Sunday, September 25, 2011

Denver Fun Halloween Haunts 2011

Tis the season for things that go bump in the night! Across the metro area you can celebrate Halloween by rubbing elbows with some of Denver's most prominent ghosts and spooks.

Seven Cups Tea House - When your neighbor is possessed by a fox spirit, who you gonna call?  The Daoist ghostbuster, of course.  Chinese folklore is full of monsters: shapeshifting animals, hopping corpses, and stranger creatures.  Tonight we’ll discuss Hell Month and the Ghost Festival, Pu Songling’s Tales from the Liaozhai, spirit weddings, Daoist exorcism, paper talismans, peachwood swords, and the mysterious hopping corpses of Xiāngxi. On Weds. Oct. 19 at 7PM, hear spooky stories about Hell Month and the Ghost Festival, spirit weddings, Daoist exorcism, paper talismans, peachwood swords, and the mysterious hopping corpses of Xiāngxi.Chinese Ghost Stories, at Seven Cups Tea House, 1882 S. Pearl St. Denver. Some subject matter may not be appropriate for small children. FREE for humans, $25 for ghosts.


Riverside Cemetery -- Don't miss the Mystery and Moonlight Tours of Denver's oldest boneyard, Riverside, on October 21 and 22. Tours start hourly, but they're already are selling out so order yours or get more info here.. $15. Billing itself as Denver's only nightime cemetery tour, it offers a chance to bring your flashlights and sense of adventure. Wear good shoes, because the cemetery roads are rocky. Founded in 1876, the cemetery's tour starts in a candlelit chapel, complete with organ music. Yipes! Hear about the mystery surrounding the Jones mausoleum, the secret sorrow of the Bell Family and the tragic legend of the Lester Drake monument. And don't miss the Baker Horse, a life-size stone stallion carved to honor Addison Baker's beloved Arabian horse;  More info Call 303-322-3895 or e-mail heritagefoundation.org

Golden and Morrison Cemeteries -Colorado Haunted History is providing evening tours at both the Golden and Morrison cemeteries throughout October. Check  out their Facebook page complete with schedule here. $15. Also offers walking tours of haunted Morrison, complete with tales about the Hatchet Lady of Red Rocks.


LoDo Haunted Bar Tour -- Brought to you by History Colorado. Friday Oct. 14, from 5-9PM. Get the skinny on some of the most famous ghosts, ghouls, and the gals who walked the streets in Lower Downtown Denver. In between stop in some of the neighborhood's most historic and haunted watering holes. $30 members, $35 nonmembers. Reservations required. Call 303-866-4686 or e-mail them to reserve or for more information.

History Colorado's Fairmount Cemetery Crawl- Voltaire, the great French historian, once defined history as “a trick we play on the dead.” Hmmm. Maybe. On Saturday, Oct. 29, join City Auditor Dennis Gallagher, Tom “Dr. Colorado” Noel and a cast of star CU-Denver students and test Voltaire's theory with a walking-tour of Colorado’s largest boneyard, Fairmont Cemetery. History Colorado’s 23rd cemetery crawl will introduce you to leading residents of this necroplis from mayors to madams.$25.00 members; $30.00 non-members. You may walk or ride with the Model A Ford Club of Colorado’s tombstone taxi service. More info here.


Brown Palace -- She's the grand dame of Denver hotels, so of course she is home to some pretty active spooks. Ghost tours are offered every Wednesday and Saturday at 3PM during the month of October. Scary story-loving visitors will discover tales of faceless guests and the tricks they have played on employees throughout the hotel’s 118 years. Cost is $10 per person and complimentary for all overnight hotel guests. For those who want a real treat, the Eternal Guest package includes an overnight stay, Ghost Tour, a “Monster Brunch” for two (with costumed servers and Halloween themed food, desserts and décor), and two gourmet caramel apples. Website here.
 
Lumber Baron Inn -- In 1970, a double murder took place at the Lumber Baron Inn, a murder that remains unsolved.  Spookwise, this joint is the real deal. Throughout October you can hear the building's ghost stories, while enjoying a murder mystery play and dinner. Prices for dinner and show start at about $40. Info here.

Phil Goodstein Walking Tours -- Denver's resident historian offers informative and entertaining walking tours of haunted Denver for $15. Oct. 21, 22, 28, 29 (all from7-9PM) and, of course, Oct. 31 (6-8PM). 303-333-1095. Some info here.

Zombie Crawl -- At 2PM on Oct. 22, at Skyline Park (16th and Arapahoe) downtown, channel your inner zombie for some good ol' fashioned brain-eating fun. ALL AGES and FREE event. Everyone is welcome. They do, however, ask that you bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Food Bank of the Rockies. Aww. Zombies with a heart. Info  here at EyeHeartBrains.


Cheeseman Park -- This one is FREE, but believe me, the ghosts are the least creepy denziens of this park, located adjacent to Denver Botanic Gardens. Cheeseman a prime example of one of the most ill-managed efforts of urban planning in history, resulting in a massive haunting by countless ghosts. In 1893, the powers that were in charge of Denver chose to tear up the City Cemetery to make way for an immense park. That's fine, but the chaos that followed included the violation of thousands of graves and the corpses that once lie there. In 2010 the city stumbled across four skeletons while installing a new irrigation system. Oopsie! Supposed to offer great EVP recordings, if you want to bring a recorder.

Mile High Horror Film Festival - Independent horror films. Info here. The 2011 festival will take place at in the Tivoli building at the Starz Film Center on October 7-9. The Tivoli is located at 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver, CO 80204.

Bug Theatre -- Well, it wouldn't be Halloween without the Bug's stage adaptation of George Romero's classic film, "Night of the Living Dead." Friday and Saturday nights Oct. 7-29. Admission is $15, $13 for students and $12 for people dressed in zombie costume. We actually did the costume thing a couple years back and it was a gas -- the theatre was full of zombies! 3654 Navajo Street, in the Highlands neighborhood. Go to Patsy's Inn across the street for pizza and a beer before the show and hang with the ghosts of Denver mobsters.

1 comment:

Kids in Denver said...

Great list. Thanks for sharing.