St. Mary’s Paracon To Take Over Historic Virginia City April 18th-20th

Article by Suzanne Philips

Photos copyright Doug Carnahan/St. Mary’s Paracon

April 18th – 20th will find Paranormal enthusiasts taking over the historic city of Virginia City, Nevada.  The notoriously haunted city will play host to the Annual St. Mary’s Paracon, which will feature speakers, vendors, Paranormal investigations and much more.

The yearly event features tours and investigations at both the old St. Mary’s Hospital (now the St. Mary’s Art Center) and the Washoe Club, made famous on the popular Travel Channel show “Ghost Adventures”.  Speakers will include author Janice Oberding, “Paranormal Paparazzi” star Scott Gruenwald and many others.  Vendors selling Paranormal equipment, books and more will be at the event so that guests can stock up during their weekend.

CFM spoke with Director and Host Doug Carnahan about what guests can expect at this year’s event.

” The wonderful thing about the Saint Mary’s ParaCon is it has grown bigger and better every year.” says Carnahan.  “Besides bringing new speakers and special guests each year we have brought in some great entertainment to kick off our Friday night Meet and Greet at the world renown Washoe Saloon. We have DJ-Kos joining with some amazing music and video show. We have also added a 2^nd investigation to this year’s list of activities.

“For the 1^st time we will be investigating the very haunted Washoe Millionaires Club upstairs from the saloon. This is an exciting addition to the Saint Mary’s ParaCon. Saturday will be full of great speaker, special guests, vendors and an afterhours investigation of the Old Saint Mary’s Hospital with is always very exciting. ”

Is this event something that only seasoned Paranormal investigators would enjoy, or can newbies find things for them as well?

“We have a lot of people who are seasoned investigators who join us every year for the ParaCon, but we all encourage people who are new to the field and want to learn and know more to join us. Everyone can learn something new at these events. There is no better place for newbies to come and learn from seasoned and professionals within the field.”

Why did Doug Carnahan decide to direct and host this annual event?

“I have been involved in the paranormal field well over 30 years, long before it was considered “Cool”. I was thrown head first into the world of the unknown as a result of being physically attacked from an entity resulting in an extreme haunting. Over the years since I have encountered thousands of people with thousands of questions about the paranormal. I thought it would be wonderful if we could bring all these people together and learn from each other’s experiences in the field. I noticed that there were events popping up but mainly on the East Coast and the South, but not so much on the West Coast. The key for me was to find the right location and environment to be able to put on such an event, when I came across the Old Saint Mary’s Hospital and the town of Virginia City, NV I know it was a perfect fit for an event like this. I started the Saint Mary’s ParaCon 4 years ago and have been going strong ever since. I have also taken on a directing and hosting a 2^nd ParaCon at the renowned “Preston Castle” in Ione, CA. This Sept 2014 will also be a 4^th Annual event for that location. So to put it in a nut shell I saw a need and filled it!”

To get your tickets to attend and find out more about the schedule and speakers for this year’s event, visit http://www.saintmarysparacon.com/