The Dead Below: The Haunting of Denver Botanic Gardens

by Richard Estep

They moved the headstones, but they never moved the bodies... Built on top of the old city cemetery, Denver Botanic Gardens sits upon thousands of unrecovered human remains. Small wonder, then, that visitors and staff alike have reported all manner of ghostly activity, ranging from disembodied voices, cold spots, and phantom footsteps, to shadow figures and full-bodied apparitions. Are the spirits of the restless dead making their presence known to the living? Join paranormal investigator Richard Estep, of TV's 'Haunted Case Files,' 'Haunted Hospitals,' and 'Paranormal 911,' as he and a small team of dedicated researchers are locked down inside Denver Botanic Gardens in an attempt to uncover the truth for themselves.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Paranormal

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2019

About the author

I'm a 48-year-old child who has no plans to ever actually grow up.

I make my living as a paramedic, clinical educator, for a busy hospital system and work as a street medic in a 911 system.

In my free time, I serve as the director of the Boulder County Paranormal Research Society, and investigate claims of haunted properties, people, and objects on both sides of the Atlantic. I love to read, particularly SF/Fantasy, history and historical fiction, the paranormal, and basically anything that piques my interest. I appear on the TV shows Haunted Hospitals, Paranormal 911, Paranormal Night Shift, Haunted Case Files, and several others.

I am an avid video gamer, table-top gamer, and love to build Lego. My wife and I are the proud humans of five adopted rescue cats and one smelly but adorable dog.

Reviews

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fascinating Investigation of this Haunted Locale

This is another fascinating book by paranormal researcher Richard Estep. His investigative team explores the Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado. The park has a sordid history that I first learned of on a Most Terrifying Places episode. It was a former cemetery where an unscrupulous entrepreneur cut corners by not removing all of the bodies buried there before the area was converted. It is known for frequent hauntings.
This book documents the experiences of the team over a period of time investigating the building. A number of eerie encounters were documented. I enjoy this author's books because not only is he experienced from his many investigations, he utilizes a realistic approach with proper caution and explains the key concepts instead of sensationalism that some other authors out in their works. I loved his book on haunted healthcare and have seen him on several Travel Channel shows. Like another favorite author Tom Slemen, Richard Esteps books are a cut above. An informative and interesting read.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a nice read. I loved that while it did have historical information it wasn't bogged down by it and had a bit more stuff about the hauntings because while I love history and historical information sometimes with books like this I just want to read about the hauntings.

There were some minor typos but overall it didn't detract from the book in my opinion.

[linda bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE DEAD BELOW: The Haunting of Denver Botanic Gardens

a good read and easy to follow. I've followed this author for a little time now, he puts together research after visiting haunted properties and grounds alike. The Haunting of Denver Botanic Gardens is indeed not an isolated case. As is mentioned in the book 'Poltergeist' here you have a young family buying their very first real home, only to find it's built on land primarily used as a cemetery. Their dream has been demolished by eerie sounds and sightings of the dead, only to be proved right, when the swimming pool fills with heavy rain water dislodging coffins including their inhabitants, that have been left behind when the cemetery was supposedly moved to pastures new. So, the same thing happens to the grounds beneath the Denver Botanic Gardens, disembodied voices are heard and spectral figures are seen at the dead of night. These are the dead inhabitants left behind wanting to be heard. As said above, an easy but enjoyable read and yes, I would recommend this book to others to read and enjoy.

[Julie Kwiat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard and his team go into the Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado for an interesting investigation. He allows the reader to follow along with his team through the boring and exciting parts of the ghost investigation, and gives the reader insights into his thoughts and feelings about the location and the activity. He is a very good writer, with a very clear voice and puts his experiences into a story that is constructed very well. If anything I would've preferred to have had a visual of the Denver Botanic Gardens. I could see the creepy unmarked graves of thousands of unrecovered human remains in my mind. Small wonder, then, that visitors and staff alike have reported all manner of ghostly activity, ranging from disembodied voices, cold spots, and phantom footsteps, to shadow figures and full-bodied apparitions. It was a slow burn for me but I do enjoy his writing style.

[Cecilia Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estep, the author, writes in an engaging way, with a non-lugubrious attitude toward possible hauntings. He's even handed and tries to stay skeptical while at the same time looking forward to anything that can be construed to be communication from the dead.
I've read two other books he's written and they are good enough for me to keep at it. I think he beefs up the narrative with too much talk about the backgrounds and personalities of the people helping him and the actual occurrences are pretty slim, mostly. Then once in a while his device will come out with a whole phrase.
If you like this sort of thing you may like the books.

[Louise L Trujillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am always fascinated with the hauntings of Cheesman Park and Botanic Gardens. I’ve been on several ghost tours at the Botanic gardens and know most of the haunted histories.
I am doing another tour in a couple weeks so decided read the book and listen to the audiobook.

What I didn’t like: Most of the book seemed like it was just a bunch of filler words mixed with some retelling of someone else’s account. Not enough history of the City Cemetery and the body removal (or lack thereof). Unlike most of the revies, I love the history part that has led to the haunting. Definitely worth a read if you are into the paranormal and/or familiar with the Denver botanic Gardens.

[Cheri Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant author who has a gift with words!

Since I started reading Mr. Esteps books
I haven't been able to get enough of them.
So extraordinarily written! I love the historical
parts combined with the ghostly investigation.
I used to live in Denver in the late 80's and
definitely remember the Gardens as well as
the surrounding areas. So I love the Ghost
stories and such from that area as well as the
whole state of Colorado. Great book!! I'll be
reading more of them. I also watch Haunted
Hospitals!!!

[Julie Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Event, Some Questions

Richard Estep always gives a good summary of investigations, and good background. I enjoy his books. I take him as serious investigator. My questions are about the electronic devices and software used in investigations. I would like to see more explanation about how things like the Ovilus and spirit boxes work. This could help to confirm the presence of spirits, or leave matters as uncertain as ever.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

When headstones were moved, but bodies left in the ground, the city started a grave injustice. Hoping it would go away, and no one would remember, they did everything they could to tamp down the stories about the bodies left in the ground. Now, these bodies have new buildings built on top of them - and they are determined to make their presence known.

Really enjoyed reading through this one. Interesting history, and the stories from those that work in the building were pretty fantastic.

[Darcy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immersive and Intriguing Read

I read this book a research for.An upcoming trip to Denver and Estep's recounting of this investigation has got me even more excited to visit the botanic gardens.

He brings his readers along and makes you feel like you are part of the team.

A great read for the novice and experienced paranormal investigator. Also a great read for if you are looking for something spooky.

[Wyllow · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Anecdotal. Frustrating that the pictures of the apparitions on staircase were not included but were only described. It would have been nice to have the EVP recordings available for the reader to examine on their own. It doesn’t cost anything to upload to YouTube and a link could have easily been included. Also, the author seemed to ass pat himself a bit too much for my liking.

[Janet evarts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The white review

Each and every book I read of yours were awesome. Can't wait until the next book. All were very interesting and held my interest from beginning to end. I will be watching for the next one

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this brief recounting of the history of the cemetery & Denver Botanic Gardens, explanations of paranormal investigating procedures and categorizing of residual and intelligent phenomenon. I think I would read more by this author if it involved locations I frequent.

[Leticia Bushong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

This was a fun read in my opinion once again I never knew anything about the haunting of these botanical gardens. I find it upsetting as to why that is none the less this was a great book.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and entertaining account of the mysteries within the Denver Botanic Gardens. The ending seemed a bit rushed, but overall it was thrilling, spooky, and thought provoking.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am well versed in the history of Cheeseman Park and the Denver Botanic Gardens, so maybe I knew too much to make this interesting. A let down after the Fox Hollow Farm book.

[Kirk Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book

This is the third book of this author I have read and it did not let me down he always makes me wish I was there too

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, this book is exactly what it purports itself to be so no fault there. It’s a very quick, easy read. Has a bit of Denver history and the author’s account of some supernatural experiences. Not sure what I was expecting, but was only mildly entertaining - perhaps I should stick with my Spooked podcast episodes during Halloween and leave the supernatural books to people more invested!