Cripple Creek Colorado Ghost Walk

Cripple Creek Colorado Ghost Walk

Take The Cripple Creek Ghost Walk
Almost a hundred years after Bob Womack first discovered gold in Poverty Gulch, Cripple Creek, the old mining village in the shadow of Pike?s Peak, became a gambling town. By the early 1990s, the casinos had opened and old historic buildings were restored, creating a new type of bustle. Despite all this, the town still remains rich with its history and its share of ghosts.

?It?s about a hour and a half walk around the town, and it gives visitors a history lesson and something to do if they don't want to gamble,? said Rick Wood, owner of the Last Dollar Inn Bed and Breakfast, of the Cripple Creek Ghost Walk, which he runs. Between the months of May and October, the ghost walk guides people through the town to look at the buildings and hear the stories. Several encounters in the numerous buildings around the town brought paranormal investigation groups to the area, including the a crew from the television show Sightings and the Teller County Ghost Hunters.

Stories of sightings and mystery are abundant in Cripple Creek. People have seen orbs of light, heard voices and noises in empty rooms, as well as other unexplained events. There are actually famous ghosts too: Kitty Chambers, a former owner of the Palace Hotel who died there in 1928; the doctor at Meyers Avenue; and Sam Strong, who at Grant Comley?s in the Elks Club is said to have been murdered, are only a few of the identifiable spirits. Finally Maggie, the good natured ghost, makes her home in the big brick building at Third and Bennett.

Many of these tales told on the tour appear in the book about the town called Ghost Tales of Cripple Creek by Chas S. Clifton, which Wood says is a reliable source for the ghostly activities in the old mining town.

Tourists from all over go on Wood?s ghost walk, where they are immersed not in tales of ghosts but the history of Cripple Creek too. When asked about the history and the ghosts are linked, Wood said. ?So much of it involves historical research on the area in order to prove accuracy.? On many occasions he received bogus claims of ghosts in the area. Wood actually took the tour several years ago and became fascinated with the ghost stories, eventually becoming its guide.

Even Wood?s own bed and breakfast is said to be haunted by several ghosts, orbs of light in the living room and the shade of a conductor who sits in the corner of one of the rooms. He says this is the fourth haunted house he has lived in. Wood believes that the paranormal stuck with him, and he ended our interview by emphasizing that the Cripple Ghost Walk is fun, and ?I have made non-believers into believers.?

By Juan Morales

Cripple Creek Ghost Walk Tours
315 E. Carr Avenue
Cripple Creek, CO 80813
719-689-9113