Colorado Haunted History

05/16/2026

Tonight, there's still room to join the Olde Town Haunts tour of Arvada! Come join me and others at 7 pm!

05/15/2026

On this Peace Officers Memorial Day, we remember Fidel Aguirre (pictured) who was slain on May 15th, 1938, at a dance hall in Gardner, Colorado.

Aguirre was hired to provide security at the dance hall, when early in the morning of the 15th, he was called outside by two men. Under the cover of the dance music, he was attacked by the men with punches, kicks, slashes of a knife, and then beaten with a fence post with a nail in one end. When his unconscious body was found, his skull was fractured, his jaw was broken in two places, and he had knife wounds to the throat. He was brought to a hospital in Walsenburg where he died in the afternoon.

After the discovery of his body, posses formed to search the hills for his assailants who had caused a disturbance at the dance earlier in the night. The two men were Pete and Paul Peralta (pictured wearing cuffs after their arrest), who were tried previously over a livestock larceny case. Fidel Aguirre worked on that case, and it's believed that once these two saw him at the dance, they sought their revenge.

Pete and Paul were arrested at their home in Farisita without any resistance. However, they had previously sent word out that they would shoot it out with any pursuing officers.

The Peraltas were tried and convicted of first degree murder in October of 1938 and sentenced to life in prison. Their sentences were commuted to a shorter term in 1951. However, before he could be released, Paul Peralta died in prison due to cardiac failure on October, 9th of that year.

Pete was paroled in August of 1954, and then discharged from parole in 1966.

Fidel Aguirre is buried in Gardner Catholic Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and eight children.

05/14/2026

During the 1920s, Pueblo was home to the bootlegging rival gangs, the Dannas and the Carlinos. The two families had been feuding since their time living in Italy, and the Danna family was responsible for several murders between 1922 and 1925, but they their trials either resulted in hung juries or they were acquitted.

One hundred years ago, today (May 14, 1926), the three Danna brothers, Pete, Tony, and Sam, were near a major distribution point for their moonshine. They were standing in front of the Monte Carlo pool hall when a Hudson touring car roared down the street, stopping in front of the Danna brothers. Automatic sawed off shotguns were thrust out the window and several shots were fired, fatally wounding Pete and Tony. Sam was unharmed. The car then sped off before any of the brothers could pull out their .45s.

After the shooting, Sam and Tony refused to say who was responsible. However, when told he would not live, Pete broke the mob code of honor by naming Pete and Sam Carlino, and John and Carlo Mulay as the assailants. A few days later, Sam also broke the code and named the same assailants and added Pete La Rocco to the list.

A massive manhunt ensued as it was believed the perpetrators had either run off into the mountains or headed to Walsenburg. By June, the men had not been found, but Sam, who betrayed the code and was feared to release further secrets of the gangs, was attacked at his home in Vineland.

In August, 1925, Pete Carlino, Pete La Rocco, and Carlo Mulay surrendered to the sheriff, even though a request to be offered bond was refused by the sheriff a couple months earlier.

The men were tried in November of 1926, and during the trial, Sam Danna was disarmed twice as he entered the courtroom with a gun. Two hundred and twenty five names were drawn before a jury could be accepted. During the trial, two of the accused claimed alibis of being in Trinidad during the shooting.

On November 21st, the jury acquitted the men of murder. In a statement, the jury criticized the evidence presented by the prosecution and declared that there was insufficient evidence. It had taken them 18 hours to deliberate.

After the trial, the Carlino brother rose to prominence in southern Colorado bootlegging. In 1930, Sam Danna was gunned down in Pueblo, ending any power the Danna family may have still held. There are entire books on the Carlino family, so I won't go any further with that story, for now.

Pete and Tony Danna are buried in Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo.

05/13/2026

On this date, May 13th, 1908, James Lynn, a black man, fatally shot sixteen-year-old Sarah James, and severely wounded her mother, Julia James. The shooting occurred at 422 E River St in Pueblo where the James family lived.

Six months prior to the incident, the James family lost their patriarch and were having financial difficulties. They lived next to the Lynn family, who would occasionally bring over food and put extra coal into their bin. However, because the Lynns were black, nasty rumors spread through the neighborhood about this arrangement, which angered James Lynn, who insisted on figuring out who the gossipers were. There were also rumors that James Lynn was infatuated with the 16 year old, Sarah.

On this night, the Mrs. James was afraid for her safety when she invited Joseph O'Neil to spend some time at their house. O'Neil claimed he would shoot Lynn if he saw him. At about midnight, an apparently drunken James Lynn arrived peering through the windows. When he saw O'Neil, he barged through the door and O'Neil fled through the back of the house. An argument ensued between Lynn and Mrs. James, and it caused the two of them plus Sarah to head out to the front of the house where Lynn fired several shots, piercing Sarah's heart, killing her, and other shots going through Mrs. James lung and grazing her head. James Lynn fled the scene.

Mrs. James, initially, was believed to be mortally wounded, but she recovered within a few days.

James Lynn was captured a few days later in Limon as he exited a train, and fearing that he was going to be lynched, begged not to be brought to the Pueblo jail. The authorities took him to Colorado Springs, but his fears were warranted.

Within a day of his capture, a mob of masked men stormed the Pueblo jail, battering the door down to search for Lynn. After five men could not locate him in any of the cells, they sent another ten men to verify for themselves. When they got word that the prisoner was in Colorado Springs, there was fear that they would catch the next train to continue the crusade, but the mob fizzled out.

James Lynn was quickly tried for murder in June of 1908. He tried to claim his innocence stating that the weapon he always carried was a .44 and the girl had been shot with a .38. However, when he was captured in Limon, he had lost his .44 and a .38 caliber revolver that Mrs. James kept under her pillow was found in his possession.

James Lynn was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang on October 8th, 1908. He declared his innocence to the very end. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Canon City.

Sarah James is buried in an unmarked grave in Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo.

After the trial of James Lynn, Julia James and her remaining five children moved to her sister's house in Seattle.

05/13/2026

05/12/2026

This cute house is currently located at Cultural Heritage park in Lakewood (Belmar), but was originally located near the Bear Creek greenbelt near Yale Ave and Estes St. It's unassuming today, but was home to one of the largest Prohibition Era still busts in Colorado history in 1921, 100 years ago this week. The following bit of history is not mentioned on the placards at the house nor the Cultural Heritage website.

In May of 1921, the Streer family had been living in this house, which was constructed in 1885, for the previous three years. According to the Cultural Heritage website, they ran a dairy, grew vegetables in the garden and had an orchard that possibly provided some extra income. But what they had in the barn was probably their largest source of income.

On May 12th, 1921, both the Jefferson County Republican, and the Colorado Transcript described the bust. From the Republican (which contains a humorous quote about Mrs. Streer):

"Morris Streer, Tom Streer, and Ben Siegel, ostensible dairymen living four miles east of Morrison, pleaded not guilty before Judge McCall in the county court to a charge of violating the law by the manufacture of whisky and the trial was set for May 18.

"The alleged still was guarded by an electrical flash signal laid in the road a quarter of a mile away, and set into operation by contact with anything passing over it. When the tiny light in the reputed still room would flash, the accused distillers were warned of an approach in the immediate vicinity.

"An automobile in which were riding Sheriff Kerr, Deputy Sheriff Mencimer and Denver police, touched the system of electric wires in the road and warned the men alleged to be at work in the still that danger hovered near. But the officers were unaware of the signal system but believed they were on the true scent and drove straight to the alleged still.

But they encountered another defense which they claim to be even more formidable. Mrs. Morris Streer, they allege, blocked the entrance to the alleged still and dared them to enter at their peril. They say she emphasized her threats by pummeling Sheriff Kerr with fists and tearing the clothes from the Denver police officers. By unanimous vote they award Mrs. Street the fighting championship laurels of Jefferson and Denver counties.

"The officers found a 75-gallon still, 45 gallons of finished whisky in kegs of 5 gallons each, and 32 barrels of mash, each barrel containing 50 gallons..."

The Transcript further describes the length they went to hide the still:

"The moonshiners had a very elaborate arrangement, and had their operating room well hidden. It was a room, built in the middle of a big barn loft. Alfalfa had been piled in the barn completely hiding the room, making the place look exactly like a big hay mow. A small tunnel under the hay led to the still, and all the cooking was done by gasoline, so there was no smoke. There were several electric bells in the barn, and the wires led to the entrance of the lane."

After their trials, Mrs. Streer was fined $10 and sentenced to 10 days in the county jail. Peter and Morris Streer and Ben Seigel were convicted of operating a still and fined $399 each, and sentenced to 120 days in jail unless the fines were paid. Then, they would be released after 60 days. The sentences were later reduced to 30 days.

05/11/2026

Happy Mother's Day!

This image is taken from the Rocky Mountain News 100 years ago in 1926.

05/09/2026

Feels like its been too long since I've done one of these, but tonight I'm in Golden for a "Murder, Mayhem, and Madness Tour!" Space is still available! Link in the comments.

05/04/2026

Happy National Paranormal Day!

Have you celebrated or have plans to celebrate the day?

05/03/2026

[Warning: story of domestic violence]
On May 3rd, 1942, George Honda (pictured, signing his confession) had an argument with his wife, Mary, within the lobby of the Columbia Hotel, which was located at 1330 17th St in Denver. George owned a restaurant across the street from the hotel, and the family lived in an apartment at the Columbia. According to reports, he was jealous (accusing his wife of association with other men) and was upset that his wife had not finished typing the luncheon menu for the restaurant.

As he argued with her that morning in the lobby, George suddenly pulled a 14 inch knife, and slashed his wife five times before anyone could intervene. One of the slashes slit her throat and severed her jugular, killing her. After wildly slashing, George attempted to take his own life, but a clerk of the hotel quickly put him into a Jiu jitsu hold. George freed himself and slashed at the clerk, but the blade struck the man's belt buckle saving him, before the man was able to grab George's wrist and other bystanders could help pin him.

After his arrest, guards were on high alert to prevent his su***de, and he tried to plea insanity. He confessed to detectives that after killing his wife, he would head upstairs to murder his children and then jump our their window. The insanity plea did not work, and George was convicted of first degree murder in June of 1942 and sentenced to die in the gas chamber.

Over the next year, a series of appeals for a new trial failed in the court system. On October 8th, 1943, George Honda died in the gas chamber of the State Penitentiary. As they walked to the chamber, a guard asked George if he wanted a cigarette. The response according the guard, "Maybe better not. Maybe I smoke too much. Not good for my health. I've got to watch it." He calmly entered the cell. No family members claimed his body and he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery of Canon City.

Mary was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Fort Lupton, where she was born. Their two children were cared for by friends of the family.

The Columbia Hotel building still stands. I have no reports of its haunting.