Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Hauntings: Yellow Jacket Mine

Yellow Jacket Mine (Nevada)

The Yellow Jacket Mine Disaster was the worst mining accident in Nevada history.  One April morning in 1869, a fire started at the 800-foot level and spread quickly.  Timber supports collapsed and poisonous methane flooded not only the Yellow Jacket Mine but also the neighboring Crown Point Mine.  Survivors described horrible scenes of miners burning or choking to death.  Firefighters entered the mines, but flames and smoke pushed them back.  Between 35 - 45 miners died.  They weren’t sure because many of the bodies couldn’t be recovered from the collapsed shafts.  The fires continued to burn in the depths of the mine for months afterward, but the demand for gold was so great, the men went back to work three weeks later.  Even though they sealed off the dangerous levels, they remained hot for several years thereafter.

Virtually nothing is left of the Yellow Jacket Mine physically -- but the ghosts of miners prowl the nearby town, especially the Gold Hill Hotel and Saloon, built in 1859 and the oldest hotel in Nevada.  When the miners weren’t working, many of them spent their free time in the hotel’s bar or with the “ladies” who worked there.  Since the fire, there have been myriad reports of paranormal activity in the hotel.

Ghostly happenings include:

~  Doors opening and closing by themselves, lights turning off and on, scratching on the doors, and beds shaking.
~  Sounds of furniture being moved or people talking, but no one’s there.
~  Room 4 is often permeated by the smell of roses.  The staff call it Rosie’s room, and believe she was a lady of the evening who worked out of the hotel in the 1800s.  She likes to move guest’s belongings around when they aren’t looking.
~  The ghost of William occupies Room 5, and he’s thought to be one of the dead miners.  When people enter the room, they smell tobacco.  Some guests report being locked out when they are sure they didn’t lock the door, and the key is still inside the room.  Apparently, William likes his privacy.





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31 comments:

Andrew Leon said...

Working in a mine is not something I would ever want to do.

Leslie S. Rose said...

I've been to this one. I'm so excited. No ghostly happenings though. Bummer.

SK Anthony said...

Nothing physically left of the Yellow Jacket Mine . . . but paranormally: ghosts!!! Eerie!

Sharon Himsl said...

My husband and I sometimes road trip through Nevada. Might check it out.
Shells–Tales–Sails

Kate Larkindale said...

There are so many mine disasters in history, I bet the world is littered with haunted mines.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

The hotel is still in operation? That is really impressive.
Death by fire in an underground tunnel - sounds horrific.

Melancholy and Menace said...

Such a tragic and horrific story.

The romantic in me hopes that Rosie and William will meet some day and cross over together :)

messymimi said...

Mining is such dangerous work, i'm not surprised there are such accidents and horrors.

Heather R. Holden said...

Ack, what a tragedy! Not surprised at all that hauntings would be reported there...

Birgit said...

To work in the mines and die in them has to be one of the worst. To go to a classic hotel from that time period would be fun and also experience some of the goings-on

Stephanie Faris said...

Just the thought of being trapped down there when the fire broke out...ugh. I'm too claustrophobic to imagine it. I think a horrific death like that would have to leave some negative energy behind.

Bish Denham said...

This is the first time I've heard about this mine disaster. How horrible! I wouldn't mind spending the night in Rosie's room if I got to smell roses. I could put up with her moving my things around. :)

Robin said...

Mining... a horribly dangerous job. This is so sad.

Mere Joyce said...

I don't even think mines have to be haunted in order to incredibly creepy and disturbing...they give me the chills

Jennifer Hawes said...

This is on my "worst careers ever" list! I couldn't do it. Never:)

Crystal Collier said...

LOL. William likes his privacy...

Whew! A collapsed mine... Can you even imagine how you'd feel about entering a place like that again after barely escaping with you life when several of your friends didn't? I don't think I'd be able to do it.

True Heroes from A to Z

cleemckenzie said...

You've posted about several places I've been. Gold Hill is another one, but where were the ghosts? I didn't see a single phantom. Guess I must go back. Tell 'em I'm coming, so they'll show up.

Chrys Fey said...

How terrible! That is one haunted placed I would NOT want to go.

Catherine Stine said...

Okay, someone's GOT to write a short story around Rose and room #4, don't you agree?

Sherry Ellis said...

There's a gold mine here in Georgia (Consolidated Gold Mine), that's supposedly haunted, too. One of the tunnels collapsed, killed several miners. The supervisor, grief-stricken, went home and basically starved himself. He,along with the other miners, haunts the place. (It was pretty creepy standing in the spot where the ceiling collapsed, listening to the story!)

Sophie Duncan said...

I think I'd prefer the smell of roses to tobacco, but I wouldn't like to stay in either of those rooms...
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

Unknown said...

I've always been intrigued by hauntings around the Nevada area. Whenever the Dead Files or Ghost Adventures visit places around this area, I'm glued.
It's sad what happened to those miners. And I can't believe the mine actually stayed hot for years after.
If I were staying in that hotel and heard scratching on the walls or door, I'd be checking OUT immediately! Yikes... nothing is more frightening then the sound of nails scratching against your door!
It's a cold, dark and windy day here in New Jersey so this was the perfect read for my mood=)

Unknown said...

you could never pay me enough to work in a mine... so dangerous and when it does go its not an easy or instantaneous death... Id be p.o.d and haunting too!

stephen Hayes said...

My great grandpa had a gold mine in California but it petered out long before my dad was born. Good thing--I hate cold dark places.

Jocelyn Rish said...

Wow, it's crazy to think it was still hot years later. I've got some claustrophobia, so I never could have made it as a miner.

Ava Quinn said...

The description of the burning mine reminded me of Centralia, PA where a coal mine caught fire and still burns today.

Mining is such a terrible, deadly job.

Unknown said...

That's very creepy. It's why I would never be a miner. (Well, not the only.) But there are so many ways to die.

DMS said...

This is my first time hearing about this mine. So sad about the miners and the hauntings sound very spooky. Wow!
~Jess

Anonymous said...

Spooky. *shivers*

I always cringe hearing about mining accidents and deaths. Such a dangerous job.

Al Diaz said...

And caves are already hot without any help of burning fire. There are ghosts here too that moved my things around when I'm not looking. Or might be the dwarves.

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...
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