The Most Haunted Places in Colorado

Colorado is a place famous for its mountains, old mining towns, and beautiful natural landscapes. But whenever horror enthusiasts search for the most haunted places in the United States, Colorado also appears somewhere at the top of the list.

This isn’t surprising considering the state’s long history of mining accidents, violent conflicts, abandoned spots, and mysterious deaths. Still, you need to know insider places if you aim to hear some frightening stories inside old hotels, public parks, former prisons, and even busy casinos. 

In this article, we’ll discuss 5 of the most haunted places in Colorado that you can still visit.

1. Colorado Grande Casino

Casinos aren’t typical places where you’d expect to meet a ghost. After all, their halls are usually crowded, brightly lit, and filled with the sounds of slot machines. Because of its overwhelming interior and crowded spaces, some people even prefer to play from home on websites, such as https://duel.com/, but if you’re a horror enthusiast and want to combine gambling with a possible paranormal encounter, maybe you should enter the Colorado Grande Casino in Cripple Creek.

This casino is located in a building from 1896. Cripple Creek itself is an old gold-mining town where almost every block seems to have a dark story attached. The most famous ghost here is Maggie, a young Irish woman dressed in clothing from the beginning of the 20th century. Employees and visitors claim to have heard her high-heeled shoes in empty hallways or smelled her rose perfume before she appeared.

2. The Stanley Hotel

If you aren’t a big fan of casinos, consider visiting The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. This is probably the most famous haunted location in Colorado. It became especially popular among horror fans after Stephen King stayed in room 217 and left with the idea for The Shining. So, believe it or not, this is the place where everybody’s favorite horror novel was born.

Room 217 is also connected to the hotel’s best-known ghost story. In 1911, chambermaid Elizabeth Wilson entered the room with a lit candle without knowing that it was filled with gas. According to the story, the explosion happened when she entered, and as a result, she was seriously injured. Guests now claim that Wilson’s spirit still takes care of the room by doing things like folding clothes and unpacking suitcases. 

3. Cheesman Park

Not only are luxurious establishments haunted by ghosts in Colorado. If you visit Cheesman Park in Denver, you may get a chance to walk above the remains of people who were buried there more than a century ago. And if you’re a horror fan, chances are that you’re excited enough already.

Before it became a public park, this area was known as Mount Prospect Cemetery. Later in the late 19th century, the graves were relocated, but as it seems, the process was handled so poorly that many bodies were never removed. Imagine the person who was responsible for the work was even accused of breaking apart human remains so they would fit inside smaller coffins.

Either way, visitors still report seeing weird figures, hearing strange whispers, and feeling sudden cold spots. Considering that an unknown number of bodies may still be beneath the grass, Cheesman Park’s haunted reputation isn’t difficult to understand.

4. The Brown Palace Hotel

You may think of the Brown Palace Hotel as a random luxury hotel in downtown Denver when you first see it. However, the building is more than a century old. The fact that it has welcomed guests since 1892 is probably one of the reasons why there are numerous frightening stories around it.

One of the strangest legends is connected to Suite 904, which was once occupied by a wealthy woman who lived at the hotel for many years. After she died, employees started to receive telephone calls from the empty room. The weird thing, though, is that its telephone line had been disconnected. The founder of the hotel, Henry C. Brown, is also believed to remain near his former office as a ghost.

5. Museum of Colorado Prisons

Perhaps the easiest place where you have a chance to encounter ghosts or experience paranormal activity is an old prison. In Colorado, one of the best options to have an eerie experience is visiting the Museum of Colorado Prisons in Cañon City.

In this building, you can walk past original prison cells and see confiscated weapons, execution equipment, and other objects connected to Colorado’s prison history. However, some people claim that the former prisoners themselves never completely left the building. Note that cell 19 is thought to be the museum’s most haunted location, so expect the spirit of a dead female prisoner nearby this cell.

Bottom Line

While typical haunted places that you can visit often include abandoned houses or dark cemeteries, now you know that Colorado has much more to offer. In this state, you can hear ghost stories inside luxury hotels, public parks, casinos, and even museums.

Of course, nobody can prove that these locations are actually haunted, but once you’re there, you can still expect to hear heartbeats in an empty casino or receive a telephone call from an unoccupied hotel room. Maybe some Colorado horror stories are better left unexplained.