Post by Graveyardbride on Oct 29, 2019 16:56:29 GMT -5
Angry Female Spirit and Tippling Ghost Haunt Denver Hotel
The Oxford Hotel at 1600 17th Street in downtown Denver, Colorado, has been The Oxford for the past 128 years and for 121 of those years, it’s been haunted.
The Bible says, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” and if the stories about the haunting at The Oxford are true, the same might be said of angry female spirits. Back in 1898, Florence Montague was having an affair with a married man at the hotel. She was insanely jealous of his wife and when she caught him in bed with her rival, she shot her fickle lover and then turned the gun on herself.
The murder-suicide took place in Room 320 and since that time, single male guests staying in the room have reported being awakened in the middle of the night by “something” tugging at their arms. Others have been awakened because they felt cold and discovered their sheet and blankets on the floor, though they had no idea how they had gotten there.
“We’ve heard stories that she’ll turn the faucet on and off, she’ll turn the lights on and off, she’ll pull the covers back,” said Julie Dunn, who works for the hotel. “We definitely try not to put male travelers who are alone in that room.”
Florence isn’t the only ghost haunting the old Victorian hostelry. The Cruise Room – which opened in 1933 at the end of prohibition – is known for its martinis and the apparition of a postal employee. Bartenders and wait staff have reported seeing a man in what appears to be an old-fashioned post office uniform. After ordering a beer, some have heard him muttering, “The children. I have to get the gifts to the children,” or words to that effect. The gentleman seems to drink his beer, but when the bartender removes the glass, it’s full to the top, as though it hadn’t been touched.
Someone checked into the story and discovered that back in the 1930s, a postal worker on his way to deliver the mail – that included Christmas presents – to nearby Central City, never arrived. People were irate their parcels hadn’t been delivered and it was assumed the man had absconded with the gifts and sold them. However, when the snow began melting the following spring, the postman’s decomposing body and a bagful of packages were found in a ditch on the road leading to Central City. Apparently, he had lost his way in the snow and fallen, either dying from his injuries or freezing to death.
If you’re thinking about visiting The Oxford and aren’t particularly fond of ghosts, there’s no reason to be frightened. “Our ghosts are very nice,” Ms. Dunn adds.
Sources: Landon Haaf, KMGH, October 29, 2019; Maya Silver, Dining Out; and Denver: The Mile High City.