In the ghostly spirit of Halloween, check out these stories of past Leadville souls. Many still make their presence known in this Colorado mining town. They float and creak in 1880s Victorian buildings and abandoned mines.
Read these tales with a shiver. Then make plans to visit the sites where spine-chilling events took place.
HERALD DEMOCRAT BUILDING
Once a mortuary, the Herald Democrat building is now home to the Herald Newspaper Office, Alpine Gift Shoppe and Fire On The Mountain. This building has raised hairs on the backs of editors’ necks. Footsteps sound when nobody is walking, and lights turn themselves back on at night. The Cloud City Paranormal Society once captured extreme temperature changes in the basement. Learn about these and other eerie Leadville happenings in their story, “Ghostly tales abound in this old mining town.”
The newspaper also publishes the Leadville/Lake County Heritage Guide, which includes tours of other sites on this list. Download a copy, or pick up one at the boxes outside their building…if you dare.
Where: 717 Harrison Avenue, Downtown Leadville
EVERGREEN CEMETERY
Mr. James Driver’s arm and Mrs. E.J. Burdett’s foot reside in this 141-year-old cemetery. It is also the final resting place of Flora Packer, wife of “The Colorado Cannibal,” Alferd Packer. Mr. Packer’s party became lost and snowbound in the Rockies in the winter of 1874. While accounts of what happened in the ill-fated camp vary, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for cannibalism.
The Irish Miners’ Memorial is a spectacular site in the evening with panels a-glow recognizing over 1,300 individuals buried in unmarked, sunken graves, almost half of which are infants and children.
Where: Evergreen Cemetery is located off McWethy Drive, just east of the intersection with County Road 4, on Leadville’s northwest side.
- For many more spine-tingling stories, take a Leadville by Lamplight Tour.
- For a self-guided cemetery tour, see the Leadville/Lake County Heritage Guide.
SILVER DOLLAR SALOON
Stepping into the saloon is like stepping back in time, with many original features from its 1879 opening, the Silver Dollar has stories to tell. Inside decor includes a noose from a local hanging that is said to sway from time to time, a framed photo showing an apparition captured on film within the bar and stories of sounds and sightings from the staff and locals.
MINERAL BELT TRAIL
Bike, walk, or cross-country ski the Mineral Belt Trail, a 12-mile paved loop around Leadville. You’ll pass the site of the Moyer Mine, reportedly among the most haunted of Leadville lodes. Many accidental deaths gave the mine a reputation. Dim light, dripping water, and unearthly echoes added to its mystery. In 1901, State Senator Joseph Gallagher entered the mine, and a round of powder blew him into the next life. Miners later saw his spirit wandering the mine and going down the shaft in the bucket to warn his friends of danger.
Where: Near the 6 mile marker (California Gulch) on the Mineral Belt Trail. You can also drive to the trail’s crossing with Toledo St.
WOMAN AT THE NEW DISCOVERY MINE
In 1879, an unearthly female wearing a fluttering shroud first appeared in the New Discovery Mine. She returned so often that her story appeared in a New York newspaper. Many, on seeing her, drew their pay and never returned. Some of the braver men attempted time and time again to capture her. But when they closed in, the woman spat at them and then vanished. Her apparition made the New Discovery the first Leadville mine haunted by a woman.
Where: The mine site is now a field, but they say she still dwells in the mine’s forbidden chambers. Find the site at stop 9A on the Route of the Silver Kings driving tour.
MRS. MARY COFFEY
The ghost of Mary Coffey is said to keep watch at the Delaware Hotel, where her husband shot her in 1899. She is buried in nearby Evergreen Cemetery. Read one guest’s experience in “The Haunting of HeidiTown, Colorado: The Mayor’s Ghost Stories.”
Where: Delaware Hotel, 700 Harrison Avenue
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