The Ghost Who Wanted Justice

In 1890 Mrs. Elizabeth Potts became the first woman to be hanged in Nevada. In fact she was the only woman to be executed by the state. And it was a ghost that sent her to the gallows.

It all started when a newspaperwoman from Elko moved into the Potts' former home. The columnist was pleased with the comfy cottage and continually bragged to her readers about the streak of luck that had led her into finding the home. Carlin was a friendly town and her neighbors couldn't have been more kind. But as things so often do, little by little the newspaperwoman's joy turned to fear.

One night an unearthly howl wakened the writer and her husband from a sound sleep. The man got up and looked all around the house and yard for the source of the noise but could find no cause. By the light of day the incident seemed more comical than cause for alarm. So the writer cheerfully told her readers about the mysterious noise. What fun, she wrote, living in a haunted home. Weeks went by and all was fine. Then the noises began again. But this time the sounds were more like deep pitiful moans that rumbled through the house setting the couple's nerves on edge. Once more the husband searched in vain for the cause of the noise. This time the writer did not tell her readers about the sounds she thought were of unearthly origin.

Soon the noises could be heard at all hours, day and night. Frantic to find the source of the noise the couple began searching in cabinets, bookcases and even the garden. Still the moans continued. Finally the exasperated wife asked her husband if he'd made a thorough search of the cottage's basement. When he admitted that he hadn't she insisted he look, even though she knew there was nothing down there but a few broken pieces of furniture and some garden tools.

As the man slowly descended the stairs the pitiful moans became deafening. Bravely, he continued to the basement where he looked through the stack of tools and pile of broken furniture. He called up to his wife that there was nothing remiss, turned to climb the stairs, and tripped over something protruding from the dirt floor. It didn't take much digging for him to realize that it was a bone sticking in the damp earth. Horrified, the couple notified the town's lawman of their gruesome discovery, and he quickly determined that the bones were indeed human.

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