Old West Ghost Stories

Who doesn't love a good old fashioned Ghost Story??

I found some ghost stories about the cowboys, outlaws and towns of the old west, including Tombstone, Deadwood, and Jesse James. One of the towns, Virginia City, I have visited myself- and you can feel the history of the town as you walk thru!!

Tombstone

The Spirit of Marshal Fred White is reported to haunt the streets of Tombstone. Marshall White was accidentally shot by Cowboy faction leader, Curly Bill Brocius on October 28, 1880.

 
White, the first marshal of Tombstone, had gained the respect of the Clanton Gang, and in fact, had arrested "Cowboy” members on a number of occasions, rarely having any problems when doing so. In the early morning of October 28th, Curly Bill and several of his cohorts were making sport by shooting up the town.
 

When White went to disarm the gunman, a shot was accidentally fired, hitting White in the groin. Though, it was thought that he would make a full recovery, two days later he died. Today, he is said to haunt the street in front of the shooting site, which was an empty lot where the Bird Cage Theater was built a year later.

Deadwood

1876 saw the arrival of Seth Bullock and Sol Star to Deadwood, South Dakota. Moving their hardware store from Helena, Montana.

 According to dozens of reports, Seth Bullock still continues to play host at his beloved hotel. All manner of strange occurrences have happened at the historic hotel according to both staff and guests. Reports include feelings of a strong paranormal presence inside several of the rooms and in the hallways of the second and third floors, as well as in Bully’s restaurant, and in Seth's Cellar.

Others have reported actually seeing the tall ghostly figure of Bullock in various areas of the hotel, including the restaurant and the basement. Apparently Seth’s ghost wants to ensure that the staff is working hard, as paranormal events tend to increase when staff members stand idle, whistle or hum a tune. Plates and glasses have been known to shake and take flight in the restaurant, lights and appliances turn on and off by themselves and items are inexplicably moved by unseen hands.

Many guests have reported hearing their name called out by a male voice when no one is present, or have been tapped on the shoulder by unseen hands. Others have heard whistling and many report the sounds of footsteps in the hallways when no one is there.

In both the second and third floor rooms, guests have reported a number of strange occurrences including photographs that produce strange anomalies, alarm clocks that go off, even when they are unplugged, televisions that seemingly operate with unseen hands, cloudy figures seen in rooms and hallways, and even an antique clock, that hasn't functioned in years, that chimes of its own accord.

Bodie, California

Legends about Bodie abound, including the Bodie Curse. Supposedly, if visitors take anything from this old ghost town – even a pebble, they will be cursed with bad luck. Misfortune and tragedy are heaped upon the victim until the stolen item is returned.

According to Park Rangers, many who have taken things eventually return them to the park to rid themselves of this curse. Purportedly, the park maintains a logbook of pages and pages of returned items.


In the museum, you can see the letters from people who have returned items to the park. The curse is supposedly perpetuated by the ghosts of Bodie who guard against thieves and protect its treasures. Some believe that the "curse” is nothing more than a superstition perpetuated by the Park Rangers to preserve Bodie as a historic site.




 

Other ghostly legends have seemingly occurred in this ghost town. The J.S. Cain house is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Chinese maid. Families of Park Rangers, who have occupied the house, describe the spirit, as not liking adults, but loves children.


Adults sleeping in the house have said that they will awake in the night to find the "heavy set” Chinese woman sitting on them. Feeling suffocated, one woman fought so hard that she ended up on the floor. Others have reported seeing the bedroom door opening and closing on its own.

The Gregory House is also said to be haunted by the ghost of an old woman. Guests and staff have reported seeing her sitting in a rocking chair, knitting an afghan. At other times, the rocking chair has been seen rocking on its own accord.

Jesse James

It should come as no surprise that the Jesse James Farm in Kearney, Missouri is said to be haunted. Given the violent temperament of some of its inhabitants, the untimely death of Jesse James, the violence that occurred on the property, and the tragic death of Jesse’s younger half-brother Archie.


Both Jesse and Frank James were raised in this house by their mother Zerelda, who was married to three different husbands and bore eight children. It was here that Jesse James was whipped as a teenager by Union militia who strung up his stepfather and burned nearby farms.


It was also here that Zerelda watched as her son Archie was murdered by Pinkerton detectives in an attack where she lost her right hand. After Jesse was killed, he was buried here, where she could protect the grave from trespassers or souvenir hunters. Later, his body was re-interred at the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Kearney.


The James Family Farm has said to have been haunted for more than a century. Evidently home to a number of lingering spirits, lights are said to move about both inside and outside of the property buildings. Others report hearing the sounds of pounding hooves, muffled shots and cries that are reminiscent of the area history, dating back to events of the Civil War.

Today, wide arrays of mysterious happenings occur in the house. Reports are frequent that lights are seen inside the building long after it has been locked up for the evening and movements are often seen which are never registered on a security monitoring system. Staff reports that feelings of a presence within the home are extremely intense. Others report that on foggy mornings, hushed voices and the sounds of restless horses can be heard from the nearby woods. However, when they follow up, there are no signs of a disturbance or tracks within the trees.









 

Virginia City, Nevada

Old Washoe Club


The Old Washoe Club is said to be the most haunted location in Virginia City. A saloon occupies the lower level and has for many years. The second floor used to be The Millionaire's Club. The third floor was previously used as a brothel.
 

Ghosts known to haunt this location include a man dressed in black, a lady dressed in blue, and a small child. There is also the ghost known as Lena, who has been experienced all over the building. The Old Washoe Club has been featured on different TV shows including Ghosts Hunters.



Silver Queen Hotel and Casino


The story of the ghost at the Silver Queen Hotel and Casino is a sad one. A female spirit from the 1800's still lingers on there. The story goes that she was pregnant and waiting for her boyfriend to come back, but he never returned. She was so upset, that she committed suicide.

 

Virginia City Visitor's Center
 

The Virginia City Visitor's Center, located on C Street, across the street from the Ponderosa Saloon and Mine, was once a two story, dried goods stores. It is currently the home of the spirit of a little girl. The identity of the little girl is unknown.



The Chapin Boarding House


Originally built in 1862 by Samuel Chapin, the Chapin Boarding House was one of the finest boarding houses in all of Nevada. Today it sits vacant, for sale. People who enter the building complain of an uneasy feeling.


Gold Hill Hotel


Built in 1859, the Gold Hill Hotel is the oldest operating hotel and saloon in the state of Nevada. It is located just outside of Virginia City. Visitors arriving to Virginia City from either the Lake Tahoe or Reno areas pass by this small town en route to Virginia City. It is also a stop on the 35 minute train tour of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad tour.

At least two ghosts are said to reside here. First, there is William, a firefighter who died in the Yellow Jacket fire. Guests at the hotel have been known to smell his pipe tobacco. He particularly hangs out in room # 5 and has repeatedly awakened guests at 3:00 o'clock in the morning by shaking the bed.


There is also the ghost of Rosie. Rosie is believed to be a previous housekeeper who enjoys moving guests' keys around. A visitor can know when Rosie is present by the smell of old fashioned rose petals.

Just about all of the old, historical buildings have a ghost or two, which is why Virginia City is considered the most haunted city in Nevada. 







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Equestrian Acts of the Old West Circus

Circuses were an important part of the old west culture in the 1800s.

Cowboys coming from the dusty cow trails, frontier men after a long work week and miners who were looking to forget there long hard day in the mine came to town looking for excitement and entertainment.

Circuses provided much needed entertainment for all. They had acts like wild animal menageries, clowns, acrobats, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, brass bands, performing elephants and equestrians who could stand on horseback as they galloped around a center ring.

The circuses date back to Mexican times when shows based on European models came up from the South into California and the southwest around the middle of the 19th century. Circus troupes from the East began to reach settlements in the more accessible regions of Kansas and Nebraska. They traveled in horse drawn wagons over atrocious roads.

By 1880s when railroads had eased the difficulties of transportation, the circus came into its own as the greatest show in the West.

One of those shows was the John Rowe & Co. Pioneer Circus. Here is an excerpt from an article written about the show-

(From the book-“Men of the West-Life on the American Frontier” by Cathy Luchetti)

“ by far the most extensive and elegant organized equestriene establishment that ever appeared in CA…Traveling through the state at an expense of fifteen thousand dollars a month as an added incentive, the seats are carpeted, and attentive and gentlemanly ushers to wait on ladies and family."


The John Rowe & Co. Pioneer Circus was based in San Francisco, Ca and traveled extensively throughout California. As mentioned before, one of the circus acts was the equestrians who could do acrobatics on horseback.

Below is a glimpse into a typical equestrian performance at the Pioneer Circus.

The main acts of the Pioneer Circus were the equestrian events. At show time the audience was treated to all the spectacle and finery the troupe could provide. One of these spectacles was Miss Mary Ann Whittaker, the first female equestrian artist in America. She was ranked among the best in ballet and pantomime. She would ride out into the sawdust-covered ring standing on her milk white horse in pink tights and ruffles with stars and spangles. Then to the amazement of the crowd as she neared a ribbon held in her path 12 feet high by two colorful clowns, she would leap up off the horse and over the ribbon and then land gracefully onto the horses back all while it was speeding around the circus ring. The applause was thunderous and it continued through the evening. Other riders rode in pyramids on two horses with three riders stacked neatly on top of one another while still others did forward and backward flips through rings of fire.

For these amazing acts to work the horses and riders went through hours of rigorous training some of which is not what you would expect. While the horses went through their paces the grooms would carelessly kick cans about the ring, fire guns, and even tie five-gallon cans to the horse's tail! This was all done in training to teach the horse not to sway from its paces for anyone but its trainer. Timing was everything in the ring. An acrobatic rider doing a back somersault would not like it much if he came down from his leap only to find the horse spooked by a child with a firecracker and not be in his appointed spot.

The Circuses not only used their horses for entertainment, but for hauling all the equipment, animals, and performers in wagons. The travel was hard and taxing on all. Between the roads, or lack of, and the weather it made getting from one town to the next very eventful.

Usually the circus would only be able to cover two or three miles in an hour. Many of the stops were 10 to 15 miles apart and a rider would go ahead and mark the forks in the road with a rail so the caravan would go the right way.

Perhaps the worst occurrence would be after getting little or no sleep, fighting their way through a drenching rainstorm, pulling out and repairing wagons, and then hearing the word "lost." This of course meant retracing steps and going through all the problems again.

Rowe's Pioneer Circus played the mountain camps and towns until August when due to expenses they were forced to return to San Francisco. Before leaving they had played Yankee Jim, Iowa Hill, Illinois Town, Dutch Flats, Red Dog, Grass Valley, Rough and Ready, Nevada, Orleans Flat, Oroville, Horsetown, Marysville, Monk Hill, Railroad Flat, West Point, Chinese cap and Columbia.

I can just imagine the excitement of the circus coming to these prairie towns and watching the thrilling acts of the equestrian acrobatics.








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Horses at Disneyland

 The Disneyland Monorail 1959

“If there’s anything to this reincarnation stuff, I’d like to come back to Disneyland as a horse someday!”…this is a quote from an officer from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals who had just finished an inspection at Disneyland. (taken from the Western Horseman magazine)



While cleaning out a closet, I came across some old Western Horseman magazines and one in particular caught my eye. It was the issue from September 1957. 

There was a fascinating article about the horses at Disneyland.

 I took a few photos of some of the pictures in the article and decided to write a quick blog about them. 

The stagecoach (pictured below) was one of many ways a visitor could ride around the Rainbow Desert in Frontier Land. 

They could also choose to ride a Conestoga Wagon or the pack mule train. (below)

In 1957 Disneyland maintained about 200 head of horses. The horses and the ponies were kept in individual toe stalls. The mules and burros had their own corrals and lots. The animals at Disneyland worked no more than 4 hours a day six days a week.

Disneyland also had a full time Farrier by the name of Charles Heumphreus on hand. To oversee the horse operations, Disney hired Mr and Mrs Owen Pope. They manufactured and repaired all the harnesses and horse tack for the horses. Owen was widely known for trailers he manufactured in Ft. Worth.

This is a great photo (below) of the horses all dressed up for the Easter Parade. Disneyland ordered 10 new Easter bonnets especially made for the horses at a total cost of $150.

 
Here is a close up of the Disneyland Horse and the decorative bridle. This picture is from 1959.

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The Pinkerton Detective Agency

I think we all know the great western movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

The famous line from the movie, " Who are those guys"?

Well who "were those guys"? They were the Pinkertons' chasing down the "Kid" and Butch Cassidy for the railroad company.

The Pinkerton Detective Agency was hired by the railroads to catch not only Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but also Jesse James.

The History behind The Pinkerton Detective Agency and its founders is truly fascinating. Below is that history-

 
Allan Pinkerton (25 August 1819 – 1 July 1884) was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the first detective agency of the United States.

Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to William Pinkerton and his wife, Isabell in 1819. The location of the house where he was born is now occupied by the Glasgow Central Mosque. A cooper by trade, he was active in the British Chartist movement as a young man. Pinkerton married Joan Carfrae (a singer) secretly before moving to America. Disillusioned by the failure to win suffrage, Pinkerton emigrated to the United States in 1842, at the age of 23.

In 1849 Pinkerton was appointed as the first detective in Chicago. In the 1850s, he partnered with Chicago attorney Edward Rucker in forming the North-Western Police Agency, later known as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency which is still running (but has been renamed) as a subsidiary of Securitas AB. Pinkerton's business insignia was a wide open eye with the caption "We never sleep." As the United States expanded in territory, rail transportation increased. Pinkerton's agency solved a series of train robberies during the 1850s, first bringing Pinkerton into contact with George McClellan and Abraham Lincoln.

Prior to his service with the Union Army, he developed several investigative techniques that are still used today. Among them are "shadowing" (surveillance of a suspect) and "assuming a role" (undercover work). Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Pinkerton served as head of the Union Intelligence Service in 1861–62 and foiled an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland, while guarding Abraham Lincoln on his way to his inauguration. His agents often worked undercover as Confederate soldiers and sympathizers, in an effort to gather military intelligence. Pinkerton served in several undercover missions under the alias of Major E.J. Allen. Pinkerton was succeeded as Intelligence Service chief by Lafayette Baker. The Intelligence Service was the forerunner of the U.S. Secret Service. He arrested Rose O'Neal Greenhow, an actress/Confederate spy, by looking through her window.

Following Pinkerton's service with the Union Army, he continued his pursuit of train robbers, such as the Reno Gang and the famous outlaw Jesse James. He was originally hired by the railroad express companies to track down James, but after failing to capture him, the railroad withdrew their financial support and Pinkerton continued to track James on his own dime. After James captured and killed one of Pinkerton's young undercover agents, who was foolish enough to attempt to gain employment at the James farmstead, he finally gave up the chase. Some consider this failure Pinkerton's biggest defeat. He also sought to oppose labor unions. In 1872, the Spanish Government hired Pinkerton to help suppress a revolution in Cuba which intended to end slavery and give citizens the right to vote.

In late June 1884 he slipped on a pavement in Chicago, biting his tongue as he did so. He didn't seek treatment and the tongue became infected, leading to his death on 1 July 1884. At the time of his death, he was working on a system that would centralize all criminal identification records, a database now maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Pinkerton is buried in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago. He is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

After his death, the agency continued to operate and soon became a major force against the young labor movement developing in the United States and Canada. This effort tarnished the image of the Pinkertons for years. They were involved in numerous activities against labor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including:
▪ The Homestead Strike (1891)
▪ The Pullman Strike (1894)
▪ The Wild Bunch Gang (1896)
▪ The Ludlow Massacre (1914)
▪ The La Follette Committee (1933-1937)

Many labor sympathizers accused the Pinkertons of inciting riots in order to discredit unions and justify police crackdowns. The Pinkertons' reputation was harmed by their protection of replacement workers ("scabs") and the business property of the major industrialists, including Andrew Carnegie.

Pinkerton was so famous that for decades after his death, his surname was a slang term for a private eye. Due to the Pinkerton Agency's conflicts with labor unions, the word Pinkerton remains in the vocabulary of labor organizers and union members as a derogatory reference to authority figures who side with management.

Pinkerton's exploits were in part the inspiration of the 1961 NBC western television series, Whispering Smith, starring Audie Murphy and Guy Mitchell.

Pinkerton produced numerous popular detective books, ostensibly based on his own exploits and those of his agents. Some were published after his death, and they are considered to have been more motivated by a desire to promote his detective agency than a literary endeavor. Most historians believe that Allan Pinkerton hired ghostwriters, but the books nonetheless bear his name and no doubt reflect his own views.









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