Real Haunts

While you may know that the Oxford Hotel is Denver’s oldest hotel, you might not know that is also allegedly haunted. Founded in 1891, the Oxford Hotel has certainly seen enough history to warrant a haunting, and there are several stories behind many of its alleged haunts.

The Post Man

The Cruise Room in the Oxford Hotel was the first bar to open in Denver after the Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Bartenders at the Oxford speak of a post man who walks into the bar, sits and orders a beer. As he sips his beer, he mutters about getting “gifts to the children” and then quietly leaves upon supposedly finishing his beer. However, when bartenders go to collect the bottle, the beer is mysteriously full again.

The legend is that back in the 1930s, a postman was on his way to the city during a blizzard. When he never arrived, the rumor was that he sold the gifts and pocketed the cash. However, later his remains were found along with the undelivered presents after the snow melted. It is believed that his spirit is the one that frequents the Cruise Room looking for one last drink before venturing out into the cold.

The Lover’s Quarrel

The lover’s quarrel is the grounds for perhaps one of the most popular Denver ghost stories. It occurred in 1898 when Florence Montague shot and killed her married lover before shooting and killing herself in Room 320. Single men who stay in the room report having their arms pulled and their blankets pulled off them in the middle of the night. The spirit of Florence Montague poses no threat to married men and women or children, but single men must beware of staying in the room where the deadly lover’s quarrel occurred.

The Creole House – Inn on St. Ann is a thirty room hotel very close to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It was built in the 1830s, and has a few ghostly inhabitants. The classic French quarter inn features the Creole cottage once owned by Marie Laveau, a famous voodoo priestess.

There’s bound to be some scares and hauntings if you visit the Inn on St. Ann. A common occurrence is the hijinks of a ghost the staff calls Knobby. Doorknobs on the second floor are constantly removed. They are found next to the doors, on the floor or missing altogether. When the staff tries to reattach the knobs, it’s impossible. They can’t be glued or screwed back onto the doors.

One guest reported a few other occurrences. The shower turned on and off a few times while she was in there. The bed shook as if a pair of hands were shoving the mattress up and down quickly. When she alerted the front desk, they were told that the ghost is protective of women traveling alone and wanted to keep them on their toes.

It’s thought that Knobby removes the doorknobs to protect women. Traditionally, daughters were kept safe upstairs close to their parents, which is why staff believes that Knobby removes doorknobs from only the second floor.

Often called the most haunted place in Vermont, the Green Mountain Inn has a history and a ghost that just won’t give up the dance. might not look haunted from the outside but leaves plenty of guests wondering what they just experienced during a stay.

History of the Haunted Green Mountain Inn

Built in 1883, the Green Mountain Inn once boasted a large dance hall that attracted visitors from all across the region and was a popular place for presidents and famous actors to visit while in Stowe. Owners renovated the old hotel in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which is right around the time that guests and staff began experiencing some peculiar things at the hotel.

The most common story told surrounds a man by the odd name of Boots Berry. Local legend claims that he earned the nickname Boots because he learned how to tap dance from a fellow prisoner while in jail and would delight locals by dancing through the streets. Supposedly born in one of the rooms at the inn, Berry later became the man in charge of the inn’s horses. When the horses escaped the property and raced through the streets, Berry was the one who chased after them and brought them back. People in town were so grateful for what he did that men and women alike lined up in the hopes of buying him a drink. Berry grew so famous that he eventually stopped working and lived solely on what his fans gave him.

Boots Berry also developed something of a drinking problem, which led to the owners firing him. Though not distraught, Berry did leave town and only came back several years later. Not long after moving back, he heard a young girl screaming and discovered her about to fall off the roof of the hotel. Berry raced upstairs and managed to pull her back to safety, only to die himself when he slipped off the roof.

Many people believe that Boots is the Inn’s resident ghost because of the noises they hear, which sounds just like someone tap dancing across the roof. Guests staying on the top floor of the Green Mountain Inn occasionally hear the sounds of someone dancing and footsteps jumping back and forth across the roof.

Boots Berry and his haunting of the Green Mountain Inn is unique because he doesn’t make appearances like other ghosts do. Rather than jumping out from behind closed doors and knocking on walls, he just likes to cut a rug on the roof of the old inn. Even decades after his death, he still loves to show off his dancing skills.

Haunted Hotel Teatro in Denver, CO

The Haunted Hotel Teatro sits in a location that used to house the old Denver Tramway Building, which was built in 1911. After the last streetcar stopped running, there was no reason for the Tramway Building. Instead, the University of Colorado used it for the Center of Performing Arts until 1997.

Restorations began in 1997 to turn the building into a hotel. During renovations is when the spooky happenings began. It is said that often that spirits do not like changes to their environment, which has been said to increase paranormal activity. They don’t like when their resting place is changed or altered.

Haunted Hotel Teatro’s ‘Tool Man’

The most notable ghost in the hotel is one called the “Tool Man” since he walks around with a toolbox. It’s thought that the Tool Man worked in the Tramway Building, and died while on the job. He disappears if anyone calls out to him. From the moment the crew started construction of the Hotel Teatro, there began hearing disembodied voices and experienced ghostly apparitions.

Guests of the Haunted Hotel Teatro have remarked that they felt like someone was in the room well after the cleaning staff had made their rounds. Items have been moved and other small unexplained occurrences happened during visitor’s hotel stay.

The lodge has been around since it was built in the 1926. At some unreported time in the past, there was a fire in the main lodge and a worker couldn’t escape from the fire. She died. It’s her ghost who is thought to haunt the lodge now. One guest reported to the store owner across the street that she was leaving the lodge because of an experience she had. After unpacking her bags, she found a woman standing behind her. The woman explained that her name was Beverly, and she worked in the hotel. The guest was annoyed that an employee would walk in unannounced and reported the worker to the front desk. They told the guest that they didn’t have a worker named Beverly.

The hotel was built in 1886 by John McMillin and has had many guests including some famous ones like Theodore Roosevelt. It’s a woman apparition who is seen wandering the halls of the hotel. A nearby location is said to be equally creepy. The McMillin family has a mausoleum where there is a dining room set up for the entire family. At each location is a column where the family members ashes reside. It’s said that a family of apparitions sits there at sundown. One person reported feeling a heavy anger while standing near the mausoleum, and he decided not to enter.

Niagara Falls is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. While guests can stay in dozens of hotels, those looking to experience something a little paranormal should book a room at the Red Coach Inn.

Opened in 1923, the Tudor style bed and breakfast immediately became popular with those traveling to Niagara Falls for their honeymoons. They loved the views seen outside their windows, and those taking a break from honeymoon activities could head downstairs for a bite to eat at the elegant on-site restaurant. Though many hand unforgettable experiences at the hotel, at least one couple’s trip ended in disaster.

A young man and his new bride checked into the hotel and instantly headed upstairs to the room now called the Victoria Suite. A few hours later, guests found that the new husband took a heavy object and hit his new wife multiple times. The poor woman was dead by the time police arrived. Though no one is sure what happened that night, both the woman and man still haunt the room.

Nearly every guest who stays there feels cold spots throughout the room, and guests frequently complain that the temperature in the room is several degrees colder than the rest of hotels. They also hear restless footsteps pacing back and forth across the room, the sounds of a woman crying softly and creaking sounds. Though couples still travel to Niagara Falls for their honeymoons, many guests request a room other than the Victoria Suite when staying at the Red Coach Inn.