue. Each and every one of the photos.

“I think you may have shot a video too,” Paul said.

So happened I had, a short one by accident. The hair went even higher on the back of my neck.

There was the door, with a greenish hue plainly seen at the bottom of the door, and then a loud crashing sound.

No one in the hall, but a loud crash and light below door

There was no one else in the hallway but Paul and me. 

“Did you hear anything when I took those photos?” I asked.

“No, but I think it’s time to go,” Paul replied.

It was and we did.

Did I witness a paranormal activity? I don’t know, but just before heading downstairs, I took another couple of photos of the hallway away from the door, and not an issue. Each one came out clear and bright.

Is the hotel haunted? Again, I don’t know but when Laureen’s reservation comes up next year – perhaps we’ll find out.