The Mackay Mansion, Virginia City: History, Ghosts and Tours

The Mackay Mansion stands below C Street on D Street in Virginia City, a two-story brick house with a long white veranda looking out over the Comstock. It began around 1860 as the office of the Gould and Curry mine, home to its superintendent George Hearst, and later became the home of John Mackay, the miner who became the richest of the Comstock’s Bonanza Kings. Much of the furniture inside is original.

It is also one of the most haunted buildings in Nevada by reputation. Its guides describe two little girls who giggle upstairs, a lady in Victorian dress, a colonel in the kitchen, a shadow man and the robbers shot dead at the vault. The house has been on Ghost Adventures and The Dead Files, and it runs paranormal investigations as well as daytime tours.

History of the Mackay Mansion

After the Comstock Lode was found in 1859, the Gould and Curry mine across the street became one of its great producers. Its office was built around 1860, with rooms for the mine superintendent and a vault for the company’s gold, silver and cash. Sources give 1859 or 1860 for the building. The first superintendent to live there was George Hearst, who began his fortune in Virginia City and the father of the newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst.

The vault drew the obvious kind of attention. Western Mining History says two would-be robbers broke in and were killed inside by an armed guard. Their deaths are the start of the house’s ghost stories.

On October 26, 1875, the Great Fire destroyed much of Virginia City, including John Mackay’s own home. Mackay, one of the four Silver Kings and, in Travel Nevada’s words, the richest man to come out of the Comstock, moved into the old office, and it has carried his name ever since. He furnished it lavishly. The house had a 500-gallon gravity-fed water tank, a water heater added in 1874 and what Travel Nevada calls Virginia City’s first plumbed-in toilet, along with a large safe, a gold-plated chandelier and a staircase cut from a single timber. James Fair, another Silver King, briefly had a bedroom there.

Today the house is a museum within the Virginia City Historic District, a National Historic Landmark since 1961. It hosts tours, weddings, tea parties and private events. Western Mining History notes that Johnny Depp stayed there for a week in 1995 while filming the movie Dead Man.

The ghosts of the Mackay Mansion

The little girls

The ghosts mentioned most often are two little girls, named by Travel Nevada as Emma and Lily, said to have died of illness. Caretaker Halen Dessaussois told KOLO 8 in 2022 that staff hear giggling upstairs when no one is there, and the girls are said to tug at visitors’ clothes and rumple a bed that is made up each night. Other accounts describe a little girl in a white dress, sometimes called Elizabeth.

The most famous sighting belongs to Johnny Depp, who, the house’s guides say, saw a little girl’s spirit while staying here during the filming of Dead Man in 1995.

The lady of the house

A woman in Victorian dress, believed to be Mrs. Mackay, is said to appear in the living room and on the third floor. Travel Nevada calls her the spectral lady of the house and says the upstairs is known for EVP, voices caught on recorders, so bring a digital voice recorder. Visit Reno Tahoe adds a darker twist: that she searches the halls for a lost lover.

The vault robbers, the maid and the colonel

The two robbers shot at the vault are said to haunt the lower floor near the safe. A maid is said to have fallen down the stairs and died, and a servant is seen on the staircase. Travel Nevada and Only In Your State both mention a former Army colonel who appears in the kitchen.

The shadow man, the Rocking Horse room and the dolls

Dessaussois told KOLO that a voice was caught on a phone video in the Rocking Horse room, which she calls one of the most active in the house, and that a shadow man appeared on video during a downstairs tour. Some believe he is John Mackay himself. A haunted doll room holds dolls said to have spirit attachments, some sent by people who no longer wanted them. A psychic investigator told the Northern Nevada Business Weekly in 2011 that photos taken into the mirror behind Mackay’s empty chair at the dining table often show his face.

Staff ask visitors to be respectful. One visitor who stole a candlestick later sent it back with an apology. All of these accounts come from the house’s guides, psychics and visitors; none is a documented event.

Where to look

• The vault and the lower floor: where the robbers were shot.
• The Rocking Horse room: where staff say a voice was recorded.
• The children's rooms upstairs: for the giggling and the rumpled bed.
• The kitchen: home of the colonel.
• The dining room mirror: behind Mackay’s empty chair.
• The haunted doll room: for the attached dolls.

Visiting the Mackay Mansion

The mansion is open year round for guided tours of the Grand Parlor, the staircase, John Mackay’s bedroom, the children’s rooms, the bathroom, the dining room and the grounds. Travel Nevada lists hours of 10 AM to 6 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 10 AM to 5 PM the rest of the week, and tickets of $8 for ages 13 and up, $5 for ages 5 to 12 and free for under 5s. It takes cash only, and the Virginia City Visitor Center also sells tickets and the Comstock Adventure Pass.

For the ghosts, look for the mansion’s paranormal investigations and special events, such as its Halloween Creature Feature, and its occasional dinner and ghost hunt nights. Details change, so check the official site or call 775-847-0156 before you go.

The house is a short walk downhill from C Street. Combine it with the Washoe Club’s ghost tour, Piper’s Opera House and the Silver Terrace Cemeteries, and stay the night at the Silver Queen, the Gold Hill Hotel or the Sugarloaf Mountain Motel.

• Visiting Museum open year round for guided tours; also hosts weddings, tea parties and private events
• Tours Guided house tours of the parlor, staircase, Mackay’s bedroom, children’s rooms and grounds; paranormal investigations by arrangement
• Hours and season Typically 10 AM to 5 PM, to 6 PM on Fridays and Saturdays (call 775-847-0156 to check)
• Tickets About $8 adults, $5 ages 5 to 12 for the house tour
• Ghost hunting Yes: the mansion runs paranormal investigations and special ghost events

Tips for your visit

• Bring cash for tickets.
• Take a digital voice recorder upstairs if you want to try for EVP.
• Call ahead in winter to confirm opening hours.
• Book an investigation night if you want the house after dark.
• Do not take anything home: staff tell the story of a returned candlestick.
• Pair it with the Washoe Club ghost tour on C Street.

More haunted places nearby

• Silver Queen Hotel: Rosie’s Room 11, on C Street
• Gold Hill Hotel: Nevada’s oldest hotel, just south in Gold Hill
• Sugarloaf Mountain Motel: Ghost logs in every room
• Haunted Virginia City: More haunted places around town
• Haunted places in Nevada

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

• Mackay Mansion: official site
• Travel Nevada: Mackay Mansion Museum
• Western Mining History: The Mackay Mansion of Virginia City
• KOLO 8: Mackay Mansion hosting Creature Feature for Halloween (2022)
• Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Ghosts expected for dinner party (2011)
• Visit Reno Tahoe: Haunted places in Virginia City
• Only In Your State: Haunted Virginia City
• Travel Nevada: Highway haunts, paranormal pit stops