Take old buildings, add lashings of sepia-toned history, sprinkle generously with violence or intrigue. Voila! You’ve got haunted houses.
They are everywhere. New England is famous for them. New Orleans hugs them. And when it comes to ghosts, Colorado’s stake is hefty.
Easily the most famous haunted place in the state – in fact, it’s the inspiration for what could be the most famous haunted house in the world – is the Stanley Hotel, at 333 Wonderview Avenue in Estes Park. Stephen King based the setting for his 1977 bestselling novel “The Shining” on The Stanley, a sprawling white Georgian-style estate that looms over Estes Park.
For prime ghoulish fare, head to the billiards room, the music room, or the fourth-floor (the former servants quarters). People say a uniformed waiter haunts a service hotel in the Brown Palace Hotel, 321 17th Street, and a socialite who took up residence in the fancy Denver landmark for 15 years is rumored to still float around the premises.
Molly Brown survived the sinking of the Titanic, and by all accounts the Denver philanthropist and activist thrives today, as a ghost at The Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania Street in Denver.
The story goes that many of Denver’s indigents, homeless and criminals were buried in a central cemetery for decades after it was built in the 1850s. The area around the cemetery grew prosperous. Eventually, the land was transformed into Cheesman Park, at Franklin Street and 8th Avenue. Today, ghost aficionados say Cheesman Park is the most haunted area of Denver, if not all of Colorado.
– Douglas Brown
