The story below was inspired by the spirit of a young early Old Town Fort Collins resident. His body was sent to a morgue after his unfortunate death in this frontier town, a location that Haunted History After Dark visits on their tour. The spirit of this young man appeared to Haunted History After Dark tour guide and nationally known psychic, Grace Cooley, just a little over a month ago. He is lost and scared and searching. Although Grace has communicated with him and attempted to send him to the other side, he returns. Grace has spent much time communicating with him and will eventually give him confidence to go to the "other side". On our tours we encounter many lost spirits, this particular spirit grabbed our heart strings. We hope the story below will provide a new understanding to some of the hauntings in Old Town Fort Collins. Thank you so much to all of our guests and supporters. You are making history every night you take our tours. Your amazing stories that you share with us become a part of the extraordinary town we call Fort Collins.

Stepping off the wooden sidewalk I saw,

a horse and a wagon. I thought it was Pa.

I yelled, “Pop wait!” But before I knew

My momma’s worst nightmare had all but come true.

People gathered round a young body in the dirt avenue,

From the tops of the buildings I watched some of the people I knew.

They carried the body to an old Oak tree,

Why were they so sad when I felt so free.

I witnessed a body that once held my soul,

Be put in a carriage, pulled by a bay mare and her young foal.

Confused by all the excitement,

I watched my limp frame go under strange treatment.

Behind a glass door my mother cried,

While a man in a white jacket prodded and pried.

I don’t remember much after this event,

But more folks have arrived and yelled and prayed at other bodies to “Repent!”

I stay in this place where I last saw my ma,

I know she’ll come get me, both her and pa.

Momma always told me to keep myself safe,

So I crouch in the corners, recesses and I found a dark place,

At this structure where I last saw her face.

Sometimes I’ll venture to look for her and walk towards the door,

My legs feel so light and don’t quite hit the floor.

Momma was right, because when I do this I hear people scream,

And they comfort each other, and say “it was only a dream.”

Many more have come to this place where I wait.

Old and young…we don’t know our fate.

A familiar face comes, a man Poppa once knew,

I go to him for comfort, but his face is all blue.

He notices me and says things will be “okay.”

Then I hear people sob and begin to pray.

I don’t know why, but I give people a fright,

So, I’ll be a good boy and come out only at night.

Even though this photo was taken on Jefferson Street last week in Fort Collins, it isn’t a group of die-hard Occupiers. And it isn’t a family photo (although Grace and I felt like family after spending a spooky night with these very courageous guests on the streets of Old Town). This was Haunted History After Dark tour’s biggest group ever! We hosted 27 awesome and brave participants for our Saturday night tour.  We want to give an ENORMOUS thank you to all of these ghost busters! We loved all of you (like family).

Sarah

Auntie Stone

Sarah was especially interested in the history of the old Lindell Mills which is now Ranchway Feeds on Willow and Lincoln. The mill was actually the brain child of early resident’s Auntie Stone and Henry Clay Peterson. These two entrepreneurs built it way back in 1868 in order to grind the wheat, corn and oats that early farmers were harvesting, into marketable flour to sell to Denver and other neighboring cities. It is a true relic of Fort Collins and is one of the structures that kept Fort Collins growing. Way to go to Jane for her interest and insight in this particular structure! And thank you Elizabeth Hickok Stone and Henry Peterson for having the fore thought and ingenuity to bring an economy to this early frontier town and keeping it on its feet! It is rumored that one of the large trees in a parking lot just east of Ranchway Feeds is an Oak tree planted by Auntie Stone herself.

Christina Lintz, organizer of the Meet-Up Mingles also brought a fantastic group this last week.  Christina loved the first tour so much that she brought another group of courageous guests. We loved their passion for both the haunted and history of Fort Collins.

As Old Town Fort Collins is very haunted by spirits of the past, we always encourage guests to bring digital recorders, EMF detectors, cameras and whatever they need to get evidence of hauntings in Old Town. On our last Saturday night tour, this brave guest had brought along a phone that could take photos as well as videos. We are still going through those photos and will publish them soon, but what the participant caught was amazing! As local ghost whisperer and medium, Grace, was talking about a specific haunted location on our tour, I stood back to watch what our guest was recording. We saw one spirit in a blue form in front of Grace, then a brown figure formed in front of our crowd. After that we witnessed even another brown entity enter the frame and materialize. The guest turned her camera toward me, and saw an apparition standing just to my left, and the entities were multiplying as we watched.  I immediately got goose bumps.

This guest is Eileen Sake. Eileen is an award winning tour guide with the city. We were so honored to have her on our tour!

Grace and I have been giving tours every week since this last May. We are a grass roots, home grown tour. One of my sole and passions in life is to study the early residents of Fort Collins. Grace is a nationally, well known medium. On our tours and even through just exploring Old Town alone, I myself have caught many orbs and mists, and I have been verbally and physically assaulted by spirits. I processed these events okay with Grace’s help. I thought of myself as de-sensitized…but when I watched the video of this guests recorder live, and saw the enormous amount of spirits that were enveloping our tour, I was seriously shaken up. I had no idea that so much activity surrounded our tours. Although our guests that night were able to witness first -hand the events, and the video, we have not been able to publish it to you as yet. We will try to get this evidence to you soon.

On this tour we had one of the best crowds of ghost busters ever! This young crowd asked some of the best questions we have ever had regarding the haunted and history of Old Town Fort Collins. Thank you so much to our Thursday October 19^th group! You were amazing and very brave! Wow! what a beautiful group! Their photos are below.

Contact Hauntedhistoryafterdark@yahoo.com for more information. Cost is 10 big ones per courageous ghost buster or 35 clams for an extra brave group of four. Cash only please.

 Stephen Stills begged Suite Judy Blue Eyes long ago, “Will you come see me…Thursdays and Saturdays…” What a coincidence! That’s when our tours are.  Will you come see us…Thursdays and Saturdays.  Or by reservation. 7:30 p.m.  Tours start at 136 W. Mountain Avenue home of Boutique Bravo and Mother Lode Gallery where owner Kate has been in business for a whopping 33 years! Check her out. And remember...YOUR HAUNTED JOURNEY STARTS AT DUSK!

 

and remember...YOUR HAUNTED JOURNEY STARTS AT DUSK!

Sidewalk Psychic



Psychic and Medium Grace Cooley

Haunted History After Dark just completed another ghostly adventure on the streets of Old Town Fort Collins. This enthusiastic and courageous group asked many awesome questions for both well-known local ghost whisperer Grace Cooley and myself. We were joined tonight by the Native Women’s Circle from Colorado State University as well as two very brave participants from Denver, Isabella and John. Thank you so much to all of our wonderful guests tonight!  



CSU Native Womens Circle from left Kodi, Katrina, Lyla, Jessica, Heather


You are truly valued and are a crucial part of all the “sidewalk stars”, both human and spirit, that Grace and I love to have on the tours.

Isabella (center) and John (right) from Denver

 

 

YMSB courtesy of yondermountain.com

Nederland based bluegrass group, Yonder Mountain String Band, has a song they call “Sidewalk Stars”. It’s one of my all-time favorite songs. I have listened to this song probably over a thousand times. But, while sitting at a red light on my route towards the location of our tours on a Saturday night I was hit head on at the corner of Shields and LaPorte by the lyrics to this song;

“You looked at me through old windows

And said, "Dust is all I know"

And you're so clean and I'm so tired

Like lovers' smiles and green marker miles

Can't go back that's much too far

I'm asking you to laugh

But after all

You love a tragedy

Hope remains a sidewalk star.”

Linden St. 1880's/photo courtesy of Fort Collins musem

I was T-boned, broad sided, by the words and I couldn’t help but think about all the spirits we talk about on our tour. Even on a tour we were getting ready to start in just a few minutes. From the dusty images that peer down to us from window frames, the lost early victims of tragedy, these are the “sidewalk stars” that come to us on our ghostly adventures in Old Town Fort Collins, and through Haunted History After Dark tour guide, Grace, hope remains.

Local ghost whisperer, Grace Cooley,  and I created this tour not only to help residents and visitors learn more about Old Town Fort Collins historical and haunted past, but to bring to life the early settlers stories, their past and their tragedies and triumphs. Our goal is to talk about their struggles in order to bring clarity to their successes in this early frontier town. Without the resourcefulness and courage of early residents like Joe Mason, the Stover brothers, Jay and Clark Boughton, and the Avery family, Fort Collins would have been a ghost town. Rabbit brush would inhabit where the Northern Hotel now sits.  Where Austin’s keeps customers busy on the patio of the Welch Block today, cotton tails and mule deer would have been the only guests dining on fringed sage and winter fat without these early settlers. But, early residents stayed, and the town flourished.

Frank Stover's store 1880's/photo courtesy of Fort Collins museum

Early Fort Collins brought in travelers looking for fortune in the West. Mercantile owners, miners, cowhands, cavalrymen, railroad workers and others looking for a new life flocked here in the 1860’s and 70’s. Hispanic and German-Russian immigrants came here when the Sugar Beet factory opened in the early 1900’s.

This mix of varied cultures in such a small area, unfortunately brought conflict, crime, persecution and often times death. Many times on our tours, those victims emerge from the early structures. To most of us they can appear as orbs, mists, or even subtle apparitions. But, to Grace Cooley they reach out as real as the guests on her tours. Often times, sad or angry faces and entities appear to her and other times more benevolent spirits, searching for a resolution and peace approach Grace on our tours. Grace says she sees entities in sometimes a human form, other times a color, such a spirit who recently contacted her in a blue form who she found out died of emphysema. Grace says that some of the people we talk about on our tour often follow her home afterward and some continue on our tour. Most are looking for peace; some are in search of attaching themselves to a human.

Grace says, “I am not nice like other mediums. I don’t question whether they would like to go to the other side or not.  If I feel a spirit has not gone to the “other side”, I don’t ask, I just take them (to the other side). Most come back and thank me.” Grace has contact with “historical” spirits on our tour, as well as more contemporary entities, or those who have passed more recently. Sometimes, if an entity is in too much pain, she will decide to take them to other side, sometimes even while we are conducting a tour, which is exactly what she did on this night. While connecting with spirits at an early brothel on our tour, Grace realized that there was an entity that was very frightened and lost and had attached itself to a particular building. Our guests were able to witness first-hand how Grace works as she gently talked to the spirit and guided her towards the light. What a treat for the rest of us!



Grace Cooley

Nationally well-known psychics like John Edwards and Sylvia Brown provide meetings and conferences to packed auditoriums, but, we are so fortunate to have our own “sidewalk psychic” giving insight to the lives, culture, tragedy and trauma of Fort Collins early residents, as well as clues to our own lives through Grace Cooley.  That intimacy with a genuine psychic is what makes Haunted History After Dark unique.

After tonight’s tour, as on all of our tours, Grace cleansed the group of any attachments, and of any negativity that had preceded our guests even before the tour.

If you would like a private reading with Grace or have questions regarding the haunted and/or history of Fort Collins please contact hauntedhistoryafterdark@yahoo.com.

Check out photos of other recent brave ghost busters on the Haunted History After Dark tour!





Contact Hauntedhistoryafterdark@yahoo.com for more information. Cost is 10 big ones per courageous ghost buster or 35 clams for an extra brave group of four. Cash only please.

 Stephen Stills begged Suite Judy Blue Eyes long ago, “Will you come see me…Thursdays and Saturdays…” What a coincidence! That’s when our tours are.  Will you come see us…Thursdays and Saturdays.  Or by reservation. 7:30 p.m.  Tours start at 136 W. Mountain Avenue home of Boutique Bravo and Mother Lode Gallery where owner Kate has been in business for a whopping 33 years! Check her out. And remember...YOUR HAUNTED JOURNEY STARTS AT DUSK!



 

History of Halloween or "All Hallow's Eve"

Halloween is my favorite holiday! As the ghost-whisperer part of our tour guide team, I'm thinking that any ghost tour blog site would be incomplete without some mention of Halloween at this time of the year, right? :)  There are many ideas about where the holiday of Halloween came from. And really, I think Halloween in the United States may be a combination of many different histories and traditions from many different cultures.  I tend to celebrate it much like the Mexican tradition of All Soul's Day:  I create altars to my ancestors on the other side and put things on them that I remember they liked.

The history that I am most familiar with is that coming from the Celtic tradition. In this history, October 31st is the year end and November 1st is the beginning of the new year. It marked the end of the fertile, harvest season and the beginning of the barren, winter season. It was a night when ancestors and those on the other side of the veil were said to be given permission to join the celebration and walk among the physical ones.

It was important to give out treats to anyone who came to the door in costume, b/c you didn't want to take the chance that the costumed ones were actually spirits that might be miffed if you didn't treat them. They might, at that point, put you on their list of houses to come back and haunt. They might curse you or cause mayhem, so you gave them a treat instead to placate them and insure against that. The night was seen as a way to honor, visit with and pacify spirits who had crossed over, but came back that one night to visit. So why not dress up and pose as a spirit if it meant some fun and getting free treats?! And who knows - then and now - how many of those "spirits" that come to the door are actually non-physical and just taking form for the night to have some fun?  Look at this site to get some interesting information about Halloween. And this website has some fascinating information about how the holiday is tied to Celtic traditions.

Other histories point to the holiday's proximity to All Saint's Day in the Catholic tradition. All Saint's Day is the Catholic celebration of all saints everywhere. It is my understanding that mass on All Saint's Day is a mandatory one for Catholics and occurs on or around November 1st. As in many histories, organized religions, governments and officials often would try and get 'backward' pagans to turn away from their pagan ways and come over to the 'correct' way of thinking. One way to do this was to position an official non-pagan holiday close to a pagan one, so that the celebration could spill over into the "correct" one and confusion would be seeded - to hopefully continue in the coming years - about what, exactly, was being celebrated.Thus we have the name:  All Hallow's Eve, or the night before an all-hallowed day.

Wikipedia has some fascinating information too, about Halloween in the U.S.  Among other things, they point out that:

"American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the U.S; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America";

The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now.^[17]

In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Hallowe'en customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".^[18]
While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.^[19]
The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta, Canada:

Hallowe’en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street. The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing.^[20]"

 So no matter your tradition or reason for celebrating Halloween, I hope you have loads of fun this Halloween. :)  At Haunted History After Dark tours, we offered a special Halloween night tour and it filled up quickly!! So if you are out and about on Halloween night in Old Town in Fort Collins, CO and see us, give us a wave. We can be recognized by the red lantern that Suzy carries at the head of the tour. We may be in costume and some of our guests will be too, for sure.

To schedule a tour sometime after Halloween, email us at hauntedhistoryafterdark@yahoo.com. We require reservations so that the tours don't get too big. We would love to take you on one of our tours of Old Town. The cost is 10 big ones per brave person or 35 clams for a courageous group of four.

Our tours last about 90 minutes and they are a flat, easy walk. We don't usually cancel for weather (maybe if there were a blizzard blowing in), but meet each Thursday and Saturday with our reserved guests to let them decide if they want to brave the weather. :)  If someone still wants a tour, we do it, b/c we LOVE what we do!

Hope to see you sometime soon and Happy Halloween! Hope you get lots of treats! :)

People Who Don't Know They're Dead

This book was written by Gary Leon Hill. It was given to me a few days ago by a friend who, a few years ago, attended a presentation given by him. She was at the presentation with a friend, and they both bought his book and had him sign it. Her friend is currently moving and had a few things she was giving away to avoid moving them. This book was among those things, and since she already had this book, my friend gave it to me.

Being the ghost-whisperer of the Haunted History after Dark team, I often 'feel' books before I buy or read them to see if I really need or want to read them. This one felt solid. :) "Solid" meaning, to me, it seemed well worth my time. It has proven to be that, too.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting information about the way the non-physical world works. I found no contradictions in this book to all the info I have gathered in my years of doing Light Work. In fact, I learned a thing or two - which for me, was very exciting. :) I LOVE learning new info and techniques in Light Work that work for me. Everyone has their own techniques and has gathered their own info. It is always important to gauge how you feel about new info like this. Does it ring true? Does it feel right for you? This book definitely felt right. :)

I define "Light Work" as everything we ghost-whisperer/medium/psychic types do. The definition covers everything from doing psychic readings for clients to clearing buildings that are in dire need on-the-fly as I walk past while out running errands, to channeling energy/light through my hands and body to assist someone in their self-healing (b/c all healing is self-healing - Light Workers just provide a boost sometimes - a path for them to follow).

Another great thing about this book:  the wonderful bibliography at the end! Wow, there are some amazing books listed! I've read some of them in my quest for knowledge over the years and love many of those, and I am already gathering up some of the others to read. I can't wait to dive into them. :)

Gary writes about his aunt and uncle and how they learned to clear entities (ghosts) from people and places. The book contains some of the transcripts from a few sessions they had with clients, and they are fascinating to read. I really like the stance he takes too - the voice - he uses in writing this book, b/c I tend to take the same stance.

Even though I'm a psychic/medium/ghost-whisperer/healer type, I still, sometimes, am not sure whether I believe what seems to be happening during sessions. I sometimes reach a point where I am thinking along the lines of:  "This is WAY too far out there for even ME to believe." :)  So I like to read that he and his aunt and uncle were also that way.

From this, they also did something that I do:  They just proceed with the session as if that were what is really happening. Sometimes you just have to let go and fly by the proverbial seat of your pants. If the client feels better, confirms that you are channeling correct information for them that you couldn't otherwise know and their energy feels better afterward, does it matter that a 'sane' definition can't be found for what happened? :) 

This is exactly how my guides taught me to teach others to do what I do. They told me to tell students to suspend their 'adult' judgements and proceed on into the imaginary world of make-believe. It is only from this stance of "anything is possible" that lightwork can be done. They told me to explain that, "IF this were possible, then THIS would follow..." and so on - right into the world of intention and imagination. As Gary wrote, none of this would stand up on court - can't prove a thing. But does the client feel better? Yes. Is their life working better? Yes. Then that's what matters. "Needing proof leads to doubt. And doubt is a wall."

Yet one more great thing about this book:  He tells you how to clear yourself and your space. How great is that? There is a step-by-step guide that I really like. It varies a bit from my own protocol - which is not unusual, b/c all Lightworkers have to do what works best for them, but it's gonna work. It's a good guide, I think.  I have, in fact, made some adjustments in my own protocol, drawing on the info in the book.  It helped me look at the usual information I get in a reading/clearing in a different way, so that I can see more than I could before.

But really, the most amazing thing about this book? It was given to me at very crucial point in my life - right when I was asking some of the questions, to apply to myself, that are answered in the book. I LOVE the way the Universe does that! :) Ask and you shall receive! :) I have marked it up and dog-eared the pages and am already re-reading it. I'm sure at some point I will put it down for a while, but right now it is what I need. One thing is for sure:  It's a keeper - and I don't keep many books; I give them away, usually, once I've read them. :)

On our tours, the wonderful tour-goers always ask questions that take us into the non-physical world, how it works and how to navigate it. As questions come up and answers are given, we start getting into wide open, non-physical areas that probably validate beliefs for some, and I'm sure, also strain the tolerance of others. :) I'm just happy that they are there letting me do what I absolutely love more than anything in this world (physical or otherwise :) to do. Thanks so much to all our clients who join us so that Suzy and I can play at what we love to do!! :)

For those interested in the book, here's some info (and as always - take what works for you and discard the rest):

Title:  People Who Don't Know They're Dead

ISBN:  1-57863-297-8

Author:  Gary Leon Hill

Publisher:  WeiserBooks, 2005

It seems the spectral guests on our tour are getting more courageous, and more eager to tell their stories and make their presence known.





Maurice (center)



What an amazing

 and diverse crowd of brave Saturday night ghostbusters we had on the Haunted History After Dark tour Oct. 1, 2011! Before each of our ghostly Old Town adventures each week, Grace and I talk about the many different ethnicities, backgrounds, and geographical locations that the early residents came from, and which make up its very colorful past. Residents today, tourists, and out-of towners who come to take our tour are all a part of that special history of Fort Collins.



Joe Mason

 Without even being aware of it, all of you continue that legacy and that color and the diversity that make Fort Collins what it is today. One of those was very enthusiastic tour participant Maurice, who has a French background. Unknown to Maurice, early Fort Collins and surrounding areas such as La Porte, were founded on the resourcefulness and courage of early French residents such as Antoine Janis (pronounced Jhonee), John Provost (pronounced Provo) and my own personal favorite Joseph Mason who Mason Street is named after. Joe's french name was Messier. Joe Mason not only helped choose the location of the new "fort" but was also the first sheriff, postmaster, and sutler owner. Grace and I couldn't help but notice a distinct resemblance between these two handsome French men. Another handsome Haunted History After Dark guest was John, who traveled from Denver with his equally beautiful wife Cathy, just to take our tour.

John, Rose, Cathy, Kathleen

John and Cathy were joined by two friends from Cheyenne, Rose and Kathleen. Interestingly enough, one of the haunted sites on our tour is a location where many early visitors actively frequented from both Cheyenne and Denver to "conduct business". Kathleen, at far right in the photo above is currently the Dean of Arts and Humanities at Laramie County Community College (LCCC). After taking our tour she can now count herself as Dean of Haunted History After Dark (HHAD). Very prestige.

On our Haunted History After Dark tours, while talking about the diversity of the characters that made up early Fort Collins, we also mention that because of all those cultural, social, economic differences combined in such a small area, "...crime, conflict, persecution, and often times death occurred as a result." But, fortunately, on this night, even with all the diversity on our tour, no crime, no persecution, no conflict or deaths occurred even with all the enormous Homecoming activity in Old Town tonight...whew! But...we were met by many victims of that early history in a supernatural form. It seems the spectral guests on our tour are getting more courageous, and more eager to tell their stories and make their presence known. At one very haunted location on our tour, as Grace was talking about a spirit that decided to come amongst our visitors, these orbs appeared on camera. This particular ghostly presence was a young Cavalryman. Normally, the orbs we catch at this location appear around the doors and windows of this haunted site. On this evening, Grace mentioned that he was standing in a semi circle space that our guests had conciously or unconciously created. I decided to take a few photos of the spot where Grace said an entity was located and this is what I caught.

The one above is at the direct spot where Grace said and young Cavalryman entity was standing among our guests. The photo is untouched. It's hard to make out, but "something" is definitely there. I am going back to the location to make sure it wasn't a discoloration in the bricks. I'll update you soon. Because we have been to this location often though and are very familiar with it, I'm thinking it's genuine.

I also caught two orbs in a second and third story window at one of our locations at the exact spot where Grace said that entities were looking at our group down below. To protect the business owners at this particular location, I won't publish these until I get permission. But, they are very clear. Atleast two other participants tonight indicated they had received blue colored orbs on their camera's tonight.

As always, our human guests, as well as more ghostly ones always fascinate us and make our nights so fun and memorable. The stories of our tour participants are just as extraordinary as our early residents and we are all a part of Fort Collins special history. Check out the photos of some awesome tour guests making history tonight below. Thanks so much to everyone who bravely participated in our tour tonight!

John from Denver City

Cute Nathan and Sue Ellen

If you have questions regarding the paranormal history in Old Town Fort Collins and would like to take a Haunted History After Dark tour please contact us at hauntedhistoryafterdark@yahoo.com. The cost is 10 clams per individual brave ghost buster or 35 big ones for an extra courageous group of 4. Cash only please.



Stephen Stills begged Suite Judy Blue Eyes long ago, “Will you come see me…Thursdays and Saturdays…” What a coincidence! That’s when our tours are.  Will you come see us…Thursdays and Saturdays.  Or by reservation. 7:30 p.m.  Tours start at 136 W. Mountain Avenue home of Boutique Bravo and Mother Lode Gallery where owner Kate has been in business for a whopping 33 years! Check her out.

And remember...YOUR HAUNTED JOURNEY STARTS AT DUSK!