In the winter of 1875, the Washoe Club in Virginia City, Nevada was among the most exclusive addresses on the American frontier. Built on the wealth of the Comstock Lode, the silver deposit that had transformed the surrounding hills into one of the richest mining operations in the world, the club occupied a grand brick building on C Street and catered to the men who had profited most from what came out of the ground. It had a spiral staircase, billiard rooms, and fine furnishings imported across the Sierra Nevada at considerable expense.
It also had an unusual problem that not even Comstock silver could solve. Miners died frequently — from accidents, from disease, from the relentless violence of deep-rock extraction before modern safety standards — and in the winter months, when the earth above Virginia City froze solid, their bodies could not be buried. The Washoe Club’s basement served as a holding crypt through those months, storing the dead until spring. This arrangement was practical, unspoken, and not advertised to the membership dining on the floors above.
Virginia City’s boom ended as abruptly as it began. By the 1880s the richest ore had been extracted, the population collapsed, and the city entered a long decline that left many of its grandest buildings intact but emptied. The Washoe Club survived into the present as a museum and bar, its Victorian interiors preserved in a state of layered use and disuse. Ghost Adventures investigated the building in their original 2007 documentary, then returned twice more — and the location has been a benchmark of American paranormal investigation ever since.
Story Source: TV episode titled “Washoe Club and Chollar Mine” — Ghost Adventures (Travel Channel, 2009)
Address: Washoe Club, 112 S C Street, Virginia City, NV 89440
Accessibility Rating: Open to All — Freely accessible to the public with no advance requirement. Includes hotels, restaurants, bars, and public historic sites where visitors may walk in without prior booking.
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What Others Have Experienced
A knowledgeable guide walked the group through all three floors, sharing both local history and ghost lore at every stop. Visitors found the 45-minute experience well worth the modest admission price.
— from TripAdvisor
The tour struck an unusual balance between comedy and genuine unease — the guide delivered ghost stories with deliberate ambiguity, leaving the group unsure whether to believe or laugh. One couple called the experience genuinely original and said they still talked about it afterward.
— from TripAdvisor
The guided tour covers all floors of the historic building, including the upper levels where most paranormal activity is reported. This group didn’t encounter anything supernatural but found the 19th-century architecture alone worth the price — and finished their visit with drinks at the saloon downstairs.
— from TripAdvisor
The guide wove ghost stories and local mining history together at a relaxed pace, keeping the group engaged throughout. A few moments along the way produced a genuine flutter of unease, even for visitors who came in skeptical.
— from TripAdvisor
The building carries a palpable sense of history, and according to the guide and the photographs taken that day, something more. One visitor left convinced the site is genuinely haunted and called it a must-see for anyone spending time in Virginia City.
— from TripAdvisor
