Haunted hotels · Colorado
Haunted Hotels in Colorado
Historic Colorado hotels with published ghost stories, from the Stanley in Estes Park to Denver’s Brown Palace and the mining-town hotels of Leadville, Cripple Creek and Victor.
The short answer
There is no official ranking, but The Stanley in Estes Park is the best known: Stephen King’s 1974 stay inspired The Shining, the hotel runs its own ghost tours, and Room 217 can still be booked. In Denver, Historic Hotels of America relays lore about the Brown Palace’s Suite 904. The old mining towns have their own stories, at Cripple Creek’s Hotel St. Nicholas, a former hospital, and the Victor Hotel.
Where they are
Built 1886 · Boutique hotel
The Historic Delaware Hotel
The ghost story The hotel names its 'resident ghost' as Mary Coffey, and staff say one of the Callaway brothers who built it is also said to hang around.
Where the story comes from: delawarehotel.com
Why stay The Callaway brothers' 1886 store-and-hotel block on Harrison Avenue, at 10,152 feet; the hotel names Mary Coffey as its 'resident ghost.'
Built 1892 · Grand hotel
The Brown Palace
The ghost story Staff and guests report activity throughout the hotel, most of all in the Brown Palace Club above the hotel's 720-foot artesian well. Lore holds that a deceased resident of Suite 904 kept calling the switchboard after her death, and that founder Henry C. Brown lingers near his old office.
Where the story comes from: historichotels.org
Why stay Henry C. Brown's 1892 hotel by Frank E. Edbrooke, around an eight-story atrium lobby where the Stock Show's champion steer is paraded each January.
Built 1893 · Grand hotel
Hotel Colorado
The ghost story Lore names founder Walter Devereux as the hotel's best-known ghost, with witnesses reporting cigar smoke in the halls and lobby long after smoking was banned. Another legend tells of 'Bobbie', said to have been a WWII Navy nurse killed by a jealous officer, whose gardenia perfume guests report near her favorite dining-room table.
Where the story comes from: historichotels.org
Why stay Silver baron Walter Devereux's 1893 hotel across from the Glenwood Hot Springs pool, Theodore Roosevelt's base for a 1905 bear hunt.
Built 1898 · Boutique hotel
Hotel St. Nicholas
The ghost story Guests and staff report paranormal experiences, and the hotel says it has a reputation as one of Colorado's most haunted places. The best-known spirit is 'Petey', said to be a boy once cared for by the Sisters, and 'Stinky' is blamed for an unexplained sewage-like smell near the back stairs.
Where the story comes from: hotelstnicholas.com
Why stay Cripple Creek's 1898 hospital, built by the Sisters of Mercy and restored as a hotel after 1995; ghost lore centers on a boy called 'Petey.'
Built 1899 · Boutique hotel
Victor Hotel
The ghost story Hotel lore says that in winters when the ground was frozen, bodies were carried up the elevator and stored on the fourth floor until spring, and that those residents haunt it today. The most-reported ghost is 'Eddie', a man said to have fallen down the elevator shaft.
Where the story comes from: victorhotelcolorado.com
Why stay The Woods brothers' 1899 brick and stone 'Bank Block,' built after fire swept Victor; lore says its ghost, 'Eddie,' fell down the elevator shaft.
Built 1909 · Resort
The Stanley Hotel
The ghost story The hotel says guests, staff and visitors have long shared stories of unexplained experiences, and it embraces its reputation as a haunted hotel with ghost tours. Lore attributes late-night piano music to Flora Stanley's Steinway and a presence in the Billiards Room to F.O. Stanley, and Room 217, where Stephen King stayed in 1974 before writing The Shining, became the most-requested room.
Where the story comes from: coloradoencyclopedia.org
Why stay Steam-car maker F.O. Stanley's 1909 resort above Estes Park, where Stephen King's 1974 stay inspired The Shining; its ghost tours retell the lore.
Our rules
How we report ghost stories
We list a ghost story only when it has been published, by the hotel, a historic-hotel organization, a tour company or the press, and we link to where it comes from. We report what guests, staff and storytellers say; we don’t claim any building is haunted. The history is checked separately, the same way as every inn on this site: the year it was built, its historic credential, and that it takes bookings today.
After dark
Ghost tours in Colorado
Tours are sold by GetYourGuide and run by local operators. If you book one through these links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Ratings and prices are GetYourGuide’s.
Questions travelers ask
Is the Stanley Hotel haunted?
That’s its reputation, and the hotel embraces it with ghost tours. Lore attributes late-night piano music to Flora Stanley’s Steinway and a presence in the Billiards Room to F.O. Stanley. Room 217, where Stephen King stayed in 1974, is still sold as the 217 Spirited Grand King. We report these as stories.
What is the most haunted hotel in Colorado?
There is no official ranking. The Stanley is the most famous, and Hotel St. Nicholas in Cripple Creek says it has a reputation as one of Colorado’s most haunted places.
Is the Brown Palace haunted?
Historic Hotels of America reports that staff and guests describe activity throughout the hotel, most of all in the Brown Palace Club, and lore holds that a former resident of Suite 904 kept calling the switchboard after her death.
Which mining-town hotels have ghost stories?
Leadville’s Historic Delaware Hotel names a resident ghost, Mary Coffey; Hotel St. Nicholas in Cripple Creek, a former hospital, has a spirit called ‘Petey’; and the Victor Hotel’s lore centers on ‘Eddie’, said to have fallen down the elevator shaft.
Keep exploring
How we chose these inns
Every place on this page is at least 50 years old, holds a credential we can check (National Register listing, a listed historic district, landmark status, or Historic Hotels of America membership), and takes bookings today. We verify each one against primary sources before it goes on the list, and last checked this list in October 2026. Read our criteria.
Sources (18)
- The Historic Delaware Hotel: delawarehotel.com
- The Historic Delaware Hotel: npgallery.nps.gov
- The Historic Delaware Hotel: delawarehotel.com
- The Brown Palace: www.historichotels.org
- The Brown Palace: npgallery.nps.gov
- Hotel Colorado: www.historichotels.org
- The Brown Palace: www.historichotels.org
- Hotel Colorado: www.hotelcolorado.com
- Hotel Colorado: npgallery.nps.gov
- Hotel Colorado: www.historichotels.org
- Hotel St. Nicholas: www.hotelstnicholas.com
- Hotel St. Nicholas: npgallery.nps.gov
- Victor Hotel: victorhotelcolorado.com
- Victor Hotel: npgallery.nps.gov
- Victor Hotel: www.victorhotelcolorado.com
- The Stanley Hotel: coloradoencyclopedia.org
- The Stanley Hotel: npgallery.nps.gov
- The Stanley Hotel: www.stanleyhotel.com
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