My Aunt Lisa came to visit from Michigan one summer about 15 years ago and my mom decided to surprise her and take a family trip to Cripple Creek, some 2 hours from Denver. We stopped off at Santa’s Workshop which my mom said was not much fun because being summer, it was not anywhere near Christmas and we were the only people there. We took the back roads to Cripple Creek through the canyons that dotted the mountainous landscape. My Aunt Lisa was afraid of the twists and turns and driving so close to the edge of the cliffs.
Our next stop was to the Royal Gorge Bridge. We petted the deer, rode the gondola across the Arkansas River, walked back across the bridge, rode the incline railway on the side of the mountain, then headed to our third destination, Cripple Creek. We walked around the little town and my mom and Aunt Lisa played the nickel slots at the casinos. It was getting very late so they decided to get a hotel but every hotel they went to was booked. Finally we found a hotel at the top of a hill, which was called the Hotel St Nicholas. It looked a little spooky, but we decided to stay there for the night.
The receptionist inside was very nice, but they had only one room left, which we found out in the morning was an old hospital emergency room.
We settled into the room, which my mom said seemed old fashioned and creepy. Everyone was tired and slept but my mom and I. Mom said she was creeped out by something and could not fall asleep. She told me that I was on my hands and knees all night trying to catch something that was not there, like a mouse or a spirit of some kind. We found out the next morning from the receptionist that from time to time there are ghosts that seemed to roam the hotel that other guests and staff have seen. The receptionist told us that it was a former hospital, founded by Catholic nuns from the Sisters of Mercy in 1893 that provided medical services, whether the cause was sickness or injury from mine accidents, to the swarms of gold miners that rushed the Cripple Creek area during the late 19th century. In speaking with the receptionist we also found out that many murders and suicides took place in the hospital, and that some spirits still reside in the hotel. Cripple Creek is known for its ghosts, and the Hotel St Nicholas is no exception. They include Stinky, who was known for his foul stench when he appeared and usually walked the halls of the hotel leaving his malodor behind; Petey was a spirit of a little boy in the tavern, maybe an orphan, who mainly stole and hid cigarettes and altered the appearance of the tavern, but was known to appear elsewhere in the hotel; and a ghost of a man who lacked an upper body, perhaps killed in a mine accident. Other than the three ghosts, there was a reported supernatural occurrence of a bottle of Crown Royal Special exploding in the tavern. Many guests and staff have reported various sightings in different parts of the hotel.
In recollecting the trip, I think that Petey may have come into my room and played with me, or a ghostly mouse may have been in the room, and I behaved rather feline while trying to catch said mouse. My mom said that she was glad she didn’t know the history of the hotel before she spent the night because had she known, she would have been out the door, down the hill driving back home to Denver! As we checked out of the hotel and were driving away we noticed a cemetery next to the hotel, to which my mom said she would have never stayed if she would have seen that during the day time!
Our next stop was to the Royal Gorge Bridge. We petted the deer, rode the gondola across the Arkansas River, walked back across the bridge, rode the incline railway on the side of the mountain, then headed to our third destination, Cripple Creek. We walked around the little town and my mom and Aunt Lisa played the nickel slots at the casinos. It was getting very late so they decided to get a hotel but every hotel they went to was booked. Finally we found a hotel at the top of a hill, which was called the Hotel St Nicholas. It looked a little spooky, but we decided to stay there for the night.
The receptionist inside was very nice, but they had only one room left, which we found out in the morning was an old hospital emergency room.
We settled into the room, which my mom said seemed old fashioned and creepy. Everyone was tired and slept but my mom and I. Mom said she was creeped out by something and could not fall asleep. She told me that I was on my hands and knees all night trying to catch something that was not there, like a mouse or a spirit of some kind. We found out the next morning from the receptionist that from time to time there are ghosts that seemed to roam the hotel that other guests and staff have seen. The receptionist told us that it was a former hospital, founded by Catholic nuns from the Sisters of Mercy in 1893 that provided medical services, whether the cause was sickness or injury from mine accidents, to the swarms of gold miners that rushed the Cripple Creek area during the late 19th century. In speaking with the receptionist we also found out that many murders and suicides took place in the hospital, and that some spirits still reside in the hotel. Cripple Creek is known for its ghosts, and the Hotel St Nicholas is no exception. They include Stinky, who was known for his foul stench when he appeared and usually walked the halls of the hotel leaving his malodor behind; Petey was a spirit of a little boy in the tavern, maybe an orphan, who mainly stole and hid cigarettes and altered the appearance of the tavern, but was known to appear elsewhere in the hotel; and a ghost of a man who lacked an upper body, perhaps killed in a mine accident. Other than the three ghosts, there was a reported supernatural occurrence of a bottle of Crown Royal Special exploding in the tavern. Many guests and staff have reported various sightings in different parts of the hotel.
In recollecting the trip, I think that Petey may have come into my room and played with me, or a ghostly mouse may have been in the room, and I behaved rather feline while trying to catch said mouse. My mom said that she was glad she didn’t know the history of the hotel before she spent the night because had she known, she would have been out the door, down the hill driving back home to Denver! As we checked out of the hotel and were driving away we noticed a cemetery next to the hotel, to which my mom said she would have never stayed if she would have seen that during the day time!
The hotel that you are talking about reminds me a lot of the Standley Lake hotel which is known throughout Colorado to be haunted. I would've been just like your mom if I knew about that hotel! Your story was very descriptive and interesting. If I was reading this at night, I know I would of been so scared already. You also did a good job making your story stronger by adding facts to the story.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of setting the scene with your background information. You appeal to the readers very logically, using logos, and this makes you a credible, trustworthy source. I thought that your descriptive also created an emotional appeal, because we could comprehend exactly what was going on. I also liked how you described the town of Cripple Creek well, in addition to describing what you actually experienced. Also, we all know that many places in Colorado are supposed to be haunted, so this increased the credibility of your story, as well as the fact that it was something that we could all relate to.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I really enjoyed reading your story, but I actually wanted to hear more about it by the time I had finished the story. Maybe you could add more detail about the ghosts that haunt the hotel, unless you wanted to keep it sort of a mystery as you presently have. You made the story scary by adding in the things that you did before hand, as a way of building the suspense a bit. I cannot decide whether the fact that you were very little at the time of the story makes it more credible or not. You seem to remember the event, even from that long ago, but it also makes me think that it could have just been something that maybe didn't happen. Perhaps play on that a bit more in your story? Other than that you had great facts, and I think it played on our emotions a little because I'm sure we have all checked into a hotel late at night and felt that something was really creepy about it!Great job!
ReplyDeleteYour story reminds me of the tv show, "Ghost Adventures". There are three people who go to haunted abandoned places to see and talk to the ghosts. It reminds me of a hotel that they stayed at because it had a little boy, and two other well known people that people say they "saw". Its very similar to that show. But your story was good. If I was your mom, I'd probably wouldn't stay there if i knew the history before that either.
ReplyDeleteHow is that place a hotel? There is no way I am going to Cripple Creek and staying anywhere near that hotel. I am just in shock that a place where murder, suicides and surgeries occured is a place where visitors can crash at for the night or even a place where people spend their money.Anyways, obviously this was a good story for it continues to keep me guessing and questioning the validity of the receptionist. My only recommendation for the story is to make it flow more by incorporating more story telling components rather than listing off what event happened right after the other.
ReplyDeleteCreepy! The fact that there are names for these ghosts, makes it obvious that more than one person has seen them. Definitely gave me the chills. Also, I like how you built the story up by telling about the trip, rather than just plunging into the main focus and topic of this story; the hotel. I enjoyed how you gave responses from other characters, such as your mom and the hotel staff. Like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteWow, just like other people said, I will never stay in that hotel ever! You used a lot of background information of the hotel which are incredible because they help you a lot on proving the hotel is haunted. You appeal to us logically, making me believe that you are a credible resource and "trustable". You also appeal to my and other readers' emotions by saying your mom would never want to stay there again.
ReplyDeleteI liked how many facts you had and how many strage things happened. I think the graveyard next to the hotel definentily helped your argument by appealing to the reader's logos.
ReplyDeleteI liked how the story is in Colorado, it allows everyone in the class to relate to it more. Also it seems like the story was true because you talk about the stops like the Royal Gorge, also somewhere I've been. It proves that you either been around or did your research which raises the logos and ethos in the story. I also liked the image I saw in my mind when you were on your hands and knees chasing possibly a mouse; funny yet scary. Good job with this story.
ReplyDeleteYour mom was right when she noticed that room was "old fashioned and creepy." It's funny how right she turned out to be, I bet watching you play with a centuries old hospital patient was scary and funny too, in its own right. I like this story!
ReplyDeleteGreat story I like the beginning of how you describe the town so well and mentioned all the places in Colorado. I know were those are at so I can relate as well as other readers, great logos. the details in the story were played so well I could picture them inside my head. The setting was important. The old fashion town helped your story be so creepy too.
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ReplyDeleteI definitely would not want to stay in that hotel. Since there were other guests who experienced some supernatural things too gives your story credibility, which is a good use of ethos. I like how you had a lot of facts about the place, which is a great use of logos. Also, mentioning some of the people who were a part of this in the 19th century were great details; awesome job!
ReplyDeleteIt's a really good story! There are a few grammatical errors in the second paragraph which would make it flow better but, over all it's a great story! I really like how descriptive you were in describing stuff. It reminded me of when I went to Hotel Colorado.
ReplyDeleteThe way you laid out the introduction with the trip and how some of the destinations visited were a little odd(since one of them seemed extremely seasonal) but mostly normal it seemed weird since it almost seemed like an attempt to lull the reader to not expect ghosts or spirits. It seemed odd to me that you recounted how you and your mom didn't sleep but it was you recounting how your mother noticed your odd behavior. Which begs the question if you were aware or if a ghost influenced you. The hotel's past and an overview of the well known ghosts of the area added to your credibility since it seems likelier of ghosts being present if the hotel used to a hospital as opposed to a card shop.
ReplyDeleteAh that is so scary! Haunted hotels are the worst, I stayed at the Jerome hotel in Aspen a few years back. As we were walking through the hall way toward our room, I felt a drop on my arm and even spoke it aloud to my sister. When I got home I researched to hotel for some odd reason and came to find that a little boy drowned in the bath tub of room 213. We stayed in room 214! So I can relate. Do you remember trying to play with the mouse/ghost/mouse ghost? Great story though, one thing I'd like to touch on is that the beginning of your story is in excess. I think next time just cut strait to the point, no need to talk about your stops in such detail if your story's focus is on the haunted hotel. Also a couple misplaced or missing commas. Other than that, very interesting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a creepy story. Must have been a fun time before staying at a hotel that might have been haunted. There's a few grammatical errors though. telling about the ghosts were creepy as well.
ReplyDeleteHauntings with named poltergeists, it's odd to say the least. The fact that more than just a few people seemed to have experienced this paranormal event makes it slightly more believable than if it had been just an occurrence that happened to you. It's both terrifying and amazing to comprehend that ghosts truly exist.
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I really enjoyed reading it. I like that you set up the story by describing your family and setting up the characters. Although I don't think the stops on your way to Cripple Creek were necessary to explain, I was kind of confused about why you mentioned Santas Workshop! Also instead of saying "petted deer" I would just say pet . Other than that i think it was really good! It was really strengthened when you gave the ghosts names and personalities! I liked that a lot.
ReplyDeleteYour aunt and I have that in common; I hate being a passenger in the mountains! Anyways, could visualize this story very well and I believed it very much. It was creepy how you described that you were tried to get something that was not there. One very effective component in your story was how you described the history of the hotel and you had a date in there. It made the story much more believable. The title was very appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI think this story is fun and relatable because in it, you and your family were actually there and first hand felt this presence that you soon came to discover was the hauntings of an old hospital. The story sounds as if it is a scary movie and kept me interested the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI thought your story was written very well. A few grammatical errors but other then that it was a good story. I really enjoyed it, even though stories about ghosts scare me a lot. You had a very well described setting and it was detailed very well.
ReplyDeleteGreat description! It reminds me a lot of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park! It also because you had a date it makes your story a lot more believable. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteDang, that is so creepy! I heard of the same story about a haunted hotel in my country which used to be a small hospital too. You did a good job making your story interesting and descriptive. There're some grammar errors. But overall nice work!
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