Usually the gates of the Silver Terrace Cemetery in Virginia City are closed after dark. But they make an exception on Halloween.
"We'll start at 5:30 and volunteers are here until 10:30 and they get to walk to cemetery. We get a lot of paranormal people out here," said Candace Wheeler, Executive Director of the Comstock Cemetery Foundation. "There's a collection of about 14 cemeteries in this complex; it's 31 acres."
It's the final resting place for Virginia City residents of old.
"1867 was the first burial, in the Masonic cemetery on the hill," Wheeler said.
And also for those that continue to call the Comstock home.
"We have a new grave from last year," Wheeler said. "We've done ground-penetrating radar here so we know where we can bury people. And thanks to a local businessman, we got some fresh acreage out back where we know there isn't anyone buried."
For the last 25 years, the Comstock Cemetery Foundation has been working to preserve all the cemeteries in this national landmark area.
"There's about 4,200 people buried here but because of theft and vandalism we only have 1,294 marked graves left," Wheeler said. "We're doing much better now but it's been a big issue. There was a newspaper in California in the 1980s that said, if you want to steal some nice wrought iron, go to the Virginia City cemetery."
That's part of the reason the cemetery isn't open after dark - except for on the spookiest day of the year. Cemetery Foundation volunteers will be here to help point the way tonight.
"We have an audio tour up here, and if you want to do the whole audio tour it's an hour and a half," Wheeler said. "Most Halloween people just ask for the most scary way, the least scary way, so we just direct them on the path and given what time they have, tell them what way to go."
Different areas are grouped by organization and religion and offer different experiences.
"I like the Catholic because the thieves and the vandals were lazy and the Catholic is quite a walk back there, so it has the most material culture and the most spooky stuff going on back there," Wheeler said. "So if you're up for a walk, that is the coolest place to go. You have to actually cross a fire road to get to the Catholic and then it's all around this little creepy hill so it's very cool and over half of our headstones are there."
The proceeds from this Halloween event will help repair headstones that have been damaged or vandalized over the years, and put the finishing touches on the new visitor center, set to open next year.
"It's going to be the only cemetery visitor center in the state of Nevada," Wheeler said. "The way it's decorated and the way it's put together will teach people about residential living, about mining, and about the graveyard."
The entrance fee on Halloween is $5 for adults and the Cemetery Foundations recommends sturdy shoes and a flashlight.
More information: http://comstockcf.com/
