Today Goldfield is a small
former mining town between Las Vegas and Reno that has a population of 500. In
contrast, in the early 1900s Goldfield’s population swelled to over 30,000
after the local residents found gold.
During the town’s boom years
the stately 150-room Goldfield Hotel opened in 1908. The hotel was built atop
an old gold mine. The Goldfield had the first electric elevator west of the
Rocky Mountains and imported the finest chiefs from Europe.
One young man, George
Winfield cashed in on this gold rush and bought most of the town’s assets--he
quickly became Nevada’s richest man.
When the gold boom ended the
Goldfield Hotel remained open. By the 1920s George Winfield was the state’s
most powerful politician.
Goldfield Hotel in its' heyday. |
In the 1930s Winfield started
an affair with a pretty young prostitute by the name of Elizabeth. Within a
short time Elizabeth found herself unwed and pregnant.
She told George he was the
father of her child. George fearful for his reputation paid Elizabeth to remain
quiet. But when she began to show he became worried the locals would start
asking questions.
Elizabeth's Room |
He then arranged to hide
Elizabeth from prying eyes. He had her chained to the radiator in room 109 of
the hotel. She was brought food and water but when she cried out for help her
pleas were ignored.
It is a mystery exactly what
happened next. Some stories claim that Elizabeth died during childbirth. Others
state that George actually murdered her.
Regardless, Elizabeth and her
child were never seen again.
Legend states George Winfield
dumped Elizabeth’s body along with her newborn down the old mineshaft below the
hotel’s basement.
The Ghosts
Not long after Elizabeth’s
“disappearance” her ghost was seen at various locations in the Goldfield Hotel.
She is described as being beautiful with long flowing hair. It is said she
wears a white nightgown.
The Goldfield Hotel was
closed down in 1945.
Over the years, people who
have visited the abandoned building have heard Elizabeth crying out for her
baby. Others have heard a baby crying in the hotel’s basement.
Another hot spot is room 109.
This room where Elizabeth was chained is always unnaturally cold and
investigator’s electrical equipment often malfunctions in this area.
The hotel is said to have
several other ghosts. In the 1930’s two guests staying at the Goldfield
committed suicide.
A male guest jumped from his
room’s window and a woman hanged herself in her room. The apparitions of these
two guests have been seen ever since.
The “Gold Room” the hotel’s
dining room has an active spirit. This ghost is that of an old man who likes to
throw things around this room. He has been dubbed, “The Stabber” because he is
seen lurching at people with a knife.
However, he has never harmed
anyone. Witnesses to this event state before his knife makes contact with his
unsuspecting victim he just disappears. Some speculate that this maniacal ghost
is George Winfield.
Two other ghosts are children.
They are both heard laughing and seen playing around the hotel’s staircase.
The following video is
considered one of the scariest encounters the Ghost Adventure team has
experienced. They were investigating the Goldfield’s basement. It is the clip
where a brick was thrown.
At the end of this video, a
local news channel highlights a visit they made with the Constantino’s a year and a half later--they picked up two interesting EVPs.
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