Two Virginia City landmarks rank among Nevada's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two Virginia City landmarks, the Silver Queen Hotel and Mackay Mansion (visits by guided tour only), rank among Nevada's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 65 Nevada sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Silver Queen Hotel ranks #2. Virginia City's oldest hotel opened in 1876; owner Carroll Eaton commissioned the saloon's 16-foot silver-dollar portrait of his wife, Jerry, in 1958. Seven separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1899. Guests in Room 11 describe tapping and a figure known as Rosie; a second presence called Annie is blamed for footsteps upstairs.

Mackay Mansion ranks #8. George Hearst built the structure in 1859 as mining offices and sold it in 1871 to John Mackay, who struck the Big Bonanza vein and became the richest man on the Comstock. Seven separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1995. Tour staff describe a female apparition on the third floor attributed to Mrs. Mackay, child voices staff call Emma and Lily, and figures near the front hall tied to two men shot robbing the office safe in the 1800s.

Statewide, the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah ranks #1; the Goldfield Hotel (closed; exterior viewing only), the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #6.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Silver Queen Hotel, 28 N C St., Virginia City, is a working hotel with a saloon open to visitors; ghost tours run Thursday through Saturday nights.Mackay Mansion, 291 S D St., Virginia City, is a museum with guided tours; other visits by guided tour only. Please do not trespass.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/nevada/The fact sheet, with Virginia City numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/nevada/Venue contact: silverqueenhotel.net and therealmackaymansion.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

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