Halloween Hauntings- Cripple Creek – Part One
Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado is extremely rich in history and it is also touted to be one of the Most Haunted Places in the United States.
On Highway 67, at the base of Pike’s Peak, southwest of Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek sits at an elevation of 9,500 feet. 
There are mine shafts, head frames, miner’s cabins long abandoned tumbling down. A lonely stone fireplace may be all that’s left of a miners home. Standing among the rubble might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end. A brief visit to one of the abandoned cabins still standing, gives you a window into what it was like back in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Can you imagine a more inviting place for ghost to spend Halloween?
Cripple Creek, Colorado was the land of opportunity beckoning men from across land and sea to claim their fortune in the gold fields. Most of the men came from the east where they were farmers and had little knowledge of gold mining. Pikes Peak or Bust was their battle cry, it was painted on covered wagons and carts. But the Rocky Mountains didn’t give up its gold easily, buried deep in the mountain, it was fifty years after the first wave of gold fever hit that the mountain gave up its gold.
Many prospectors lost everything they had, some even their lives in the pursuit of gold. With the tales of fires, (Cripple 
Creek burned to the ground in 1896) floods, mining accidents, general lawlessness in the beginning then bloody battles between mine owners and labor unions, it’s no wonder stories abound of ghosts haunting this historic town that once boasted one murder a day.
Hotel St. Nicolas
So let’s take a closer look at those ghosts. First up, The Hotel St. Nicholas boasts a colorful history. Today its spectacular view of Cripple Creek, 15 guest rooms, furnished with elegance of a bygone era and one restored historic miner’s cottage still includes tales of the supernatural and unexplained. Originally built as a hospital that served the flood victims in the region in the late nineteenth century, it also served as a home for the Sisters of Mercy. As time went on, the hospital served prospectors and their families and then expanded adding a ward for the mentally ill. The hospital closed in the 1970’s. St. Nicholas is rumored to be haunted by several spirits including children, former patients of the mental ward, nuns and an old cantankerous miner. For more information see Hotel St. Nicholas.
** Next week we’ll take a look at more Halloween hauntings in Cripple Creek including the Imperial Hotel where I once attended a theater production of Dracula during the week of Halloween. That was a hair-raising experience I can’t wait to share with you. Until then Happy Haunting! Bawahahaha
Views: 2
Posted in For Fun, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged Colorado, Cripple Creek, Halloween, Haunted Places, Hotel St. Nicholas by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Luna Joya Author of Tides of Time shares Potion Punch
Give a warm welcome to Luna Joya, author of Tides of Time. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Luna and her Tides of Time and her Spooktacular Potion Punch!
Halloween Party by Luna Joya
simple shot for your All Hallows’ Eve. For the spooky effect, I added a tiny
amount of dry ice.
dry ice in an outer bowl to hold your punch bowl. Add a splash of hot water to
create 2-3 minutes of smoke effect. Handle with tongs as dry ice will burn your
skin, and never allow guests to consume more than the tiniest bit.
Punch
or spiced rum (poisoner’s pleasure)
desired. Just before serving, add the ginger ale.
and Oh’s
the cranberry juice to float the black on the red. Serve immediately.
Tides of Time by Luna Joya for steamy romance, magic, sisterhood, and mystery.
A sneak peek between the pages of Tides of Time.
All he’d thought about this week were her golden eyes, her scent, and the pull she had on him. He’d never experienced a connection on this base level to anyone or anything other than the ocean. It was crazy how she made him think of the call of waves and swells.
She stretched her fingers to brush the nape of his neck. Sam stilled with every single nerve focused on that delicate touch. He almost lost control when she grinned a mischievous, sly smile and a dimple flashed. His breath caught as she pressed her lips to his and quickly deepened the kiss.
He’d been wrong about her. She might be reserved and serene on the surface, but her passion was wild and bewitching. She was anything but the calm cool waters he’d expected. She was a riptide. Sam’s last coherent thought was how he’d be happy to drown in her before need took over.
* * * * *
Cami slid her fingers into the clipped hair at the nape of Sam’s neck, skimming upward to sink into his curls. Sudden hot desire flashed across her senses. She touched her tongue to his bottom lip and melted at his groan. He nudged her mouth open to tangle his tongue with hers. She smiled and nipped at him until she breathed in the smell of ocean air.
For a second, she panicked. Had she lost control in kissing Sam and drawn on her power?
She inhaled. This wasn’t her magic. It was Sam, his scent of saltwater mixed with that spicy alcohol hint she’d caught at the restaurant when he was near. It was dark, delicious, and intoxicating. She needed more.
She reached for his shoulders to tug him closer and got distracted by the muscles there. She ignored the quick pulse of heat at the base of her neck. All she wanted to feel was more of Sam. She pressed against him and clutched his shirt.
A door slammed somewhere in the building. He tore his lips away and lay his forehead against hers. Cami’s mouth trembled at the loss of his and the intensity of this newfound passion.
He lifted his head. “Was that part of the research? If it was, sign me up.”
Cami suspected from the roughness of his voice she’d gotten to him as much as he’d consumed her. She wanted to do that again as often as she could. His kiss was sexy and tempting, yet tender and giving all at the same time. There’d been an underlying need for more than physical contact. The sheer hunger in his kiss had been enough to make her crazy. She hummed over the seductive mixture and licked her lips for one last taste.
Sam narrowed his eyes on her mouth, his gaze hot with promise. “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, we are never going to be allowed back here again.”
It was Spooktacular having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Tides of Time. Thanks for the frighteningly good cocktail recipes! Happy Halloween!
Views: 0
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Halloween, Luna Joya, Spooktacular feature, Tides of Time by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.
Halloween- Do you Suffer from Samhainopobia?
Do you have a fear of Halloween? Then you suffer from Samhainopobia. I don’t fit in that category! Do you?
This week the focus is on Halloween traditions. We had an absolute blast. My characters being demons, witches, vampires, and faeries livened up the bash. A great time was had by all. Oh, did I mention, I’m a paranormal romance writer and have intimate knowledge of the things that go bump in the night. Bawaawaa!
My point is that Halloween isn’t just for kids, anymore. Today Halloween is attracting adults in a masquerade type atmosphere, much like
Mardi Gras. Their costumed antics mock, challenge and tease the mysterious, possible malevolent forces of the night. The otherworld becomes our world on this night of enchanted possibilities and transcendence. Are we reaffirming death as a part of life in an exhilarating celebration of magic for an evening? Or like me, just enjoying the air of celebration on a night the veil between the living and dead is purported to be the thinnest. Every year with the help of my hubby, I decorate our house to the hilt on the first day of October and revel in Halloween décor the entire month.
Did you know Jack-O-Lanterns originated in Ireland? People placed lit candles inside hollowed out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween) holiday. Boy, did we do a role reversal on that aspect of Halloween. Instead of chasing the spirits away, we tend to invite them in. In fact, if you are considering visiting Ireland, you have to check out its newest festival, which celebrates the country as the birthplace of Halloween.
Most present day Halloween traditions are traceable to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween consists of mysterious customs, but
each has a history, or at least a story behind it. Take wearing costumes, and roaming from door to door demanding treats. This behavior can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This is where the practice of trick-or-treating began. To this day, vampires, witches, ghosts, and skeletons are among the favorite costumes. Our Halloween also retains activities from the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, (pumpkins) as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices for cider associated with the day. Although at my house, hot chocolate is pretty popular, since Halloween almost guarantees the first snow of the year.
Well, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to don my vampire costume, custom fitted fangs and pull up a stool in the shadows of my front door, candy bowl on a stand beside me. I sneakily turn on the fog machine and out of the mist greet the little trick or treaters or scare the bejeebers out of the older ones with bats hanging over head and screeching on my command. Won’t you join me? Happy Halloween!
The next three weeks on this blog will focus on hauntings. Make sure and mark your calendar, you’ll not want to miss them!
Views: 1
Posted in For Fun, My Say What Blog and tagged Celtic, Costume, Halloween, Trick-or-Treat by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
Colorado Hauntings – Mines, Mountains and Mysteries!
Full of old mines from the Gold Rush Days, Mountains and Mysteries, no wonder Colorado has an abundance of paranormal sightings. From the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, to the Cliff House in Manitou Springs spirits abound. As we learned in previous weeks, Cripple Creek, Colorado with its wild and turbulent past has a history of unexplained, supernatural occurrences earning it the reputation of one of the most haunted towns in America.
Let’s take a quick look at a few:
The Cliff House in Manitou Springs was built in 1873, before Colorado was even a state. Through it’s many renovations, paranormal experiences remain, including disembodied footsteps, ghostly voices when no one is there and white orbs floating through the hallways late at night. Could these be spirits of the old American West? The Cliff House was known as only The Inn was a popular stagecoach stop in route from Colorado Springs to Leadville? Hmmm….
How about Emma Crawford Coffin Races in Manitou Springs?
The story goes, that Crawford moved to Manitou in the 1800’s to heal her tuberculosis. She succumbed to the disease and was buried on Red Mountain. A favorite spot of hers. Construction on the mountain forced relocation of her coffin to the south slope in 1912. Unfortunately, heavy spring rains washed her coffin down the side of the mountain, where her ghost is said to still roam today. Participants of the race, held in downtown Manitou Springs, claim they feel her presence every year. See for yourself, this year the coffin races are October 26, 2019. See you there!
The ghost of Maggie, haunts the Colorado Grande Casino & Hotel and Maggie’s Restaurant in Cripple Creek, Colorado. At night, voices (Maggie’s lilting Irish soprano) and music can be heard from the ballroom, slots clinging and clanging after hours. The hotel’s security cameras have caught Maggie in her turn-of-the-century clothing, only to have the tapes mysteriously disappear. The scent of her rose perfume lingers even if she chooses not to make an appearance.
Want to know more about the Ghosts of Cripple Creek Mining District?
Speaking of Ghosts, if you are looking for a fun Halloween read. A Witch’s Journey has meddling ghosts, shifters, stolen magic and a handsome Navy SEAL who has a dark secret. Available at Amazon.com, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.
Every Tuesday throughout the month of October I will have Colorado Hauntings we’ll take a look at The Stanley Hotel and the Halloween traditions. Mark your calendars, you don’t want to miss any of these Halloween Celebrations!
Views: 3
Posted in For Fun, Holidays, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged A Witch's Journey, Colorado, Cripple Creek, ghosts, Halloween, Haunted by Tena Stetler with 9 comments.
