Eerie ghost town on fringe of Las Vegas thousands flock to every year
Located in the middle of nowhere and allegedly haunted, the ghost town of Goodsprings is far from the most obvious tourist destination.
Coupled with its proximity to the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, it would be easy for Goodsprings to be overlooked. But, despite its spooky history and sparse amenities, the town finds itself subject to thousands of visitors every year.
Just half an hour away from the city's bustling strip and vibrant nightlife, life in Goodsprings could not be more different. Home to around 200 residents, this quiet town at the base of the Spring Mountains in the Nevada desert was once a bustling mining hub.
In its heyday in the early 1900s, it housed 800 inhabitants and boasted amenities such as a hospital, hotels and a school - which remarkably still operates today, albeit with only two pupils on its roll. However, as the ore reserves in the Goodsprings mines dwindled, so did its populace.
In 1942, the town served as the base for a special search mission following the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of actress Carole Lombard. Her aircraft crashed into Potosi Mountain, and her husband, Hollywood legend Clark Gable, anxiously awaited news at Goodsprings' Pioneer Saloon.
It's said that Gable's cigar burns can still be seen on the Saloon's bar to this day. Consequently, there's a memorial room at the Pioneer honouring its connection to the iconic couple.
Today, Goodsprings has a somewhat eerie aura. A drive through the town on its dusty roads evokes a spooky feeling.
Often the subject of folk tales and ghost hunts, Reddit users have shared their experiences of visiting the town. One stated: "When I went to Goodsprings a few years back with my wife, it was completely dead.
"No one was outside or driving around, it looked like a wild west ghost town that time had forgotten".
Despite its remote location, the owners of the Pioneer Saloon are eager to provide a warm welcome to visitors. Stephen Staats, also known as Old Man Liver, purchased the iconic pub in 2021 and discovered Goodsprings' unique place in pop culture.
The town serves as the starting point for the cult classic video game Fallout: New Vegas, which features the main character revived after being buried alive in Goodsprings cemetery. Many of the game's characters are based on real-life residents, and the Pioneer itself is featured in the game, rebranded as the Prospector Saloon.
Recognising the town's popularity, Staats hosted a Fallout-themed event on National Video Game Day, July 8, in 2022. He expected "maybe 100 in a crazy world", but was taken aback when more than a thousand fans showed up.
Since then, it has grown year on year, and following the launch of the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series based off the game, 6,420 people visited Goodsprings in 2024. Fallout fans have praised the town's atmosphere and welcoming spirit on Reddit, with one saying: "The locals love it, and it's kind of their only form of tourism."
Another, who visited before Staats took over the Pioneer, said: "They were incredibly friendly and welcoming both times I went, and there's even a marble wall inscribed with the town's residents since it's founding, movies and TV shows that have filmed there, all sorts of stuff."
With a second season of the Amazon Prime show greenlit and likely to be set in and around 'New Vegas', Goodsprings could become an unlikely destination to rival the dazzling city that casts its wide shadow over the Nevada desert.
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