As fall creeps closer and colors of the leaves begin to change, in spirit of the seasonal change come tales of mystery and at times tragedy.
Colorado offers plenty of beautiful sites, most of which come with a haunting backstory. As we prepare to head into fall, ghost tours all over the state will begin competing for your attention and money.
Here are 10 real-life haunted places in Colorado for you to visit:
1. STANLEY HOTEL
Estes Park
Best known for inspiring Stephen King’s “The Shining,” The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park is teaming with ghost stories. According to longtime staff, no less than four spirits regularly roam the hotel’s corridors—most notably, Lucy, Paul, Eddie, and Elizabeth.
The Concert Hall is a particular hot spot for paranormal activity; lights flicker, laughter and footsteps echo off the walls, and chilly drafts greet its guests unexpectedly. Learn more at stanleyhotel.com
2. CASH REGISTER BUILDING
Denver
While most hauntings have a backstory of the 18th or 19th century, the Cash Register Building now known as the Wells Fargo Building happened in 1991.
On June 16, 1991 a bank robber murdered four security guards and stole $200,000. A tragic event that will forever be known as the Father’s Day Massacre. Rumors of security guards becoming “discombobulated while working in the building,” and is one of the most seen hauntings to date.
A retired police officer James King was arrested for the crime but later acquitted by a jury. King went on to live in Golden and died in May 2023. To date, the crime is still unsolved.
3. COLORADO PRISON MUSEUM
Cañon City
If you’re in the Royal Gorge Region and looking for a scare, stop by the Museum of Colorado Prisons—a structure that shares a stone wall and armed towers with a prison that has been in continuous operation since 1871.
With over 140 years of history, the cell house has two floors: 30 inmate cells on the upper level, and archival storage, original kitchen, and isolation cells on the lower level. Tour the creepy exhibits, which include stories of famous inmates—most notably, a man who was convicted of cannibalism and a 12-year-old boy convicted of murder. Eek! Learn more at prisonmuseum.org.
4. HOTEL COLORADO
Glenwood, Springs
Numerous 19th-century lodgings swarm Colorado, but not many can say they were converted to a hospital during World War II, which hosted as many as 500 injured military personnel in its chambers, nor can they boast of giant ovens in their basement, supposedly once used as crematoriums for the dead.
But alas, the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs can say just that, and more. Its ghostly reputation is also attributed to the spirits of the area’s Ute Indian inhabitants, who frequented the hot springs before their untimely exile. Learn more at hotelcolorado.com.
5. MOLLY BROWN HOUSE MUSEUM
Denver
Molly Brown, the famous survivor of the Titanic disaster in 1912, once lived in this Victorian Denver home built in 1889.
With over 100 years of history and at times serving as a private residence, an apartment complex for young men, and a home for wayward girls, the house is associated with eerie ghost lore—including hauntings from Molly herself—and frequent visits from paranormal investigators. Acting now as an educational outlet, the Molly Brown House Museum offers historical tours of both the house and the neighborhood. Learn more at www.mollybrown.org.
6. THE GHOST TOWN OF ST. ELMO
Chaffee County
Officially founded in 1880, the once-flourishing Colorado town of St. Elmo was an active gold- and silver-mining hot spot, with a population of nearly 2,000 people.
A brother and sister team come to the area with desires of striking it rich in the mining industry. Setting up camp at an abandoned area on the outskirts of the city, they refused to leave after everyone else had. The siblings were sent to a mental institution and visitors recall seeing the miners walk their old terrain, even to this day.
7. HOTEL JEROME
Aspen
The Hotel Jerome is a luxury stay in Colorado’s ski resort town of Aspen—not exactly what comes to mind when seeking otherworldly adventures. Known for its “unique blend of contemporary luxury and historic heritage.” Jerome B. Wheeler built the hotel in 1889, 9 years after the town of Aspen was established at the height of silver mining.
Hauntings of The Hotel Jerome are rumored to include the ghost of a boy who drowned in the property’s swimming pool and a maid who became ill and died after falling into an ice-cold pond. Learn more at hoteljerome.aubergeresorts.com.
8. THE STREETS OF GEORGETOWN
Georgetown, Colorado
According to Mountain Living’s The Heidi Guide:
Georgetown is a National Historic Landmark District, and , with 240 protected buildings, it’s practically a museum. Anne Marie Cannon created the Silver Queen Walking tours in response to a high level of interest in historic tours of the town, and in the fall of 2017, she added ghost tours.
Cannon explains to her tour groups that spirits and ghosts are attracted to the familiar, and because Georgetown’s architectural landscape and the mountains surrounding it haven’t changed much since the town was founded in the mid-1800s, a lot of people have crossed over but are still lingering in town because it’s familiar.
Her tour combines history and ghost stories and has eight stops, including a Victorian home. They will run throughout October. During the holidays Cannon will continue to provide her historical walking tours and then take a break until spring.
Book a tour at SilverQueenWalkingToursBlog or call 720-608-0609. Private tours can be arranged.
9. COLORADO GRANDE CASINO & HOTEL
Cripple Creek
Encouraged by the gold rush in the late 19th century, the community’s population skyrocketed from 500 in 1890 to 10,000 just three years later. Tensions between union workers and mine owners caused hardships and excessive violence in the area. The Colorado Grande was built in 1896—a three-story brick building which now stirs with the spirits of its former gamblers and guests.
If you love to hit the slots, then you have something in common with Maggie, a ghost known to play the slots after the casino is closed.
10. Lumbar Baron Inn
Denver
The now bed and breakfast was built in 1890 by John Mouat, a Scottish immigrant who made a fortune in lumber says the Lumbar Baron Inn website.
The location became haunted in 1970, when two teenage girls — Marrianne Weaver and Cara Lee Knoche — were slain in the building, reports the Denver Post. The unsolved murder is said to be responsible for the paranormal activity in the facility.
