Manitou Springs' Cave of the Winds

Strange mist caught on camera.

The Native American’s call these Grand Caverns, Cave of the Winds.

In 1960, the Jicarilla Apache tribe of New Mexico stated that this cave is home to the “Great Spirit of the Wind.”

Entrance to Cave of the Winds.

They believe the twisting movement of the wind, at the cave’s entrance, will cause a person to become, twisted both in body and mind. Because of this, only the bravest of their tribe will enter.

The Grand Caverns, as some call them, are located at the entrance to Williams Canyon northwest of Manitou Springs, Colorado. They were closed to the public from 1907 until 1980.

Today, 90-minute lantern tours are offered for adults. * With so many visitors, cave explorers and staff walking through the various cavern rooms-- there are now reports of “spooky happenings.”

Strange light captured on camera.

In the cave’s largest room the—Grand Concert Hall and in another room known as Lovers Lane, paranormal teams have stated they have seen full-body apparitions, strange mists, and heard unexplained sounds.

Unusual lights have shown up in photographs taken in these two rooms.

It is believed the spirit seen in the Grand Concert Hall is one of the cave’s 19th-century explorers and owners—George Washington Snider. He is seen observing tour groups as they pass.

Even the Cavern’s gift shop, located on the rim of Williams Canyon is considered to be haunted.

Landlines’ ring when they are unattached from the wall and the shop receives calls from inside the cave when no one is inside.

Also, in the mornings' employees find items around this gift shop either moved or missing.

Manitou Springs Colorado

Manitou Springs is a charming mountain town located just west of Colorado Springs. I love to visit the shops.

*  Shorter tours for families are offered without lanterns—lights on.

I wrote about another local haunting, Emma Crawford and Red Chief Mountain here.

The Mystery of Silver Heels

Mount Silver Heels

Located off Highway 9 near Alma, Colorado once stood a thriving mountain mining camp called Buckskin Joe.

Buckskin Joe
Courtesy of Historical Society
of Colorado.

In 1859, Joseph Higgenbottom *, an eccentric prospector established Buckskin Joe. Word spread fast about the discovery of gold in this camp and by 1861 it hosted 2,000 residents with several saloons, gambling halls, and even a traveling minstrel show.

One bright and sunny day the stagecoach brought a beautiful dance hall girl who became the talk of the camp.

Her real name is long lost, but the miners who showered her with admiration and gifts called her “Silver Heels” for the fancy heeled shoes she wore during her nightly dance performances.

After a few performances word got out that Silver Heels planned to move on. A desperate contingent of men approached her and begged her to stay, and to their relief, she agreed.

But little did she know her happy dancing days were about to end. In the Winter of 1861, an outbreak of smallpox hit the camp. The town leaders sent to Denver for nurses, but they never arrived.

The town was overwhelmed with the sick and dying. Silver Heels could be found traveling from cabin to cabin tending to the sick and caring for their families. She even helped bury the dead.

By the spring of 1862, the worst of this disease was over.

Those miners who remained wanted to show their gratitude to the merciful dancehall girl, but she seemed to have vanished. A group of miners searched the surrounding mountains when it was established she had not left Buckskin Joe by either horse or stage.

As the months passed the mystery of her disappearance deepened. The rumors began to fly. Had she contracted smallpox herself and died? Or maybe she had survived but now found herself with a pox-scarred face, so she was too ashamed to be seen.

As it turned out these rumors were not far from the truth for in the summer of 1862, a ghostly female figure began to appear in the camp’s cemetery.

Buckskin Joe Cemetery

She was seen wandering among the tombstones wearing a heavy black veil. The figure always carried flowers, which she would place on several graves. Was she still comforting those whom she had lost?

The old cemetery is the only part of the Buckskin Joe camp that still remains today. Silver Heels’ ghost has been seen for well over a century and a half in this cemetery. When witnesses approach her, they report her figure seems to just blow away on the wind.

Mount Silver Heels

After her disappearance the miners named one of the surrounding mountains-- Silver Heels, to honor her.

* Higgenbottom traded his claim, which later produced most of the 16 million in gold mined in the camp, for a revolver and a few other items and left the area.

Haunted Melrose Hotel

The Ghost Adventures team investigated this old hotel located in Grand Junction, Colorado recently. This episode is due to air tomorrow, Saturday, March 16^th.

The Ponsford family built the Melrose with their own hands in 1908. It stayed in this family until 1994. After this is when strange things began to happen.

The ghosts in this hotel seem to target men.

The building has plenty of history that leaves little doubt it is haunted. A murder occurred in Room 15, and there is evidence the previous owners practiced satanic rituals in the building.

Marcus Bebb-Jones previous owner
and his wife whom he murdered.

The previous owner brutally murdered his wife in the hotel. It appears one of the female ghosts that is seen is this unfortunate woman.

The present owner who has renovated both the interior and exterior of the hotel found jars of blood and bones in the basement, which leads her to believe vicious energy has been conjured.

The starkest activity occurs in the basement, an entity has physically attacked people in this room. Another member of the staff was possessed while in this area.

Present hotel staff feels members of the Ponsford family also haunt the hotel. These entities seem to be more benign.

The current manager of the Melrose lives in the hotel. He states he saw the ghost of a woman that resembles a Ponsford family member. He claims the activity has picked up since the fall of 2018.

He has also witnessed doors opening and closing on their own, and he went to the hospital recently when he woke up covered in bruises.

By far although what frightened him the most was when he saw a figure in his mirror that wasn’t in the room with him.

Melrose Hotel today.

Stanley Hotel: Ghost Photo

Recently a man, Henry Yau staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado captured what many feel is a photo of a ghost. This photo was published on 4/15/16.

Yau took a panoramic photo of the hotel’s lobby. In the center is the main staircase. When he took the photo no one was standing on the staircase.

Yau's panoramic photo of the lobby in black and white.

Later when he inspected the photo he spotted a ghost wearing a black dress.

Since a paranormal team has blown the photo up. They state they see two ghosts in the photo. The first is a lady wearing a long black period dress, to the left of this figure is a child.

Click to  enlarge

This evidence does not surprise me for both times I have visited the Stanley I have been touched by unseen presences. The first time I visited, my leg was tugged and the second time my shoulder was tapped.

The first time I visited, as my team and I sat in one suite on the second floor, our spirit box proceeded to state each of our professions.

Below is a news report done about the image, Henry Yau captured in his photo.

Report : Ghost Solves Murder

The Chicago Tribune reported this story as the strangest ghost story ever told . . .

This story was published in the Tribune in August of 1942.

Nurses making home visits to an elderly female patient newly released from hospital in Denver, Colorado called the police in a panic.

They felt their patient, a Mrs. Peters' home was haunted. Concerns about strange lights seen at the top of the house were reported along with reports that they had heard eerie sounds coming from this same area.

What the police found when they arrived was not a ghost but a man.

This man, Theodore E. Coneys had hidden in the home for 9 months. He had first moved in to his old friend’s home, undetected in September of 1941. He observed Mr. Peters, 73 leave the home to visit his wife in hospital.

He discovered the door was left unlocked and entered. He wandered around the house looking for valuables. He then managed to squeeze his way into an 8X15" opening in the garret floor.

He left the space where he hid after four days in search of food. On one of these trips to find food, Mr. Peters caught him robbing the icebox.

Coneys proceeded to bludgeon Mr. Peters to death.

He was able to remain safely hidden even while the police where in the home investigating this murder. He stayed in the home after Mrs. Peters was brought home from the hospital.

He managed to remain hidden despite the fact a continuous string of day and night nurses visited the home in order to care for Mrs. Peters.

Pictured: Coney in cell, Peter's home,
small space where he hid.
Click to enlarge

The police at first did not discover Coneys' hiding place because the trap door was so small they felt no one could fit through it. When they found Coneys he was shaking from hunger, his hair was long and his clothes were in rags.

He confessed to the police he had killed Mr. Peters.

Coneys was a former businessman who began an advertising firm in Denver in 1910. He had visited the Peters home as a frequent guest. His business collapsed in 1917.

He then bummed around the country for many years. Eventually, he returned to Denver. Instead of contacting his old friend for help he sneaked into his home in 1941 and decided to stay for the winter.

The space he hid in was right under the peak of the roof. It was only four feet wide. In the months that followed he equipped this space with a radio, electric hot plate and food all stolen from the Peters.

Coneys weighted only 75 pounds when the police discovered him. He was tried and convicted of Mr. Peters murder and spent the rest of his life in prison.

Phantom Canyon

Phantom Canyon Road

In the 1890s, a narrow gauge railroad line twisted its way through a 30-mile trek near Cripple Creek, Florence and Canon City in Colorado. This line serviced over 500 gold mines in the area and at one time was one of the busiest in the country.

Today this old line is a part of a road known as The Gold Belt Scenic Drive.

This road slowly gains elevation-- from 5,500 feet to 9,500 feet. It follows the same path as the railroad did—and is mostly unpaved.

Phantom Canyon Road

The traveler within 30 miles passes through two hand-hewn railroad tunnels that were meticulously chiseled out of the dense mountainous terrain by miners making room for the booming gold industry.

Eight Mile Creek

This route also affords spectacular views of mountain meadows, Ponderosa Pine forests, pinyon-juniper and cholla cactus. At the end are high desert grasslands.

A shorter stretch of this scenic byway is known as Eight Mile Creek. This part of the road winds through canyons that rise and drop over 4,000 feet which hems the traveler in.

It was along this stretch of the railroad track, where the engineers on this line excelled at navigating sharp, narrow turns and steep unguarded drop-offs. 

It was here one railroad crew in the early 1890s witnessed something they never forgot.

On a night run, this crew was headed toward Cripple Creek when they spotted a man walking alongside the tracks.

He wore a prison uniform with his number clearly visible on his back.

The engineer, once the train reached Cripple Creek, reported this sighting to the nearby Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City.

To his shock, he was informed that the prisoner he and his crew had seen had been executed a few days before.

This story was told so often that by the 20^th century this canyon had been renamed, Phantom Canyon.

Higher tunnel located on this road.

This story served the locals well for it attracted a stronger tourist trade to the area, after most of the mines played out.

Phantom Canyon Road is approximately a one-hour drive from Colorado Springs. It is located between the cities of Florence and Victor. This road can be accessed from Highway 115 to the south and 67 to the north.

Trestle near Eight
Mile Creek.

Warning: If you go in search of this ghost, be advised, this road is a treacherous drive even during the day, so it is not recommended for people who are not used to driving mountainous roads, especially at night.

Various views of the road.

Prison Hospital Ward

Sometimes people confuse Guardian Angels with just nice people who return as ghosts. This story is about a helpful spirit that returns to a place where she helped out while alive.

Denver’s Hospital Unit 8 was once a children’s wing but in the 1990s it was used as a prison hospital ward.

These patients—mostly lifers-- were locked away in individual rooms—they all had terminal illnesses and so they were brought to this unit to die.

Two nurses and two deputies worked each shift in this unit. But this unit according to a nurse, Sandy Maxwell often had another visitor—one with a more altruistic motive.

One female deputy spotted this strange female visitor late one night in a part of the ward that was empty and locked. This deputy told this woman “No one is supposed to be in here. I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

The mysterious woman complied. She walked right through the shocked deputy. According to Maxwell, after this the female deputy refused to work in the ward and had to be reassigned.

Workers that remained in the ward felt this ghost was Mrs. Speers –the wife of a former mayor who used to volunteer in the ward before she died.

The prisoners often reported seeing her—especially in Room 6. These prisoners took comfort from her visits.

Maxwell never saw this apparition but states she did see a male child ghost who liked to play peek-a-boo with her. When she would turn around he then always disappeared.

She often heard phantom noises including toilets flushing and doors slamming when everyone was locked in their rooms. All the employees heard these sounds.

Two other nurses did see the ghost of Mrs. Speers when she sat down on the edge of one of the patient’s beds. This startled prisoner, a man in his forties had AIDS. He and these nurses got a good look at her.

One morning before he passed Sandy entered his room to talk. She noticed he was in good spirits. He told her, “that nice woman was in here again.” Maxwell stated he appeared less frightened about his impeding death after this visit.

This ward was demolished in recent years but some claim they have seen this helping spirit in other parts of this Colorado hospital.

Felipe Espinosa: The Headless Horseman, Part l

In 1863 a Mexican bandit by the name of Felipe Espinosa became one of America’s first serial killers. "In a 12-month period he shot, stabbed, and brutally mutilated 32 people"--some reports put this number as high as 60.

Bloody Trail of the Espinosa

Beginnings

Espinosa was born in Northern Mexico in 1827, in what later was to become a part of New Mexico territory in El Rito a village 40 miles from Taos. During the Mexican-American War six of his relatives were killed. "It is said that Espinosa vowed to take 100 American lives for each of these six deaths."

El Rito New Mexico

He and his family were devout Catholics. Espinosa belonged to a fanatical religious sect known as Los Hermanos Penitentes.

Gathering of Penitentes
E. Boyd collection

The Spanish Conquistados first introduced this penitentes sect to New Mexico in the 16th century. This brotherhood believed in self-flagellation. 

By the late 1800s this sect was banned by both the church and state government for extreme practices. Later, when Espinosa became a bandit this brotherhood sheltered him on more than one occasion.

Promises Broken

After the Mexican-American War when the Treaty of Guadalupe was signed it stated that Mexican families could keep their lands in what was now a part of America. They also could retain their Mexican citizenship if they wished. But this treaty was broken.

Felipe’s family lost their home and land and now found themselves poor. In 1862, he and his family were "living in a cramped jacale outside the village of San Rafael near Antonito, Colorado."

By late 1862 or early 1863 Felipe and his cousin Vivian took up banditry.

A Killing Spree

Felipe already fanatical and seeking revenge now believed that the "Virgin Mary had been sent from God to tell him he must kill."

One of their first victims was a Mexican freight driver who was a neighbor to the Espinosas. They looted this man’s wagon and then tied him to the wagon tongue. They whipped his horse team into a frenzy and watched this man being dragged for miles.

This neighbor managed to survive and was able to describe the cousins. The first of many bounties was placed on their heads. 

A U.S. Marshall and soldiers from the newly formed Fort Garland were sent to pursue the cousins but they managed to escape into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

The cousins started their own personal war in Colorado in an area known today as Dead Man’s Gulch.

They murdered a man named Jim Harkins who was found dead in his cabin. At first it was believed Indians had killed him but shortly afterwards a couple of miles away another Anglo, William Bruce was found dead outside his ranch house. He had been hacked to pieces and a makeshift crucifix was found near his body.

The cousins continued to move north to what is now Fremont County killing randomly as they went. They preyed on isolated communities where there was no one around to hear gunshots or their victims screams.

The two bandits murdered several settlers near the small mining community of South Park.

Two  of their victims, Jacob Binkley and Abram Shoup stopped their wagon in Kenosha Pass on their way to Denver. While they slept the Espinosas stabbed one and shot the other.

The cousins after killing their victims mutilated the bodies so badly they were hard to identify. "They disemboweled, decapitated, and cut their hearts out. Crosses were often found in the victim’s chests."

Newspapers stated to refer to these murders as "The Axeman of Colorado." The bounty was increased once more.

One victim managed to get away. Matthew Metcalf was driving his team of horses through South Park’s "California Gulch" when he came around a bend. There stood the Espinosas. They said nothing as they fired upon Metcalf.

A bullet hit his chest and sent him flying backwards. His horses reared and raced down the trail toward the camp. They felt they had killed Metcalf so they didn't pursue his wagon.

Just that morning "Metcalf had placed a copy of Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation in his breast pocket." The thickness of this booklet stopped the bullet.

Metcalf was able to describe the cousins. Now the axeman had a face.

A Posse

A posse led by John McCannon was sent after the Espinosas. He and his men came across a freshly mutilated body that was butchered beyond recognition. Later McCannon tragically discovered this dead man was his brother.

The posse caught up to the cousins. They shot and killed Vivian. But Felipe managed to get away once more.

Read Felipe Espinosa: TheHeadless Horseman, Part ll where I share the story of his capture and the man who succeeded in doing this. I also share witness sightings of Espinosa’s ghost.

Excerpts from The Vendetta of Felipe Espinosa by Adam James Jones.