Ghosts of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak

Haunted America

by Stephanie Waters

Eerie tales have been part of the city's history from the beginning: Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain are the subjects of several spooky Native American legends, and Anasazi spirits are still seen at the ancient cliff dwellings outside town. In the Old North End neighborhood, the howls of hellhounds ring through the night, and visitors at the Cheyenne Canon Inn have spotted the spirit of Alex Riddle on the grounds for over a century. Henry Harkin has haunted Dead Mans' Canyon since his gruesome murder in 1863, and Poor Bessie Bouton is said to linger on Cutler Mountain, hovering where her body was discovered more than a century ago. Ghost hunter and tour guide Stephanie Waters explores the stories behind Little London's" oldest and scariest tales."

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2012

Reviews

[Jan C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. I'm not much for ghost stories and I'm not sure this book was either. Apparently CS is considered one of the 10 most haunted places in the country. Allegedly.

I was beginning to question it when the author indicated that the Anasazi ruins at Cheyenne Mountain is haunted. It may be. But the "ruins" are reconstructed and were moved from the Four Corners area. Maybe the ghosts moved with the pueblos?

[Leah K · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Colorado Springs native, a historian, and a previous paranormal investigator - it was only a matter of time before I got to this book.

It's a fun little journey on alleged hauntings in the city with some history sprinkled in. I knew all the places she mentioned (including the place I work). The writing was a bit subpar. It felt at times like she had opened a thesaurus and gone crazy. Her use of the word "savage" when describing Native Americans was embarrassing - if she was using it from a quote or previous works, she didn't write it as such. The photos didn't put any creedence into the book. It's obvious that writing isn't her first job. An editor would have made all the difference.

If you read this book, enjoy the fun and spookiness of it. It's a quick read.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pick up these local ghost story books when we travel, and this one is the best written of all of them I've read so far!

[Provin Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the ‘Ghost of..’ series. I know very little of Colorado, but I have been to Colorado Springs twice this year for my husbands job. On the first trip I purchased this book from a fantastic store at Garden of the Gods. In between trips I read most of this book so I could find out fun facts about the places we hiked, drive and saw on our trip. This book did not let me down! I hope to find Ghost of Manitou Springs for our next Colorado adventure!

[Jewell Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to hear about a place I am so familiar with and yet apparantly not about it's haunted places. However I did visit the Pioneer Museum, and was with my mother who is on oxygen, and since the entrance had so many steps. We were allowed to be escorted through the basement by a security guard to the handicap accessable entrance. Of course I asked about a haunting as was given the same story as the book, and even told a few of his own experiences. I didn't realize so many outside locations were haunted, such as Helen Hunt Falls, and Garden of the Gods. It seems the land is haunted in Colorado Springs as well. Colorado Springs was my favorite place to live in Colorado and I've lived all over. I miss it and visit it often.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sappy and Rambling

My family came to Colorado Springs in the early 1900’s. I was born and raised there. Many of the locations discussed are historic treasures of the city. Unfortunately, the author’s approach to telling their ghost stories came across as a long winded gossip column. As such, the content does less to educate and more to simply entertain. That’s unfortunate.

[Josetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Good

The stories were pretty interesting, even though the author makes use of the thesaurus a little too much. Some of the stories seemed to start in one place and would switch to a different story/characters in the chapter, which was a bit jarring at times. Loved the history, though.

[Kristi Starmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Stories

The book was full of ghost stories. A quick read that was perfect to read ahead of our trip the Colorado. History is well written into the stories making it an interesting fun read.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could be called Teaser on the ghosts...there was so much more that could be written about the "ghosts". Very basic and limited stories to just tease.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great ghost stories.

[Deena Aglialoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great stories that I’ve never heard before!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well-researched. I'm a big chicken and don't normally read books like this, but I picked it up to read for research for my novel. Someone else mentioned the bad jokes...they were so corny and kind of annoying, but it did lighten the tension and made the book not really creepy at all. Perhaps that was the intention.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the stories, the author apparently thinks a lot of herself and her sense of humor. Some of the lines in the book come off as very snide and sarcastic, which lessened my enjoyment of the tales.