By NICK YAMASHITA
Moapa Valley Progress
The whispering wind whistles through/ A cry pierces the night. Is it a young girl crying? A rocking chair starts moving by itself, creaking into the floorboards as a woman holding a child’s skull appears in it.
Lights flicker and a transparent woman in white walks towards the cemetery. It all sounds like something out of a horror story. But these are legends that have been passed down about the old home on Gubler Ave in Logandale.
Located just east of the Gubler Bridge, this historic home has been in local ghost stories for years. Many of these tales were told by former local PE teacher Janet Leming. Leming came to the valley in 1969 as a young, newly hired, teacher. She became involved in student activities including a series of school haunted house fundraisers that were held at the eerie Gubler House throughout the 1970’s.
Leming recalls how she started the storytelling of the paranormal activities at the house. She couldn’t remember here name at the time, but the owner of the house was an office secretary at the school. She often informed Janet of the feeling of another presence in the house as well as extremely cold spots that seized her breath. Leming recalls feeling the same chilly cold while being there for the school haunted houses in the 1970’s. “It was cold, and you could feel that presence there, something evil!”
Leming then started telling the stories of the Gubler House every Halloween. Many past and current residents recall her stories in PE class for Halloween. Leming did admit that she never really experienced anything extremely paranormal other than that cold feeling and the sound of a young child crying.
But other locals and former residents of the Gubler House claim ghostly contact and paranormal experiences. During the 1990’s, the house was inhabited by the Cowgill family where members of the family as well as friends who visited recalled lights flickering on and off by themselves, continuous crying of a young gir. One person even claimed to have seen a young girl for a quick second in the mirror behind him in the bathroom. Another sighting is one of a woman in white outside of the house floating through the air towards the Logandale Cemetery.
Not much over basic investigation was discovered of the building of the house. The earliest mentions of it is as being labeled the Lincoln County Experimental Farm in 1909-1910 where it was part of an experiment done by the agricultural organizations of the Lincoln County, Muddy River Valley, and Vegas Valley. The farm grew all sorts of crops for studies to determine the success of agriculture in Nevada. It became a huge success in developing different agricultural products especially cantaloupes.
Current owner of the Gubler House, Chanell Robinson stated that the earliest of the owners she knew of were Helen Gubler who owned it from 1927-1964. The farm was run by her brother Ernest from 1927-1941. Local well-known resident Verla Adams was born in the house during that time. When Helen Gubler passed on in 1964, Leonard Marshall bought the house for $42,000.
Robinson stated that she does not think the house is haunted. She believes that the spooky talessimply arise from Lemings spook alleys of the 1970’s.
Robinson’s aunt and former MVHS 1997 alumni, Jan Van Ert has been there multiple times, even a whole week this summer and doesn’t believe the house to be haunted either.
But Leming and others still believe otherwise. “There is another presence there,” Leming said. “I’ve definitely felt it.”
Leming admits that most of her stories of the place were created by her. But she insists that some of the details were based on actual ghost sightings and paranormal experiences that have occurred there according to those who experienced it.
All of this legend and lore still leaves the question if the old place is really haunted or not. Either way the old house casts a spooky shadow each year as Halloween approaches.
5 thoughts on “M.V. Haunted History: The Gubler House”
Betty Kelly was the office secretary that lived in the house. The story she told us (as teens) was the house WAS haunted,,,she called a paranormal expert who told her to nicely ask the ghosts to leave and they would . Betty did it and she never had any more sighting or problems again.
My family lived in this house for a couple of years when my father was hired by Helen Gubler back in the late 1950’s. I barely remember the place seeing how I was only 2 to 4 years old. However, I definitely remember the wrap around deck.
My dad and Betty Kelly lived in the Gubler House back in the early 80’s. I had come to visit with them for the Summer and I believe it to be haunted. I remember hearing what sounded like a child crying and the sound would move from room to room and then end up in the attic area. I could hear what sounded like a rocking chair in the attic. I also remember the feeling of being watched. My dad told me if I showed fear the spirits would continue to mess with me. Once I was home alone and I was so terrified by the doors opening and sounds of footsteps and crying I ran out the house and waited until my dad and Betty came home. It was a beautiful house. I only spent that one summer with them. My father passed away in Overton Nevada in 1992. I didn’t see him or Betty again. I’ve been trying to find pictures of their home for years.
“It was cold, and you could feel that presence there, something evil!” While this makes for an interesting Halloween story, which seems harmless enough, it is far from the truth. Seeing as a young, 23 year old mother died of pneumonia in the back room of this house leaving behind a 6 year old and 4 year old daughter and husband alone, maybe the “evil” Leming speaks of is actually life altering loss and years long heartache. That 6 year old little girl who lost her mother is now 93 years old and still holds back tears when the stories get passed around. Evil? No. Heartbreak? Yes. Houses have histories, just like people. We should be careful how we speak of them.
We lived there in 2001-2002. With 3 little kids. Never felt scared, but it makes for a good story to say we lived in THE haunted house. Everyone knew exactly where we were talking about.