It’s October, which means the fall decorations have made an appearance, most of them dealing with the Halloween theme. Halloween now ranks second, just behind Christmas, for the amount of money spent on decorations and other paraphernalia for this fall celebration. Virginia City goes all out for Halloween. Decorations show up all over town by the first of October, and by the end of the month, candy abounds, people attend parties, and some businesses or individuals plan fright nights, or have haunted houses open for the public. The air seems almost as festive as Christmas. When I first moved here, I was astounded at the length some people went to in order to commemorate Halloween. However, after living here for several years, I think I understand the reason.

Virginia City has numerous ghosts that still walk the boardwalk and inhabit buildings all over town. Most of the older homes and structures have at least one ghost legend attached to them, and several buildings have multiple tales, stories, and sightings of paranormal activity that continue to this day. Locals have had supernatural or unexplained encounters with phantoms or spirits on many occasions, and have hair-raising stories to tell; a few people believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they share their house with a ghost or two. Everyone shares these stories freely. I have heard enough ghost tales since I moved to Virginia City that I could write a small book! This explains to me why Halloween has become an integral part of Virginia City. I also have become intimately familiar with many of these tales, as I hosted the Virginia City ‘ghost walks’ throughout the summer.

In the off season, Virginia City may be considered a ghost town, anyway. Less than 200 of us live here year round, and after the tourists pack it in and winter arrives, a person could walk down the middle of the main street, stop and lie down for a nap, and not worry in the slightest about any vehicle running her over. In this town, traffic and people don’t really seem to exist from October to April.

Virginia City’s Wallace Street, the main drag through town, has boardwalks for four blocks, up and down the business district. The boards on this makeshift sidewalk creak and groan under the weight of people moving up and down the street. One person walking alone down the boardwalk will cause the boards to squeak and grumble. Consequently, no one can step along this boardwalk silently.

Since October has arrived and we approach another Halloween, I want to share just one of the many ghost stories I’ve heard. This one is from a man who has lived here for decades (let’s call him Bill). Having experienced the unexplained on multiple occasions, Bill has several strange tales of eerie experiences he has had in Virginia City. Like most good ghost stories, this one occurred late at night. It took place on Wallace Street, and involves Bill, Hector, a town dog that roamed freely, and, of course, the apparition that chose to frequent the downtown area on this particular night.

Bill had spent the evening at the rehearsal hall, making repairs to the building. He finished his work sometime after midnight, took a shortcut through an alley to Wallace, and proceeded down the boardwalk towards his home. He hadn’t traveled a block when he thought he heard footsteps behind him. He stopped, turned to look, and saw nothing but empty boardwalk on either side of the street. He continued on his journey towards home when, again, he heard footfalls behind him. For a second time he stopped to survey the town behind him, and saw nothing. Slightly unnerved by now, Bill quickened his pace. He heard fast footfalls behind him, so, for the third time, he once again stopped to peer in all directions. He saw nothing on his side of the street, but he saw motion several blocks away on the other side of the street, much too far away to explain the footsteps he had heard coming up behind him.

Within moments, Bill saw Hector approaching him at a fast clip. Hector ran across the street and straight to Bill, where the dog promptly planted himself firmly against Bill’s leg. Hector stared intently behind Bill. Slowly, the dog pulled his lips away from his teeth and showed his fangs, then began to growl from deep in his throat. Hector’s growl became louder as his hackles rose straight up—he continued to stand sentinel, unmoving.

Although Bill could see nothing, he felt paralyzed by fear. Hector continued to growl and snarl, staring fixedly at something Bill could not see. A few moments later, Hector’s gaze began to shift, and his head began to move as he tracked something moving on down the boardwalk. Hector continued to growl and whine as his head slowly pivoted toward whatever it was he could see or sense moving away. Hector craned his neck, watched intently for another moment or two, then relaxed, stopped growling, and gave Bill’s hand a quick lick before he trotted away into the night.

So what did Bill hear? What did Hector see or sense that upset him so much that he stood by Bill until the disturbance passed by? Bill has no idea, but he believes he encountered one of the many spirits that still walk the streets of Virginia City.

Happy Fright night to all of you. Remember, the early bird may get the worm, but the night owl gets the candy.

Lois Stephens lives and works in Virginia City. She conducts the ghost walks in Virginia City during the summer tourist season.