Is it really fall if you’re not swapping ghost stories on a chilly autumn evening? We want to set the mood for the season, so we asked the biggest paranormal stan we know, local contemporary art curator Thad Mighell, to chat with us about the spookiest spots in Colorado (that aren’t the Stanley Hotel).
St. Elmo
This ghost town in Chaffee County is the eerie remnants of a mining boom community. Virtually destroyed by a fire in the late 1800s, St. Elmo was almost totally abandoned by the living by the 1960s — but many believe it remains today as the stomping ground for some eccentric lost souls who can’t seem to leave their hometown.
Hotel Jerome
This fully functioning hotel in Aspen is purported to be haunted by the ghost of a little boy who drowned on the grounds in the 1930s. Guests report seeing apparitions of a dripping wet youngster who leaves puddles for footprints.
Hotel Colorado
This Gilded Age hotel in Glenwood Springs is supposedly built on a cursed site. Allegedly, the hotel is haunted by decades of ghostly guests trapped on the hallowed grounds.
3rd Bridge
Out in the middle of nowhere, this desolate road-crossing’s alleged connections to the underworld have attracted cars full of teenagers for decades — some of whom never seem to make it back home.
UFO Watchtower
Situated in the San Luis Valley, this UFO — or UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) as they are now known — viewing location is reportedly the best place in the world to have an extraterrestrial experience.
Cripple Creek
This fully operational city in Teller County is a former mining camp where long-dead spirits allegedly abound — like the father and daughter duo who are rumored to haunt the Imperial Hotel and a childlike ghost who draws on the walls of Buffalo Billy’s Casino.
Psst! Want more? Get the full deets on these haunted Colorado destinations in today’s episode of City Cast Denver 🎧
