About This Location
A casino and hotel built in 1896 during the height of the Cripple Creek gold rush. Home to Maggie's Restaurant, named after the resident ghost. The building retains its original Victorian facade.
The Ghost Story
The Colorado Grande Casino and Hotel occupies the historic Fairley Bros. and Lampman Building, originally built in 1896 during the height of the Cripple Creek gold rush. Between 1890 and 1910, thousands of prospectors flooded the region, and Cripple Creek became known as the World's Greatest Gold Camp, producing over 22 million ounces of gold -- worth roughly 11.2 billion dollars today -- from more than 500 mines. The three-story building on Bennett Avenue housed a drugstore, a barbershop, and professional offices, but its most macabre purpose was hidden in the basement: it served as a furniture and coffin shop, with a mortuary and the city morgue where Cripple Creek's dead were processed before burial.
The building's history as a literal house of the dead has made the Colorado Grande one of the most actively haunted casinos in the country. The most well-known spirit is Maggie, a friendly Irish woman who is most often seen in Room 5. She appears in turn-of-the-century clothing and is accompanied by the scent of roses. Maggie's apparition has been spotted playing the slot machines alongside a male ghost, and she sometimes manifests simply as a floating blue light. On Bennett Avenue near the hotel entrance, a young girl named Lily is said to linger. Legend holds that Lily loves purple balloons, and when one is left outside for her, it can be seen floating around as if being played with by invisible hands.
The paranormal activity is so consistent that professional paranormal investigators have conducted formal investigations of the property. Staff and guests have reported cold spots throughout the building, unexplained sounds from the basement where the morgue once operated, and the feeling of being watched while playing at the gaming tables. Doors open and close by themselves, and objects are found moved from their original positions. The casino has embraced its haunted reputation and maintains a Haunted History page on its website. Cripple Creek's broader paranormal landscape -- including the Outlaws and Lawmen Jail Museum and the Hotel St. Nicholas nearby -- makes the Colorado Grande part of a cluster of haunted locations that draw ghost enthusiasts to this former gold rush town.
Researched from 7 verified sources including historical records, local archives, and paranormal research organizations. Learn about our research process.
