October is the perfect time to dive deep into the history of Lovelock, Nevada because it is actually quite spooky. From numerous fires destroying important buildings, to grisly murders and even a witch execution, Lovelock’s chilling history is sure to shed a different light on the unobstrusive town.
Dawn Bequette, Tour Guide and Paranormal Activity Investigator, has been curating the Lovelock Ghost Tour for many years now with the help of old newspapers dating all the way back to the 1890s, other research at the Pershing County Library, court documents, and first-hand accounts from locals about paranormal activity.
“You can’t have ghosts without history,” said Bequette.
The Lovelock Ghost Tour and Hayride has been going on every Friday and Saturday throughout the month of October. This weekend — the 21st and 22nd — are the last event times of the season.
Bequette explained that while working at the Pershing County Courthouse for 11 years, she and others experienced a great deal of paranormal activity in and out of the Courthouse, and along with her long-time interest in paranormal activity, it spurred her ambition to create the tour.
Among the many stops on the tour, which are seen by way of hay ride, are the Central Pacific Railroad Depot, the Pershing County Courthouse, First National Bank of Nevada, the “bloodiest street in Lovelock”, and the Marzen House Museum, each of which has a rich history and multiple accounts of paranormal activity associated. Tours usually have between 15 and 30 participants and can last two plus hours, depending on the amount of questions from participants.
Participants are also encouraged to get some sweet treats from Lovelock’s own Temptations, which is where the tour begins and ends.
Bequette tells of the recurrent noises no one can explain, crimes, mysterious deaths, and an overall rendition of interesting history in Lovelock. According to her, she has interviewed almost every shop owner in town to gather stories for her tour.
‘It’s nice to be able to bring people into our community and tell them about our history,” said Bequette in an interview.
Bequette is a part of the team of paranormal investigators, the Spirit Paranormal, and has her own paranormal company, Gone Ghosting. Her “labor of love” as she calls it, is also the inspiration for a book about paranormal activity in Lovelock which she is currently working on.
Tour Highlights
The Lovelock Central Pacific Railroad Depot, “one of the most active and oldest buildings in town”, was built in 1880 and is on the National Registry. It survived a fire in close proximity, and a dead body was found underneath the building years ago. The Depot, now the Chamber of Commerce building, still carries an unexplained bad smell and people frequently get locked in the bathrooms, according to Bequette.
The Pershing County Courthouse is an activity hotspot for a “residual ghost” that tends to be more playful. Bequette explained the dark history regarding Gerald and Charlene Gallego, a serial killer couple whose heinous actions led to the execution conviction of Gerald in the 1980s. The evidence for some of the cases involving their young, female victims is still held in the Courthouse vault and may be the source of the playful ghost, which Bequette feels is the spirit of a young woman, terrorized by the Gallegos.
The First National Bank of Nevada was the only building in Lovelock to survive the series of fires that have plagued the town for the past 100 years, according to Bequette, and is home to the spirit of William T. Onyon, a banker who was mysteriously murdered in the 1900s.
The tour ends with a frightening rendition of Winnescheika, a Paiute medicine woman who was know as one of the last witches to be executed in the U.S. Bequette explains that murder of Winnescheika and the burning of her house, as well as the lack of punishment for her murders, are behind the numerous fires throughout Lovelock’s history.
To inquire about available tickets, visit the group's Facebook page, Lovelock Ghost Tour.
