COLORADO's
most haunted locations
back to all haunted locations
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History
This historic building is owned by Auberge Resorts and is considered the crown jewel of Aspen.
This hotel was built by Jerome Wheeler (one of the original owners of Macy's) in the 1880's. He wanted to create a grand European hotel for Aspen and to this day it has the only above ground ballroom in the city. It was one of the first buildings to have full electrical lighting west of the Mississippi River.
It was the only family owned hotel to remain open in the early 20th Century when the town of Aspen almost went broke during the tourism quiet years. After World War II it regained its splendor and was the official party place for such Hollywood superstars as John Wayne and Gary Cooper.
In 1985 a group of investors bought the hotel for 12.8 million of today's adjusted dollars and did a completely restoration valued at approximately 50 million dollars to restore the hotel to its former grandeur.
Paranormal Activity
The building was used as a temporary morgue, although it is unclear as to why, and this is said to have been one of the reasons that caused the hauntings.
The third floor is said to be the most haunted with many employees refusing to work there.
The "water boy" is encountered in Room 310 and in the hallways around that room.
In 1936 a 10 year old boy and his family stayed in this room which overlooks the pool. Tragically, the boy drowned in the pool and his apparition is now seen shivering and, in a towel, wandering the area. He has never spoken to anyone living.
Harry O'Callister and Kate Kerrigan also haunt the hotel. He became suddenly rich after finding a very large silver nugget in the area and moved to Aspen. While there Harry met Kate, a Boston heiress, and they decided to marry. Her father would have none of it and refused them permission.
Harry stayed in the hotel and died brokenhearted and broke. His apparition is seen wandering the hotel still sobbing at night.
Kate worked at the hotel as a maid but was treated terribly by the other staff for being a poor little rich girl. One day another maid told her that her little kitten had fallen through the ice on a pond and Kate rushed out to save its life; in truth her kitten was safe in her room. Kate fell through the ice and got pneumonia and died.
Her apparition is said to be very pretty and she is known for helping the maids to this day making beds for them. It says a lot for her character that she still helps the housekeeping staff after she was treated so poorly by the former staff in life.
Other activity: disembodied voices and touches; sinks filling on their own; heat turning on on its own; apparitions; light anomalies; feelings of being watched and unease and phantom footsteps.
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History
This is not the first bridge to exist here. This concrete bridge was built in the 1970’s replacing the original wooden one.
The wooden foundations of the old bridge are still visible a few yards away from the modern bridge.
The Urban Legend about this bridge tells that it is haunted by the ghosts of the Sand Creek Massacre where Colonel John Chivington and his Colorado soldiers slaughtered an entire encampment of Arapaho and Cheyenne aboriginals including all the women and children.
While Sand Creek was definitely a hideous massacre, it took place about 130 miles from the bridge site and it is highly unlikely to be responsible for any of the paranormal activity at this site.
The event that proceeded Sand Creek, however, took place only 30 miles away and may be the source of some of the paranormal activity here. This was the slaughter of the family of Nathan Hungate which was blamed on the aboriginals which provided Chivington all the reason reason he needed for the slaughter at Sand Creek.
There have also been a number of car accidents on or near the bridge, including a particularly horrid one in 1997.
Two cars full of teenagers headed out to the haunted bridge but the lead vehicle lost control on the hill before the bridge and slammed into the guardrail. The driver was ejected resulting her becoming paralyzed, two other kids – aged 12 and 14 – were killed and 5 others were seriously injured. The second car flew off the road attempting to avoid the first resulting in injuries to the occupants but no fatalities.
In 2016 there was another car accident resulting in the deaths of 5 teenagers.
Paranormal Activity
The apparitions of aboriginals are reported here although they may be tulpas created by decades of people believing in the Sand Hill Massacre legend.
The phantom sound of Aboriginal drums is the most commonly reported paranormal activity at this site
The phantom sounds of a horse galloping and disembodied voices are heard throughout the area.
People often report seeing unexplained flashes of lights at the bridge as well.
In the last decade new activity has been reported including: the phantom sobs of a teenage girl crying and wrecked cars being seen in the dry gully below or the surrounding trees that will disappear if approached.
Some have seen the car accidents replay themselves on the road complete with screams and grisly details.
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By Dariusz Kowalczyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
History
This former silver and gold mining town was founded in 1880 in the Sawatch Range about 20 miles from Buena Vista.
The 1890’s were the boom years of the town with a population of about 2,000, three major mines operating and over 150 mining claims. There was a school, multiple saloons and hotels, a newspaper and a telegraph office were even built. Even the railroad and the postal office maintained a presence here.
The veins of gold and silver began to dry out and in 1922 the railroad shut down resulting in the last mine closing and a massive loss of population. Mail service was cut in 1952 when the town’s postmaster died.
A fire in 2002 destroyed the town hall and other buildings although a historical group is working on rebuilding the town hall.
Although no one now lives in St Elmo year round the General Store is open in the summer and allows tourists - who access the town via the old mining roads – to rent off-roads vehicles and buy supplies.
Paranormal Activity
The prominent Stark Family are said to have acted as if they were better than everyone else when St Elmo was a functioning town but they were also the last to leave when the town died.
Their pretty daughter, Annabelle, almost escaped by getting a job in another town and getting married but things didn’t work out and she had to move back to St Elmo.
In 1934 the patriarch, Roy, passed away followed shortly by his wife leaving only Annabelle and her brother as the only year round residents left in the town. Annabelle ran the general store – which was generally filled with out of date products – and was friendly to the few customers that still entered the store.
After the town’s official death – with the closure of the Post Office (see above) – Annabelle and her brother, Tony, were removed and put in an insane asylum (for their own safety, of course). Tony would die shortly afterward and Annabelle was moved to a nursing home where she passed away in 1960.
Shortly after Annabelle passed paranormal activity began to be reported in the town.
The vast majority of the activity centers around the old hotel where Annabelle once lived with her brother. Legend says she still protects the town from vandals and trespassers.
There are reports of her apparition being seen in a white dress in the windows of the hotel or walking the town’s streets in grimy torn clothes. One story is of the woman in white being seen by a skier passing through town. There were a group of snowmobilers heading into the town the ghost was watching. The skier told the snowmobilers they were not allowed to come into the town and turned them around. The lady in white nodded to the skier from the hotel window before turning and disappearing into thin air.
When a group attempted to clean up the hotel their cleaning supplies were found moved to the center of the room; although, they had been organized and put away every night. They were even found removed from a padlocked storage closet.
People in the hotel have reported objects moving on their own; extreme temperature drops; feelings of not being alone and doors opening and closing on their own.
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History
This hospital began as the Glockner Tuberculosis Sanitarium in 1890. Marie Glockner founded the sanatorium in memory of her husband who died of tuberculosis at 31. The sanatorium was located at 2200 North Trejon Street which seems to be near where the John Kay House is today.
Doctors throughout the Country recommended their patients come to Colorado for treatment for the fresh mountain air and Colorado Springs became the home of numerous sanatoriums at the time.
In 1893 the sanatorium was given to the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati who were known for their care at other sanatoriums and hospitals in western America. In the early 20th century, a training school for nurses was created. As the campus grew the name was changed to the Glockner Sanatorium and Hospital in 1940.
In 1941 Penrose Cancer Center was opened by Julie Penrose in memoriam for her husband whom she lost to the disease. In 1947 the campus was renamed the Glockner-Penrose Hospital while it continued to grow and updating with an ICU, emergency department and surgical wings.
In 1959 the name was changed to Penrose Hospital.
Today the campus is owned by Centura through its subsidiary the Penrose-St Francis Health Services and has become a modern Level II Trauma Center.
Paranormal Activity
The apparition of a nun has been seen still walking the halls of the hospital. Witnesses have seen blood on her habit.
Other Activity: Apparitions of former staff and patients are seen on the grounds; electrical disturbances; cold spots and feelings of not being alone and being watched.
Testimonial By Des
I’ve worked the night shift at Penrose. I've personally and a coworker saw the nun on our floor. There has also been reports from other staff and patients of a man in a top hat and children. TVs and light turn on by themselves. Call light go off in empty rooms. Feelings of being watched. Goose bumps and chills. A pillow shaking on an empty bed.
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History
Previous to this location – the city’s first actual hospital – the only medical facility was a clinic attached to the train station. The original building was built in 1887 and it seems that it was torn down shortly into the 20th century (possibly 1929) and replaced with a much larger structure with wings on both sides.
The hospital was modernized in the 1960’s and 70’s resulting in the left wing and middle section being demolished and replaced. The original older right wing is still attached to the former hospital.
In 1989 the name was changed to the St Francis Health Center when it teamed up with the Penrose Hospital. In 2008 the new St Francis Medical Center on East Woodmen Road opened and began the closure of this site. In 2010 Centura officially closed the site for financial reasons and the last tenants moved out in 2013.
In 2014 the property was sold to a developer who is currently working on redeveloping the site into residential and commercial properties. As of 2021 the building is still standing.
Paranormal Activity
The majority of paranormal activity takes place within the remaining old wing.
There are numerous mentions of ghost called “Charlie” but – unfortunately – no real details pertaining to him.
In the area where the tuberculosis patients were once treated phantom sounds of patients still coughing and hacking are still heard. There are said to be 2 ghosts who haunt the area as well one who locked an employee in a closet and another who asked the nurses what they are doing?
A security guard watched the South Entrance Door open, pause as if someone unseen looked inside, and then close the door. A bit creepy but the real chills happen when you realize that door is always kept locked.
Small shadows have been seen cast on the walls as if cast by unseen children walking the halls of the old hospital. An adult sized shadow has been seen that stood still as if watching the watcher.
A sealed off tunnel that goes from the hospital to what is now the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind was used during the tuberculosis pandemic to take the bodies to a crematorium. The squeaky wheels of the stretchers are still heard echoing in the tunnel. Disembodied voices are also heard here as well as feelings of unease.
Other Activity: Apparitions of former staff and patients; touches, tugs and pulls by unseen presences; warm and cold spots; movement in your peripheral vision; feelings of unease, being watched and not being alone.
Testimonial By Deai
I used to be a security guard here! I used to do hourly patrols around this amazing building! The interior is spooky and amazing all at once. There are random dead animals around the halls and one of the rooms had a ojui board staked to the floor. RA 22. On the 3rd floor. The fifth floor has a huge roped off area where the floor is weak and will fall through if walked on! The cremation tunnel under the hospital is super rich with paranormal air. The time I was there as the security guard there were several alarms that went off due to unexplained movement in the hospital. We had to go in to make sure the alarms were false or see if a homeless person had gotten in. I was in there one time with the police and there was a scream behind us, with a cough that followed. I had been at this building for a while so I was used to it however the police officers I was with freaked out and they were like oh no! We are getting out of here. So we got out. And one time the pump house by the hospital which was the cremation stack, had a flood where the water main had bust by itself but there was no evidence anyone had gotten in there. As the door was always locked. I ended up leaving the company but when I left a light, that was never on in the hospital turned on and has remained on till this day.
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By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Knapp.keith&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Knapp.keith (page does not exist)">Knapp.keith</a> - Took pictures, edited together. Cheesman Park, Denver Colorado. Previously published: Facebook, Google Drive(limited access), CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
History
From 1858 the land is now known as Cheesman Park and the land that is now the Denver Botanical Garden and Congress Park was the Prospect Hill Cemetery.
Near the cemetery was what called a pest house back in the day where the poor with infectious diseases were taken – to die. The common practice in the 19th century was just to dump the bodies in pits in the cemetery – there are no records of these deceased. High end mansions now occupy the area where the pest house was.
By the 1880’s the cemetery had fallen into ruins and was becoming an eyesore in a part of the city that was rapidly becoming one of the most desirable places to live. In January of 1890 permission was given to change the cemetery into a park in hopes of making growing neighborhood even more desirable.
Families were given 90 days to move the remains of their loved ones. The Roman Catholic part of the cemetery in the east was sold to the Archdiocese and became the Mt Calvary Cemetery which is now on the grounds of the Botanical Center. The large number of Chinese immigrants buried there were moved back to China.
As for the rest, well the majority were drifters, vagrants and criminals and there was no one to claim them, at the time this accounted for about 5,000 bodies.
In 1893 the city awarded a contract to undertaker EP McGovern to remove the remains, put them in new coffins, at a $190 per coffin. Of course, McGovern got greedy and put adult remains in child’s coffins and chopped up the bodies sometimes putting 1 person in 3 coffins. This caused a disorganized disaster leaving body parts strewn everywhere and more than a few remains were stolen as grisly souvenirs.
The south end were the remains and broken caskets were left absolutely horrified the neighborhood residents. Could you imagine just the smell; much less the sheer lack of respect.
The contract was ended when this came to the city’s attention leaving open graves and body parts on the surface as well as over 2,000 remains still on site. The contract was never given to another undertaker and these bodies remain under the park to this day.
In 1894 the city began grading the property turning it into a park. Holes left by coffins were filled in and shrubs and trees were planted. Some of the open graves containing remains were not filled in until 1902.
The new park opened in 1907 and the past – forgive the pun – was buried.
In 2008 during construction of a new parking structure for the Botanical Gardens remains and coffins were unearthed. They were moved to an active cemetery and reburied.
Cheesman Park provided inspiration for both the movies The Changeling (1980) and Poltergeist (1982).
Paranormal Activity
The activity here is so intense most locals avoid the area completely. Only experienced investigators with the proper amount of respect should investigate here.
The neighborhood surrounding the park is still considered one of the most desirable in the city. Its population density in almost 3 times higher than most of the rest of the city.
The original gates to the cemetery can still be found in the park.
There are at least 2,000 bodies are buried under the park to this day.
This location is considered one of the most paranormally active places in both Denver and the State. In truth it is one of the most haunted places in the entire United States.
Today there are numerous ghost tours in the park you can book.
There are numerous stories of people being touched, poked and prodded by unseen presences dating back to when the bodies were being removed. The most famous is of a man who had a ghost jump on his shoulders while he was working – he never returned to work again.
When the removal was taking place people living the area reported multiple accounts of sad and confused ghosts knocking on their doors and peeking in their windows. An unearthly moaning was also heard coming from the open graves.
Today there is still an oppressive feeling of sadness and misery described by many park goers.
There are what is described as hundreds of disembodied whispers and moans coming from the area where the graves are buried. This includes Cheesman Park, Congress Park and the Botanical Gardens as well as some of the surrounding residential areas.
The apparitions of children playing in the park are often seen. Apparitions who suddenly disappear into thin air in front of onlookers. Another common ghost is that of a woman who sings quietly to herself before also disappearing.
There are also numerous reports of people being unable to get back up after lying down in the grass. They describe being held down by an invisible force.
On moonlit nights it is said the area will sometimes time slip back to when it was a cemetery and the grave stones will be seen again.
Another story tells of the sound of a phantom sound of a chain being jangled before the witnesses came upon a boy riding his bike around a man, pale and bloody, dressed in a tattered hospital gown.
He approached the couple seeing him asking them if they had seen the people who stabbed him and showing them deep knife wounds in his body. Horrified they told him to go to the hospital to which he replied the hospital wouldn’t help him because he was too poor.
Other Activity: to be concise on an already long blog – pretty much anything you can imagine.
Unlike many public parks this one is not open from 11pm to 7am – gee I wonder why?
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By Onetwo1 at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Second and Third Photos are Courtesy of Coldspot Paranormal Research
History
This house was originally built in 1889 for Issac and Mary Large who sold the house to JJ Brown, Molly’s husband, in 1894. In 1898 the house title was transferred to Molly probably due to JJ’s failing health.
The Brown family were frequent travelers – this is the Unsinkable Molly Brown who survived the Titanic disaster – so the house was often rented out. The Governor of Colorado – at Molly’s invitation - even lived in the house when the Governor’s Mansion was being remodeled.
When Molly died in 1932 the house was already being used as a rooming house under the management of Molly’s housekeeper. It was later divided into apartments for rent.
By the early 1970’s the house was in such a condition that there were plans to completely demolish it. A group called Historic Denver raised funds to buy the house and then renovated it back to the way it was when Molly lived there.
It is still owned by Historic Denver and open to the public for tours.
Paranormal Activity
The staff at this location vehemently deny this location is haunted.
The most common evidence of paranormal activity is the phantom smell of pipe smoke. The house, like all public buildings these days, is absolutely smoke free, so where does the smell come from. Apparently, JJ – Molly’s husband – liked to smoke a pipe so it is thought to be his ghost responsible for the smell.
The apparition of a woman in a Victorian era dress has been seen moving the furniture in the house. Perhaps Molly herself returns occasionally and rearranges things more to her liking.
Other Reported Activity: apparitions of Mary, JJ and other family members have been reported throughout the house; electrical disturbances including someone unscrewing the lightbulbs; light anomalies; cold spots and the feeling of not being alone.
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History
The valley in which the hotel now sits was once the land of the Ute and Araphoe tribes. When the Earl of Dunraven visited the area; he purchased a large area intending to convert the land into a huge private game preserve. However, the Earl was intensely disliked by the locals – so much so when it was thought to name the hotel Dunraven a petition was signed by 180 people suggesting strongly that this would be a bad idea. Dunraven left the area in the late 19th Century never to be seen again in the area.
Fast forward to the early 20th century and the steam powered car inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley was diagnosed with tuberculosis (consumption). Previous to the discovery of anti-biotics and cure of this life-threatening disease, sufferers were advised to get lots of cool dry air, sunlight and eat a healthy diet. Stanley packed up and moved he and his wife, Flora, to Colorado.
Originally, they arrived in Denver but at the recommendation of his doctor they relocated to Estes Park. By the end of that first summer Stanley’s health had improved greatly and he decided they should spend every summer in Estes Park. Being used to the socialite scene on the East Coast, though, he decided the rugged frontier of the Rocky Mountains could do with some civilization.
In 1907 a fully recovered Stanley bought the land from Dunraven and began work on a new grand hotel which would provide an oasis for both the rich and powerful Easterners as well as others suffering from Tuberculosis. The main hotel and concert hall were completed in 1909 – the hotel opened on July 4th of the year - and the Manor was completed in 1910.
The hotel was the epitome of both luxury and style for it’s day including a full staff and being run on electricity; although gas lines were installed should the electricity ever fail. The gas lines were not used until 1911 when a failed line leaked between the second floor and the dining room. An explosion did result with injuries to staff; the worst being a broken ankle.
Stanley had a powerhouse built to supply his hotel with electricity which brought the added bonus of bringing electricity to the town of Estes Park. Every room had a telephone and each pair of rooms shared an ensuite bathroom with running water.
The hotel would go through many different owners – Stanley had to buy the hotel back from the second owners in order to prevent it from going under - he once joked he always spent more money each summer than he ever earned – until the current owners: Grand Heritage Hotel Group.
Stephen King
By the late 1970’s the hotel had almost run its course. Due to neglect and age it most likely would have ended up falling to the wrecking ball shortly. That is, until fate intervened.
In 1974 the famous horror novelist, Stephen King, came with his wife to spend one night at the Stanley Hotel. He was working on his third novel tentatively titled Darkshine but wasn’t convinced about its location being set in an amusement park. When they checked in; the hotel was closing down for the season – until 1983 the hotel was only open for the summer – and they were the only guests in the massive hotel. While his wife slept King wandered the empty halls, had a drink in the hotel bar served by a bartender named Grady and then returned to his room: Room 217.
His imagination fully fired up and the idea for the third novel came into being. Today we know it as The Shining. The Overlook – forgive me – The Stanley Hotel became famous all over again. Room 217 is still the most requested room to stay in by guests.
But the Stanley Hotel has its own haunted history and ghost stories that have nothing to do with Stephen King’s famous novel or Stanley Kubrick’s famous movie of the same title.
Paranormal Activity
Room 217
Yes, the room that Stephen King and his wife stayed in is reputed to be haunted. It is also said to be the most booked room – there are rumors that this room cannot be booked but it can be with some advance notice.
This room is said to be haunted by the maid whose ankle was broken during the gas explosion in 1911. She was not killed in that event but is thought to have not moved on from the hotel after her eventual death. It is unclear if 217 is the room she was in when the explosion happened. Due to numerous versions of her name being printed in different newspapers at the time her actual name cannot be known for sure. People call her Elizabeth Wilson or Mrs. Wilson.
Activity associated with this ghost includes objects being moved, luggage being unpacked and the turning on and off of the lights. There are also reports of a cold spot between guests in bed separating them; specifically, guests of the opposite sex staying in the room but unmarried. Apparently, the ghost’s morals are a reflection of her time.
Her apparition is seen passing through solid doors. Single men staying in the room have found their suitcases packed and put outside of the room.
Room 401
The 4th floor was once a huge open attic area. This is where the female employees, their children and nannies once lived when the staff stayed at the hotel. The sounds of children running, playing and laughing are now heard on the floor and commonly in this room. The closet in this room also tends to open and close on its own.
Room 428
In this room guests have reported heavy footsteps and the sounds of furniture being moved around above their heads. This is physically impossible due to the slope of the roof above this room. There is also a ghost staying in this room – a cowboy who is reportedly quite friendly. He is often seen sitting on the corner of the bed.
Stairs Between the Floors
The stairs between the floors in the hotel’s main guesthouse are thought to be a vortex between our world and the spirit world. You can run into any of the ghosts that haunt the hotel here.
The Concert Hall
One of the most famous ghosts of the hotel makes his home here; Paul. When he was alive one of his jobs was to clear the concert hall at 11pm. He still takes his responsibilities very seriously as both guests and employees have heard “get out” late at night here. A worker reported Paul gave him a nudge when he was sanding the floors here – perhaps the work hadn’t been run by Paul previous to it commencing. People on the hotel’s ghost tour have also reported Paul will flicker the lights on their flashlights.
The ghost of Flora Stanley, the builder’s wife, still tinkers with the piano in the concert hall.
Although no history can be found of the next ghost’s association with the hotel, she has been named Lucy. She is known for responding to people on the ghost tour’s question by flashing lights.
The Grand Staircase
The grand staircase is unforgettable all on its own but in 2016 a photograph of them showed a ghostly woman at the top that was definitely not there when the photo was taken.
Underground Caves
In the early days of the hotel employees used these caves to move around the hotel. They contain high amounts of both limestone and quartz which are thought to provide energy to ghostly visitors. This is thought to not only provide paranormal energy to the caves but to the property as a whole. Unexplained breezes are reported in the caves themselves.
The underground caves are only accessible by taking the hotel’s ghost tour.
Other Activity
The ghost of the original owner of the hotel, Mr. Stanley himself, is said to haunt the hotel’s bar and billiard room. Billy, an autistic child, roams the hotel most commonly playing with people’s hair. He is said to favor people who work with autistic clients. There is a pet cemetery on the grounds – said to the resting place of former owner’s pets – and the ghosts of both a cat and dog have been seen.
On a closing note for anyone wanting to visit this historic and haunted hotel – any staff hoaxing here to scare guests will immediately be terminated. The hotel takes its paranormal activity very seriously but they are also quick to point out not very many people have actually died on site and there are no terrible and violent events in the hotel’s history. The ghosts seem to come back because they so loved this wonderous location.
Who doesn’t want spend eternity in a place that made them so happy?
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History
This hotel was built by a banker who made his fortune in the silver market named Walter Devereux. It was modeled after the Villa de Medici in Rome, Italy and cost of $850,000 ($28.7 million in 2023 dollars).
Construction was begun in 1891 and the hotel opened on June 10, 1893, with fireworks and a midnight dinner for 300 couples.
After long stays by both Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft the hotel became known as the “little White House of the West”. It also became a summer playground for many of America’s ultra rich.
With the casualties flowing back to the United States from the European and Pacific battlefields due to the onset of World War II the United States Navy rented the hotel in 1942 for use as a convalescent hospital.
In 1946 the US Navy decommissioned the building and returned it to the owner who re-opened the building as a hotel.
The hotel is still open, and stays can be booked via the phone number or website above.
Paranormal Activity
The hotel is very open to it’s hauntings and ghosts.
The original owner, Walter Devereux, seemed to have stayed on long after death. He most often lets his presence known with phantom cigar smoke. No one living has been able to smoke in the building for many years so it’s very obvious when he’s around.
Occasionally, his faint apparition has appeared amid a cloud of cigar smoke. Sensitives are said to feel his presence throughout the building.
Smells of phantom cigar smoke are reported in the basement which is, probably, where his office used to be. He also seems to have his favorite rooms in the hotel as well where the smell is reported as well as faint – but visible – clouds of cigar smoke.
Walter is also blamed whenever a room locks itself.
The majority of reports come from the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors with rooms 321, 551 and 661 being the most active.
In Room 551 the apparition of a man is seen both in the room and in the hallway outside of the room. The man is said to be very active but seems to go out of his way not to frighten anyone. It has been described as a very benign haunting.
Room 661 is the largest of 2 suites in the tower and is haunted by a woman in floral print dress and is usually seen standing over guests when they are in bed. There is one story where a man became ill and needed to stay in bed; his wife opened the room’s windows to get him some fresh air. When his wife left the bedroom another woman came in and closed the windows; apparently, this battle went on for 3 days.
The elevator is known for going up and down on it’s own. It has been checked repeatedly for faults, but no mechanical or electrical reason can be found for why it does this.
One room was so active – rumored to be due to a maid being murdered there – the hotel has turned into storage room with no public access.
Phantom knocks on people’s rooms
Other electrical disturbances in the rooms include lights turning on and off on their own as well televisions changing channels, increasing and decreasing volume and turning on and off all on it’s own.
Apparitions of former guests and staff as well as sailors from the building’s time as a hospital.
The see through apparition of a young girl in seen in Victorian era clothing throughout the building; usually she is playing with a ball.
Another ghost in Victorian attire is a lady seen in the dining room. She is said to wear very nice smelling perfume – which is often smelt even when she is not visible – and is said to be very friendly toward men. This also could be the same ghost as one in more modern attire that’s reported (see below).
The basement of the hotel – which was used as a morgue and a crematorium when the hospital was open – is also said to be very paranormally active. Phantom sounds including disembodied voices having conversations and the sounds of typewriters have been reported.
In 1993 a hotel employee witnessed an elderly woman looking in one of the windows cupping her hands over her face. When he looked away for an instant to turn on the lights she disappeared.
The main floor is haunted by a nurse named Bobbie. It is said she dates back to the World War II era and was murdered by a jealous lover who was a Naval Officer. The story says he was shipped out to cover up the crime, but the hospital staff spread the story.
Bobbie is said to haunt the dining room and easily identified by her perfume – which smells like Gardenias – which sounds very familiar to the earlier story about the Victorian lady. This report comes from the hotel itself, though, so is probably the correct story.
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History
This road began as a railway that was completed in 1894. Previous to that everything mined out of the area had to come down out of the mountains by horse and wagon.
It took 1,200 workers 4 months to complete the rail line including building bridges and blasting tunnels; there were numerous fatalities during the construction.
One day after the railroad opened a train derailed resulting in at least one fatality.
As the 20th century began Colorado Springs began to grow as the center of mining and built a wider gauge railroad track creating a shorter trip capable to transporting greater weight. In 1912 a major flood washed out 12 bridges, 8 miles of track and several of the small mining towns in the area.
The remaining tracks were ripped up and the former railroad was converted into a road in 1918.
It is now one of the most scenic routes in America; but also one of the most dangerous as its unpaved and filled with sharp curves and steep drop offs with no fences.
The road is 30 miles long and passes by numerous abandoned mines and a number of ghost towns.
Paranormal Activity
The name of the canyon dates back to convicted killer who was executed in a nearby State Prison in 1890. Since then, it is said he walks the path of the old railroad and was even seen by riders on the train.
Today, he is still seen walking the side of the road still in his prison uniform.
The ghosts of miners and railroad workers are seen all along the 30 mile road as well as in the abandoned mines and ghost town easily accessible on this scenic drive.