Haunted Places in Carson City, NV: 8 Haunted Sites to Visit
A frontier prison with night ghost walks, a governor’s mansion with a lady in white, a mint where the elevator runs by itself and a founder who never quite left. Nevada’s capital has packed a lot of ghost stories into a few historic blocks.
Most of Carson City’s haunted places sit within a few blocks of each other on the west side of downtown, along Mountain Street, Nevada Street and Third Street, where the Carson City Ghost Walk has led visitors past the Governor’s Mansion, the Bliss and Ferris mansions and Abe Curry’s stone house for more than 30 years. The old Mint, now the Nevada State Museum, and the 1862 St. Charles Hotel are on Carson Street, and the Nevada State Prison, the most haunted of them all by reputation, is on the east side of town. Many are private homes or offices, so we say which you can enter and which you should only see from the sidewalk.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 3301 E Fifth St, Carson City, NV 89701
Where to look The execution chamber, the Hole, the women's cell block and the courtroom
Reported ghosts Prisoners and men executed here; voices in the hallways
Visiting Tours on Saturdays from May to October and at special events; everyone signs a waiver
Tours 90-minute history tours, evening Ghost Walks and overnight paranormal investigations
Hours and season Saturdays, May to October (check the site)
Tickets History tour $20; Ghost Walk $50; investigations from $125 per person ($500 minimum)
Ghost hunting Yes: overnight paranormal investigations booked by email with the Preservation Society
The prison opened in 1862, before Nevada was a state, on the site of Abraham Curry’s Warm Springs Hotel, with Curry as first warden. Its quarry supplied stone for the Capitol, its shops made every Nevada license plate from 1928, and a casino ran inside from 1932 to 1967. In 1924 it carried out the first execution by gas chamber in the United States. The prison closed in 2012 and the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society now runs tours.
Guides call it the most haunted place in Nevada. A volunteer investigator told the Nevada Appeal she has counted 54 executions here, and investigators show visitors photos and recordings of voices from certain hallways. A guide described spirits in the Hole, the early solitary cell. Evening Ghost Walks introduce the stories, and groups can book overnight investigations. It has been on Destination Fear.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the evening Ghost Walk (ages 15 and up, closed-toe shoes, a flashlight) or arrange an overnight investigation for a group.
Where to look The second floor, the north stairwell clock and the library
Reported ghosts First Lady Una Dickerson in white; her daughter June; a man on the stairs
Visiting An official residence; see it from Mountain Street. Public access is limited to special events
Tours Seen on the Carson City Ghost Walk (summer evening flashlight tours and an all-day walk in October)
Ghost hunting No: a working state residence
Reno architect George A. Ferris designed this white Classical Revival mansion, and Acting Governor Denver S. Dickerson moved in with his family in July 1909. His daughter June was born here that September, still the only child born in the mansion. It is the working residence of Nevada’s governor and was added to the National Register in 1976.
Staff and overnight guests have described a woman in a long white dress on the second floor, said to be First Lady Una Dickerson, along with a child crying and a little girl in white thought to be June. Others tell of a grandfather clock at the top of the north stairs that breathes cold air, slamming doors and a workman who fled the library after being wrapped in icy air on a hot day. The mansion itself does not promote the stories.
Haunted Rooms tip: View it from Mountain Street on the Kit Carson Trail or the Ghost Walk; thousands of children trick-or-treat here every Halloween.
Address 302 to 310 S Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701
Where to look The upper-floor rooms and the pub
Reported ghosts A man said to have been poisoned in 1874; boxer Larry Duncan; a ghost cat
Visiting Ground-floor pub and restaurant open to the public; check with the property about upstairs rooms
Tours The Carson City Ghost Walk departs from McFadden Plaza next to the hotel
Ghost hunting No investigations
Albert Muller and George Remington built two brick hotels side by side in 1862: the three-story St. Charles and the two-story Muller’s Hotel. The St. Charles was a stagecoach stop with the Pioneer Stage Company’s office, home to the famous driver Hank Monk, and a haunt of territorial legislators; Mark Twain and his brother Orion are believed to have been patrons. It later became the Pony Express Hotel, a bus depot and cheap lodging before restorations in 1993 and 2007 to 2008.
Ghost stories here include a man said to have died of strychnine poisoning in 1874, the boxer Larry Duncan, who is said to have died in his room in the late 20th century, and a cat that is heard meowing but never seen. The pub on the ground floor is open, and the Carson City Ghost Walk starts from the plaza beside it. The National Park Service says the building ran as a hotel until recently, so check whether rooms are being let.
Haunted Rooms tip: Start the Ghost Walk at McFadden Plaza beside the hotel and finish with a drink downstairs.
Where to look The basement and the underground mine exhibit, the old elevator
Reported ghosts Mint worker Osborne Parker; Abe Curry
Visiting State museum open daily
Hours and season 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily
Tickets $10 adults; free for 17 and under
Ghost hunting No: a state museum
Abraham Curry, the founder of Carson City, supervised the building of this sandstone mint, which struck its first coins on February 4, 1870. It closed as a mint in 1893, became an assay office, and was sold to the state in 1939 to house the Nevada State Museum. Coin Press No. 1 is still here and is fired up on demonstration days to strike medallions.
Two ghosts are named. Osborne Parker, a mint worker, is said to have been killed in the basement in 1872 when equipment fell on him, and staff and visitors describe footsteps in the replica mine below the building and an elevator that moves on its own, which believers put down to him. Curry, who died in 1873, is said to come back to the mint he built. These stories come from Carson City’s ghost lore and the Ghost Walk, not museum records.
Haunted Rooms tip: Time your visit for a Coin Press No. 1 demonstration, then walk the underground mine replica slowly and listen.
Where to look The house and garden seen from Nevada Street
Reported ghosts Abraham Curry, Carson City's founder
Visiting Private law offices; not open to the public. View from the sidewalk
Tours Seen on the Carson City Ghost Walk (summer evening flashlight tours and an all-day walk in October)
Ghost hunting No: private offices
Abraham Curry founded Carson City, gave land for the Capitol, ran the territorial prison and was first superintendent of the Mint. Around 1871 he built this small one-story house from sandstone quarried at the prison, dressed by hand like the Capitol’s stone. He died of a stroke here in Carson City on October 19, 1873, at 58, and the Mint closed for the day in his honor. The house was listed on the National Register in 1987.
Carson City’s ghost lore says Curry never really left. Staff of the private law office that now uses the house are said to have seen him in the building, and he is also said to visit the Mint he built. The story is told on the Carson City Ghost Walk; we found no first-hand published account from the office itself. Older lists showed a different, wooden house as this one: the real Curry house is the small stone building at Telegraph and Nevada streets.
Haunted Rooms tip: See it from the street on the Kit Carson Trail; it is a private office and not open to the public.
Address 608 Elizabeth St (at W Robinson and N Mountain streets), Carson City, NV 89703
Where to look The upper-floor windows and the yard
Reported ghosts Duane L. Bliss at the windows; spirits from a cemetery said to have been under the lot
Visiting Private; sometimes used for summer art and music events. View from the street
Tours Seen on the Carson City Ghost Walk (summer evening flashlight tours and an all-day walk in October)
Ghost hunting No: private property
Lumber and railroad millionaire Duane L. Bliss, who made his fortune selling timber to the Comstock mines, built this three-story, 8,500-square-foot house in 1879, directly across from where the Governor’s Mansion would rise. It was said to be the most lavish home in Carson City, built of clear lumber with square nails and reportedly the first house in Nevada fully piped for gas lighting. It later ran as a bed and breakfast before that business closed.
The ghost lore says Bliss, who died in 1907, still looks out of the upper windows and stands in the yard, and that curtains move when nobody is home. Some stories claim the house was built on an old cemetery whose graves were moved, leaving confused spirits on the grounds. We found no record confirming the cemetery story. The mansion is a regular stop on the Carson City Ghost Walk.
Haunted Rooms tip: Look at it from Mountain Street on the Ghost Walk; the house is private and opens only for occasional events.
Where to look The back gate, the halls and the windows
Reported ghosts A second bride at a wedding; the smell of strong aftershave
Visiting Private home; view from the street
Tours Seen on the Carson City Ghost Walk (summer evening flashlight tours and an all-day walk in October)
Ghost hunting No: private home
Pioneer businessman Gregory A. Sears built this house at 311 West Third Street around 1863. George Washington Gale Ferris Sr. owned it from 1868 to 1890, and his son George Ferris Jr., who left Nevada in 1875, went on to invent the Ferris wheel that debuted at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and stands in the historic district west of Carson Street.
Its famous story is a wedding. At a family wedding in the early 1900s, guests chatted with a second bride by the back gate, though only one wedding was taking place. The tale links her to a bride from an earlier wedding at the house, sometimes said to have been left at the altar. Visitors also report a strong smell of men’s aftershave, linked to the elder Ferris. These stories come from the Carson City Ghost Walk.
Haunted Rooms tip: See it from the sidewalk on the Ghost Walk; it is a private home.
Address 102 S Division St (at King St), Carson City, NV 89703
Where to look The old brewery building after closing time
Reported ghosts A former caretaker in a brown checked suit and yellow tie
Visiting Working arts center; open for classes, shows and events
Tours Seen on the Carson City Ghost Walk (summer evening flashlight tours and an all-day walk in October)
Ghost hunting No investigations
The Carson Brewing Company building at Division and King streets went up in 1864 as a brewery, bar and lodging house, later making Tahoe Beer, and it was listed on the National Register in 1978. A Mason who looked after the building features in its ghost story. It has been an arts center since the 1970s, now the Brewery Arts Center with performances, classes and galleries, and it is a regular stop on the Carson City Ghost Walk.
The resident ghost is said to be James P. Maar, a Mason and a former caretaker, seen in a brown checked suit and yellow tie. Staff stories say he appears to remind people to turn off the lights and lock the doors before they go home. It is a gentle ghost story with no record behind it, told on the Ghost Walk, where the NV Gunfighters have performed outside.
Haunted Rooms tip: Catch a show or class here, and visit on the Ghost Walk in October when the building is a featured stop.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most haunted place in Carson City?
The Nevada State Prison, which opened in 1862 and closed in 2012. Its volunteer guides call it the most haunted place in Nevada, and it runs evening Ghost Walks and overnight paranormal investigations.
Is the Nevada Governor's Mansion haunted?
Staff and guests have described a woman in white on the second floor, said to be First Lady Una Dickerson, and a little girl thought to be her daughter June, born in the mansion in 1909. The mansion is a working residence, so view it from Mountain Street.
Can you take a ghost tour in Carson City?
Yes. The Carson City Ghost Walk runs summer evening flashlight tours and an all-day walk in October from McFadden Plaza next to the St. Charles Hotel, and the Nevada State Prison runs its own Ghost Walks and investigations.
Can you go inside the Bliss Mansion or the Curry House?
No. The Bliss Mansion is private and opens only for occasional events, and the Abraham Curry House is a private law office. Both are best seen from the street on the Ghost Walk.
Is the Carson City Mint haunted?
Staff and visitors at the Nevada State Museum describe footsteps in the underground mine exhibit and an elevator that moves on its own, blamed on Osborne Parker, a mint worker said to have died in the basement in 1872. The museum is open daily.
What haunted places are near Carson City?
Virginia City, half an hour away, has the Washoe Club, the Mackay Mansion and the Silver Queen Hotel, and Fort Churchill’s adobe ruins are about an hour east.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team are paranormal researchers who write about historic haunted places across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
