A Denver Haunting!

The Croke-Patterson Mansion is said to be one of Denver's most haunted sites.

This beautiful  residence with attached carriage house is a rare example of Chateauesque style architecture in Denver. Using local sandstone, the red castle stands tall with parapets, turrets and stained glass windows. The home is an enormous 12,000 square feet with four levels and an attached carriage house. Originally commissioned by Thomas Croke in 1890, the mansion has a peculiar history. Rumor has it that when the home was completed and Thomas Croke entered it for the first time, he felt terrified by something he couldn't explain and he never returned to the home again. Two years later, the mansion was sold to Thomas Patterson who resided there with his family until his passing in 1916. Over the next century, the house served many purposes--a dance studio, radio station, boarding house, and eventually, an office building.

A ghostly image has often been sighted gliding up and down the main floor stairway.

Legend recounts tales of suicidal guard dogs jumping from a third story window, lonely mothers mourning the loss of children, loud parties on the third floor when no one is there and crying babies when no children are present. A secret chamber in the basement supposedly entombed the body of a young  girl and unexplainable drafts are a constant reminder of the chilling history of this mansion. Perhaps most frightening of all, Thomas Patterson is rumored to haunt the courtyard between the home and carriage house.

Whether you believe in ghost tales or not, you can now experience the Croke-Patterson Mansion for yourself. Opened as the Patterson Inn this January, supernatural experiences seem to have subsided and guest now can enjoy nice luxury rooms in this one of a kind carefully restored historical mansion.