Stephanie Waters - Ghosts of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2012 by Stephanie Waters

All rights reserved

Front cover: The Pioneer Museum. Photo courtesy of Sita Ahlen.

First published 2012

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.615.3

print ISBN 978.1.60949.467.4

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Dedicated to my storytelling muses and mentors: Grandma Jessie, and my dear friend Hope Bunny Hall.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks again to everyone at The History Press for making my dreams come true, especially to my commissioning editor, Becky LeJeune, Jaime Muehl and everyone else in production who made me look smart. I would also like to thank the Pikes Peak Library District, especially librarians Jody Jones and Susan, who shared a unique ghostly encounter with me in the Carnegie Building. A huge thanks to retired police detective Dwight Haverkorn, who made my research not only easier but a whole lot of fun as well. I would also like to acknowledge my fourth-grade teacher, Rhoda Wilcox, who inspired me by writing some of the first entertaining history books about the region, and Mrs. Nicks at Coronado High School, who encouraged me to write long before I had a voice. Hats off to the Old Colorado Historical Society and the Fountain Valley Museum, especially to Elaine MacKay and Betty Powell. The people I interviewed deserve a big pat on the back, especially the Cimino and Leasure families, who must have thought it was a joke when they received my letter requesting an interview. A hearty thanks to the SpiritChasers, Christopher Allen Brewer and James Manda, who helped me more than words can say with their wealth of knowledge about the paranormal. The eleventh-hour interview trophy goes to Laszlo Palos, Dorothy Tunnicliff, Robert Rais and Jan Kirk. Special thanks to ghost-hunting friends in Denver and Pueblo, as well as Cripple Creek and Victor. I also want to thank Jana Botello, Wayne Morris, Mike Coletta, Jerry Murphy, Sandy Fitzpatrick, Gail Anne Bailey, Eva Calloway, Sita Ahlen, Hannah Ahlen, Mom, Dad, Tom, Bix, Kameron, Everett, Kristy, in-laws, out-laws, fellow ghost hunters, family, friends, Siddhartha, Mary Jane, monkeys, Wyatt, Jesse, K.K. and the last fish in the sea.

Introduction

WHY DID I BECOME A GHOST HUNTER?

Every haunting has a ghost and every ghost has a story. I often heard urban legends and ghost tales about spooky places while I was growing up and always wondered what the truth was behind the hauntings. Perhaps thats why I became a paranormal investigator. My interest in ghost hunting began when my folks bought a little farm east of Colorado Springs back in the late 1960s. I remember being so happy when I made a new friend who lived just across the cow pasture. Randy was so darn funny, and he could blow the biggest milk bubbles I had ever seen. One memorable afternoon, we had a strange experience when we went horseback riding at Sand Creek and saw the figure of an Indian warrior that whooped and hollered battle cries as he galloped passed us on his ghostly white steed. We were deathly afraid, but we followed him on our ponies for a while until he slowly faded away.

When I excitedly told my family about the strange ghostly encounter, my southern-born grandmother smiled and said I inherited a psychic gift from her called the Shine. But my mom blamed my so-called sixth sense on being accidently dropped on the head at birth. Randys dad didnt believe him either, but at least he didnt give him a lame excuse. His dad just whipped his butt for being a liar and ordered him straight to bed without supper. The supernatural experience at Sand Creek became a catalyst for my early career in ghost hunting, and I formed a strong conviction that we spirit chasers had to stick together. So I started a ghost-hunting club (decades before it was fashionable) and elected myself president. I made Randy second in command and Grandma Jessie chauffeur. We built a fort by Sand Creek and christened our new enterprise the Sneaky Flats because it sounded cool as well as scary.

One afternoon, Grandma Jessie took the Sneaky Flats on a ghost hunt/picnic at Evergreen Cemetery, and I was really scared because I had never been in a graveyard. However, I didnt want Randy to smell my fear, so I jumped out of the car and hollered like Tarzan as I skipped through the ancient headstones. I was trying to impress Randy with my braverythen we danced in the water sprinklers until lunchtime. Ghost hunting is hard work, so to replenish our energy we munched on grilled cheese sandwiches and guzzled down root beer. We were having a grand old time competing in an exciting belching contest until I almost lost my lunchright after Grandma Jessie told us that we were sitting on her uncles grave! Grandma laughed at my reaction and then introduced us to the rest of the family by pointing out their headstones. Grandma Jessie told us a sad story about her great-great-grandmother, who died in childbirth, and the thought of old grannies giving birth made me laugh so hard that root beer shot out my nose.

Early guide to the Pikes Peak region. Authors collection.

After lunch, we walked around the ancient cemetery as Grandma Jessie told us stories about how Colorado Springs began. Our first stop was the headstone of founding father General William Jackson Palmer, who was a Civil War hero and benefactor to the city. Many of Palmers friends were wealthy British patrons who were a great influence on the upstart town, and it wasnt long before they started calling Colorado Springs Little London. Palmer came from a conservative Quaker background, so he prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol within city limits. Thats when folks started going to Colorado City to get their kicks. Colorado City truly was a Wild West town that offered all kinds of lascivious entertainment, including saloons, gambling halls, opium dens and a thriving red-light district. Eventually, the little frontier town of Colorado City became absorbed by Colorado Springs, as did several other little cow towns in the area.

The cover of my first book, Haunted Manitou Springs.

Next we saw the gravestone of mining magnate Winfield Scott Stratton, who was the first mega millionaire of the Cripple Creek gold rush. Colorado Springs was fortunate to have had so many generous benefactors, and a lot of them made their fortunes in mining. I thought it was so sad when we saw the graves of all the people who had died of tuberculosis in the early 1900s. Legions of people across the country contracted the horrific disease, and many of them flocked to the dry climate of the Pikes Peak region as a last hope. Hundreds of people in the Colorado Springs area died from the epidemic, and at one time it was said that there were more citizens buried in the cemetery than there were living topside. After the history lesson, we piled in the car and drove around while Grandma Jessie pointed out tourist attractions that distinguished the Pikes Peak Regionlike Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Air Force Academy and Manitou Springs. Living on the prairie really made me appreciate the drive up Cheyenne Canyon to beautiful Helen Hunt Falls, and when we got to the top of Gold Camp Road, I could see all the way to Kansas! That day, I decided that I really liked living in Colorado Springs because there was always something exciting to do, and you could easily pretend to be on vacation whenever you wanted.