Do you believe in ghosts? The haunted mansion where spirits speak
10:48 AM, Oct 31, 2011
DENVER - It is the biggest, grandest home in Capitol Hill. It is also the home with the most rumors surrounding it.
"One rumor is that [the man who built the house] walked in and said 'It's so haunted, I can't live here,' and he turned around and walked away," Ann Alexander Leggett, author of the book "A Haunted History of Denver's Croke-Patterson Mansion," said.
The Croke-Patterson-Campbell Mansion, as it is identified by a marker in the front yard, has many mysteries surrounding it, including its legal physical address and the exact year it was built. It was likely built in1891, according to Leggett. But the biggest mystery surrounding the roughly-13,000-square-foot mansion is whether or not someone - or something-still lives there.
"The history is so rich," Leggett said. "And from history come the ghosts."
They are ghosts that Kevin Samprón hopes to find.
"This is one of the best places in America to see - if you want to see - paranormal activity," Samprón, who operates Spirit Paranormal Investigations, said.
The group, which does free investigations of sites that are believed to be haunted, recently did a ghost hunt in the home and detected voices, blinking lights and other paranormal phenomenon. Each visit to the home has yielded lots of creepy experiences.
"We have had physical interactions. Several people that I've been with have been touched, pulled, actually physically touched by the spirits in this location," Samprón said.
Brian Higgins thinks he has heard just about every ghost story that the Croke-Patterson-Campbell Mansion. And lots of people have been sharing them with him, lately.
"People are coming out of the woodwork," he said.
Higgins and his business partner Travis McAfoos bought the massive mansion - which takes up nearly an entire city block - for a mere $600,000.
"I have a feeling [the ghost stories] have something to do with [the discounted price,]" Higgins said while smiling.
The legendary home had been divvied up into office spaces, apartments and even a dance studio. Higgins and McAfoos plan to turn the mansion into a bed and breakfast. He thinks that that the folklore surrounding the house can attract some customers and the history and beauty of the home will attract others.
"I think this is a really unique business model that we can capitalize on to some extent and also keep away from people who would rather not have that as part of their lives," McAfoose said.
Psychic mediums have detected everything from the presence of a dominant man to that of a sorrowful woman who committed suicide in the home.
Despite some stories of mysterious footsteps and doors closing in front of construction workers, Higgins said the spirits seem to be onboard with the remodel.
"They must be happy right now, because it's been very smooth, he said.
Spirit Paranormal Investigations will have a public ghost tour of the Croke-Patterson-Campbell Mansion and several other haunted sites in the Denver area this weekend. For more information, click here: http://spiritpi.com/events/Halloween2011.htm.
Anne Alexander Leggatt will also host a book-signing event, speaking more about the findings detailed in her book. For more information, visit http://cpmansion.eventbrite.com/.
