Investigating The Gold Hill Hotel In Gold Hill, Nevada With Author Janice Oberding
You can also check out our interesting happenings at the Gold Hill here when we were shooting a documentary
In March of 2004, Author Janice Oberding had scheduled a lecture at the Gold Hill Hotel in Gold Hill, Nevada. Gold Hill is a very small town situated next to Virginia City, Nevada. Over the years I had always heard about the hauntings in the Gold Hill Hotel and was aware that the hotel was used in many Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, Travel Channel segments. I had always wanted to visit but never had due to a busy schedule. As Janice is a part of our coalition of groups (Paranormal Researchers of the Pacific Northwest) and we do try to support each other in what we are doing, Janice had now given me a reason to discover the charm and ambience of the Gold Hill Hotel.
When I first arrived at the Gold Hill Hotel, I was amazed at the condition of the building and immediately surrounding landscape. The owners had gone to great lengths to maintain the building which seemed to be in great shape. As well, the landscaping and well maintained walkways, railings and potted plants were all kept up. This is a difficult task considering how hot it can get in this part of Nevada for much of the year.
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When I had made my reservation initially, I was met with a reservation clerk who was very friendly and very informative, even understanding when I explained that coming over Highway 80 may delay me if it happened to be snowing. When I arrived, that same clerk very just as warm and friendly. I have been in many hotels where clerks were nice and helpful, but this hotel had people working who were "down home friendly", knew the layout of the land and actually wanted to make your visit a nice one. Not only was I impressed but pleasantly surprised. The rooms were decorated in a country style fashion that was very comforting.
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The Gold Hill Hotel holds lectures on a regular basis and draws in a good crowd. This night, Janice was doing a ghostly lecture and quite a crowd had gathered. Unfortunately, we had to wait longer to hear the lecture because the restaurant was so busy, some of the lecture-goers were still eating dinner. The owner decided to wait for them and became the comic relief of the night. He told jokes and asked the crowd for any jokes they had. Everyone had fun while waiting for the rest of the guests to finish eating. Very nice of him to wait, nobody got too anxious or upset.
Janice's lecture was a hit. She touched on history, hauntings and various locations in the area that had spirit activity. She is a great lecturer delving into facts that most people never knew existed. She has great pictures that follow the lecture and she is always quick and knowledgeable with her answers.
Janice and I waited for the lecture crowd to leave for the evening and we began a ghost hunt. We wandered the halls taking pictures, trying for EVP and although we didn't capture anything on film or EVP that night, just spending time together and catching up on ghostly gossip was fun. Those were good times!!
I stayed in Robert's room, a haunted room that I requested when I made my reservation. I was not disappointed. By the time I had finished getting myself ready to go to bed, I was ready to sleep for the night. However, Robert or whomever chose to haunt my room that night was not willing to let me sleep. The bed in that room was a sleigh bed with a very firm mattress. There was no one wandering the halls as it was well past midnight when I jumped in bed. The people downstairs in the bar were closing up or had already left. Within what seemed like minutes but was probably half an hour, my bed began to be kicked. That is best way I can describe it. It was as though someone was "kicking" or pushing quickly on the mattress of my bed to make it move like a quick earthquake jolt (having been through my share, I know what I mean but to describe it to someone who has never been is another story). It happened once, a long wait (? - again, I was in bed and sometimes minutes seems like an eternity and vice versa) and then another thump and this continued for probably an hour. Finally, disgusted and not really happy, I got up and set up my videocamera on a tripod and told whoever was in my room, if they wanted to play games, I would turn on my camera. I did and I got nothing ~~ but I did get a few more bed thumps and then it stopped for the night. It was enough to make me toss and turn all night though. BUT - I did get exactly what I asked for....a haunted room to sleep in.
After a quick breakfast, I left for my long trip home. I had a renewed appreciation for haunted rooms and the Gold Hill Hotel. Anytime I am in the Virginia City area, I intend to stay at the Gold Hill Hotel, probably one of the finest in the area. They are reasonably priced and if you stay when they are holding a lecture and have dinner, the lecture is free. The staff is very pleasant and accommodating. The rooms are gorgeous and haunted. What more can you ask for from a charming little hotel situated near a town that was known for being part of the wild, wild, west???
My THANKS to Carol and her staff at the Gold Hill Hotel. They offered me the best restless night I could ever get in a haunted hotel. My THANKS also to Janice Oberding for again showing me a great time ghost hunting!!
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