Colorado, as I’m sure you know, was a gold rush state, but apparently the gold rush only lasted a few years. This led to an influx of mountain towns being built only to be abandoned. Pioneers soon realized gold wasn’t just laying around and they would need to actually mine the gold out of mountainsides. And I get it, I was at the forefront of the “green rush” when Colorado first legalized recreational marijuana. After six months trimming marijuana I was like, how am I not a millionaire yet? But enough about my get-rich-quick scam in my early 20s, today I’m here to tell you about the ghost town of haunted St. Elmo.
St. Elmo is about 20 miles west of Buena Vista in Colorado. Buena Vista is top-notch Rocky Mountains, a must-see. St. Elmo is one of the most well-known ghost towns in Colorado. It’s said to be one of the most haunted of all the ghost towns in the state. So of course I had to investigate.
Not Such A Ghost Town
To access St. Elmo you have to drive up a dirt road for about five miles, it’s not too rugged. I managed it with my trusty Corolla. St. Elmo is a tourist attraction so there is ample parking. And that was the first thing I noticed — there were a lot of tourists, which took out some of the fun. I was expecting to be walking around this abandoned haunted location. The next thing I noticed is that calling it a ghost town is misleading. At one point I’m sure it was a real ghost town with all buildings abandoned. Now, however, there are signs all over stating that most of the property is private. People live there. I don’t know if they live there full-time, but some of the yards have crap like old broken-down trucks. So not a ghost town in the actual literal sense of a ghost town. Strike one.
Questionable Attractions
There are some buildings you can access but the idea is the town is like an open-air museum. Those buildings have exhibition-style blocks of text on walls with the history of the town. Okay, cool, I’m not opposed to educational experiences. Except when I went it was on a rainy day and every building open to the public was closed. I guess the ghosts don’t like people tracking mud in. I understand, I’m sure it’s hard to use a mop as a ghost. But I’m counting that as strike two.
The main attraction in town is a chipmunk feeding area. This is where I saw the highest concentration of visitors. The general store still operates (how is this a ghost town?) and there you can buy nuts to feed wild animals by hand. Of course, it’s mainly families doing this. Yeah sure, let’s teach children that feeding and interacting with wildlife is fine. Next stop Yellowstone, and remember kids, buffalo love scratches behind the ears. Strike three St. Elmo.
Lingering Presence At Haunted St. Elmo
Now about these alleged hauntings. The most notable, and as far as I could tell from research the only ghost, is that of Annabelle Stark. She was the granddaughter of the first mayor and daughter of the owners of the town’s general store and hotel. Her parents were not too happy with the immoral behavior of the miners, who drank, paid women for sex, and settled their disputes by shooting each other. It truly was a utopia. She passed in 1960 at the age of 77.
Dirty Anne, Resident Ghost At Haunted St. Elmo
Since her death, she has still been on the mission to keep no-good be-doers out of town. She is said to still look after the general store and hotel. Locals and visitors experiencing sudden drops in temperature in those buildings. Doors and windows will slam shut. Some say that as they were looking up at the hotel an apparition of a woman was in the window staring down at them. Guess what? She’s wearing white! BOOM! We got a woman in white, the biggest signature of any haunted location. Some say her apparition is seen walking down the main street wielding her rifle. This is something she did towards the end of her life. Locals said that during this phase of her life she was not bathing or washing her clothes and gave her the nickname “Dirty Anne.” Nice.
Scary For Different Reasons
So here’s my experience ghost hunting. First, I’m not sure going to do this at night would be the best idea. Not because Dirty Anne’s gonna blast your face off with her trusty rifle, but because like I said, people live here. And I can’t imagine they would appreciate tourists wandering around looking for ghosts at night. I also noticed an inordinate amount of surveillance cameras. I get they don’t want people vandalizing the historic buildings but it felt like walking down a street in London. And whose cameras are these, where do they feed? It honestly felt like some kind of psychological horror movie where the townspeople are in some kind of kill-thrill cult that kidnaps people who stay after sunset to torture and kill them. Hostel? Midsommar? The Hills Have Eyes? Take your pick. If you know me well you know it’s not the dead I’m scared of, it’s the living.
Maybe Just Skip This One
As far as my ghost hunting gear, I got nothing. It’s not unusual for a lack of a spirit box or EVP, but I didn’t even get any EMF activity, green the whole time. Nothing, nada, zilch. I’m not saying St. Elmo isn’t haunted, but I saw no evidence, had no experience, not even a feeling of dread. I guess I’m not dirty enough for Dirty Anne. It’s a cool place to visit just because it is an Old West relic and feels like walking down a movie set — you know, like a horror movie where the locals abduct, torture, and kill strangers?
So I’m giving haunted St. Elmo a 2 out of 10 for ghost hunting, my lowest rating yet. Come at me, Dirty Anne. Check it out for yourself but if you do go, go in with low expectations. Go with a desire to see a real Old West town, not experience any hauntings.
Happy hunting.
Thanks for reading and check out The Witches Wardrobe to spookify your style. Your support goes to fund the adventures of The Forgotten Grimoire.