The Most Haunted Hotels In Denver

Posted: 12.16.2024 | Updated: 12.16.2024

If you’re looking to make your next trip to Denver extra spooky, there are a number of haunted hotels to stay at. In fact, it can be a little overwhelming to choose which one to stay at. Whether you prefer a swank hotel or a cozy bed and breakfast, Denver has a haunted one waiting for you.

Want to learn more about the haunted history of the Mile High City? Denver Terrors offers exciting tours that dive into the city’s ghostly lore. Be sure to book your tour today!

What Is The Most Haunted Hotel In Denver?

Choosing the most haunted hotel in Denver is no easy task. Some say it’s the Oxford Hotel, which was the site of a gruesome murder in the late 1800s that left the hotel permanently haunted. There’s also the Brown Palace Hotel, which has a number of guests who are unable to checkout and make their presence known to guests. Finally, there’s the Patterson Inn, a historic bed and breakfast with at least a dozen ghosts roaming around who seem destined to relive past tragedies. 

The Oxford Hotel

Designed by architect Frank Edbrooke, the stately Oxford Hotel opened in 1891. It was known as one of the finest hotels in Denver until tragedy struck just seven years after the hotel opened. On September 8, 1898, 24-year-old Florence Montague entered Room 320 to find her husband in bed with another woman. Florence proceeded to shoot her husband in the stomach before taking her own life. Florence’s husband was found in the hallway outside Room 320, begging, “Don’t shoot again!” He later died from his injuries. Since then, men staying alone in Room 320 have felt an unseen entity sit down on the bed while they’re sleeping. This entity will also turn faucets and lights on and off and throw back the covers. These terrified men sometimes don’t even stay a whole night in Room 320. The staff believes this is Florence’s restless spirit, whose reflection has also been seen in the bathroom mirror. As a result, the hotel tends not to put men traveling alone in Room 320.

The Postman Ghost

During Prohibition, the Oxford Hotel allegedly housed a speakeasy, which reopened as the Cruise Room in 1933, only one day after Prohibition ended. The Art Deco bar saw many patrons, including a postman who stopped by for a beer around Christmas and later died in a car crash. Over the years, staff and patrons have seen a man in old postal worker attire stopping by the bar. He typically says something along the lines of “the children, the children, I have to get the presents to the children.” Although the bartender will see the man drinking the beer, the drink will still be full after the postman leaves.

The women’s restroom in the hotel lobby is also known to be haunted by the “peeper ghost.” This unsavory apparition appears to be an old miner who appears in the mirror behind women with a creepy grin on his face. 

The Brown Palace Hotel

Built by Denver real estate mogul Henry Cordes Brown, the Brown Palace Hotel stunned the city with its opulence when it opened in 1892. Constructed from Colorado red granite and Arizona sandstone, the triangular-shaped hotel at 17th and Broadway featured extravagant stained glass skylights, onyx and marble floors, and an eight-story atrium. Brown built the hotel after he was turned away from the Windsor Hotel due to how he was dressed. The Windsor was the most luxurious hotel in Denver at the time, and he wanted to outdo them.

Over the years, numerous reports of hauntings witnessed by staff have earned the Brown Palace Hotel a reputation as the most haunted hotel in Denver. Staff and guests have seen the apparitions of children running down the hallway and that of a ghostly elevator operator. More unsettling are the sounds of a baby’s cry coming from the boiler room when no child is around.

A man in a train conductor uniform has been seen near the old railroad ticket office, which now sells airline tickets. A staff member saw the man wearing outdated clothing and was shocked to see him walk directly into a wall and vanish.

The Mystery of Room 904

A socialite lived in Room 904 of the hotel for decades. After her death, the front desk began receiving calls from Room 904. This was impossible, considering the room was undergoing renovations and had no connected phone or phone line. Some believe the ghost of the socialite became active after her story was told during tours of the hotel.

One hotel staff member entered the main dining room one night and found a string quartet rehearsing. They wore formal clothing that didn’t match the era, and a string quartet hadn’t played in the dining room for years. When the staff member asked them to leave, a member of the quartet replied, “Oh, don’t worry about us. We live here.”

The Patterson Inn

Twelve spirits are believed to haunt the Patterson Inn. Built in 1891 by Thomas B. Croke, this Manitou sandstone Victorian mansion has been the site of multiple deaths and tragedies. The deaths began shortly after construction was finished, and Croke’s wife unexpectedly died. Soon after, Croke’s mother passed away once she had moved into the mansion. Believing there was some evil energy in the house, Croke sold it in 1893, living there for only two years.

Senator Thomas E. Patterson purchased the mansion. Patterson’s family would also experience a series of losses while living in the home. Patterson’s son took his own life, and one of the senator’s daughters died as a result of a chronic illness. After Patterson’s wife died, he gave the home to his living daughter but continued to live there until his death. The mansion was subsequently converted into apartments and office space before it was renovated as a boutique bed and breakfast.

The Pattersons Linger On

During its time as apartments and offices, one tenant reported that an unseen force would shake the shower curtain in his bathroom. He moved out after the curtain rod came down and nearly hit him. Another tenant claimed his apartment was so haunted that he called a priest to perform an exorcism. As the priest blessed the apartment, plaster fell from the ceiling, and black smoke began drifting out of the fireplace. In the office spaces, a doctor’s wife poisoned herself with noxious gas. Office workers also encountered typewriter keys being pressed when no one was around, phone calls with no one on the other line, and desk drawers opening on their own.

As a bed and breakfast, guests have encountered Senator Patterson in the hotel’s pub, which was formerly his smoking lounge. Unmarried couples staying in the Biltmore Room have reported being haunted by the disapproving ghost of Mrs. Patterson. The library, which is where the exorcism took place, is thought to be the most haunted room at the Patterson Inn. 

Haunted Denver

The Brown Palace Hotel, Oxford Hotel, and Patterson Inn are just a few of the haunted locations that Denver has to offer. Learn more about Denver’s haunted history by booking a tour with Denver Terrors today! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Colorado hauntings.

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