Manitou Springs has long been known as a spiritual hot spot. From the healing waters of the local springs to the town's patron spirit, the benevolent Emma Crawford, whose life and afterlife is celebrated annually at Halloween, Manitou Springs takes pride in its legends and legendary residents. Join haunted tour guide Stephanie Waters as she uncovers the stories behind some of Manitou's most famous ghostly tales: the historic spirit lights on Pikes Peak, the specters of Red Stone Castle where poor Emma's sister went mad and the phantoms of the stately Cliff House and Briarhurst Manor. Stephanie Waters was brought up in a military household and has lived all over the United States, but is proud to call Colorado home. She graduated from Colorado High School, in Colorado Springs, and attended UCCS. She has a degree in Liberal Arts and is the owner and operator of Blue Moon Haunted History Tours in Manitou Springs. Haunted Manitou Springs By Stephanie Waters The History Press Copyright © 2011 Stephanie Waters All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60949-347-9 Contents Acknowledgements, Introduction: Why Did I Become a Manitoid?, The Benevolent Spirit of Red Mountain, The Dramatic Phantoms of Iron Mountain, The Naked Hitchhiker of Pikes Peak, The Residual Phantom of the Cliff House Hotel, The Crisis Apparition at the Barker House, Terror at Historical Red Crags and the Briarhurst Manor, Haunted Hill and Miramont Castle Museum, Séance at Onaledge, Haunted Midland Railroad Tunnels, Manitou's Dr. Frankenstein and His Cemetery Mummy, Cave of the Winds Spirits and the Huccies Witches, The Eggman: Manitou's Most Menacing Ghost, Other Hauntings, Afterword, Bibliography, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 The Benevolent Spirit of Red Mountain I heard piano music drifting from the old crystal cottage boardinghouse that I knew was vacant, then I looked up and was startled to see a woman, who looked like Emma, peering from the attic window, smiling down at me, years after she died. –Steve Thomas, Denver, Colorado If you stroll down Capitol Hill late at night, you just might hear a spirited piano rhapsody drifting from the windows of the Crystal Cottage. The current owners do not own a piano, but that does not stop them from dancing to the music. The cottage was the first house built on "Haunted Hill," in 1884, by a woman from Colorado Springs named Katie Flynn. Miss Katie, as she was known by her devoted guests, ran the sunny little cottage as a four-bedroom boardinghouse. Crystal Cottage attracted fashionable residents from all over the country, like the William Hall family, prominent farmers from Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Showalter, ranchers from Texas; and the Burns and Stroud families, from Kansas city. The most well-known residents of the Crystal Cottage were the members of the Crawford family from Massachusetts. Madame Crawford was a woman of charm and poise. She was a graduate of Germany's prestigious Leipzig Academy of music, and her home in Boston was the center of music circles. Perhaps her fondness for music is what inspired her oldest daughter, Emma, to become an accomplished musician. Emma showed a decided talent for music at an early age and matured into a talented concert pianist. One review in a New York newspaper raved about her October 1887 concert in Washington Square, noting: "Emma seemed to channel all of her energy into her powerful performances, making her music seem, otherworldly to her spellbound audience." Unfortunately, Emma's stellar career was interrupted when her tuberculosis became unmanageable. She was diagnosed with the deadly illness at the tender age of seven, and having lived in the grimy city of Boston most of her life had taken a toll on her health. The only known remedy for the lethal condition was rest, clean air and hope. Manitou Springs had become a popular destination for easterners suffering from tuberculosis The dry, fresh alpine air and the healing mineral spring waters were thought to be the only treatment for the deadly illness. In 1888, Madame Crawford, Emma and her sister, Alice, packed their bags and headed west after reading about the "Manitou Cure" in the Boston Herald. While convalescing at the Crystal Cottage, Emma would often lie in bed and stare out of her attic bedroom window. Her mind dwelt long on the adventures of Indian tribes who had once roamed the hills. She was fascinated with their customs, folklore and the faith they had in their Great Spirit. She daydreamed about being well again and climbing to the summit of the mountain that she fondly referred to as "Red Chief" because it was rumored that the ghost of an Indian chief resided there. Yes, Emma believed in ghosts. In fact, her mother was a spiritualist who often hosted séances at the boardinghouse. The three Crawford women believed that the soul, upon death, transcended to a higher plane of existence and was capable of communicating with the living. Madame Crawford was a spir