Cover Story — Gilpin ghosts are protective old souls

By Linda Jones

Old buildings keep their old ghosts through the centuries; at least in Central City and Black Hawk they do. Gilpin ghosts are a friendly lot, usually staying with a building to protect it, and they do that with great zeal. Take Billy Hamilton, for instance.

Teller House and Billy
Billy worked at the Teller House for years in the 20th century and he grew to love the beautiful old hotel. In life he always protected the stately hostelry and its guests, and after his death he stayed in the Teller House Bar to watch over the place. One night a man who’d already had several drinks too many came in with his wife. The wife simply asked her husband a question and he started yelling at her. Billy’s ghost drifted over to their direction, of course, because nobody treated a lady disrespectfully in front of Billy Hamilton. When the man started hitting his wife, that crossed Billy’s line and he started beating him with his cane. The man couldn’t see what was hitting him and raising welts on him and that made him even madder. He pulled back his fist to give his wife a wallop, and Billy tripped him with his cane. The jerk went down like a load of bricks, and when he managed to get upright, Billy cane-whipped him until he ran out the front door.

Raynolds Court building

Johnny Z’s Casino occupies the former Raynolds Court building, one of Central’s oldest (1863). Raynolds Court was a godsend after the great Fire of 1874 when almost all the business blocks in the city were burned to the ground. The owners of Raynolds Court generously made space for all the burned-out merchants to display whatever stock they managed to save and thus continue to conduct business. In a way, this building was the first “mini mall” in the town.

In the 1970s a family of four – mother, father and two children – moved into Raynolds Court. They opened the one-story building next door as a Christmas shop and put an antique store on the lower floor of Raynolds Court. The second floor was being remodeled for their living quarters. No workman stayed long because of all the shenanigans played on them; tools would disappear and supplies were moved while they were out to lunch. When the latest workman told the mother he was quitting, she put her foot down.

“Here’s money for lunch and a beer. Go down to the Toll Gate and come back in an hour. I’m getting to the bottom of this.”

He left. She went upstairs and confronted the over-protective ghost: “Look here! I know you love this building and you’re only protecting it, but you don’t understand. We love it just as much. We sunk our life savings into buying this property and we’re staying. We’re only remodeling because this is our home now and we’re bringing those kids up right here. Now you put those tools back and quit this nonsense. We’ll help you guard this lovely old building.” She left. When the workman came back, she told him to go upstairs and he’d find his tools where he left them. He protested, “Nah, they were missing when I went to lunch.” She insisted and went with him. The tools were there. The workman stayed and the family stayed for years until Central Palace purchased the property.

Wild Card

Black Hawk has its share of ghosts too. The building housing the Wild Card was known as the place where the Nabisco Cracker Company was started. The Cracker Factory was home to the Heppbergers, who raised six children in it and owned it for many, many years – into the 1960s. When it was remodeled to house a casino, the crews were often spooked by the ghost of Uncle John Heppberger. He was murdered there in the 1880s, and his killer only served 18 months, which irritated Uncle John. His ghost has been seen by several witnesses, including the first bartender at the Cracker Factory casino who saw him walk across the room in front of the elevator, which could be seen through him, and the ghost also called the security guards sometimes on their radios.

Bronco Billy’s

In Bronco Billy’s Casino, now part of Bullwhackers, an extremely odd event occurred. The ghost in that old building decided to try these new machines called slots. In those early days of gambling, the casinos were closed between 2 – 8 a.m.; the only people in them at that time were the counters and cleaners. About 4 a.m. the employees there heard the sounds of a jackpot on a machine in the closed (already counted) area. They rushed to the slot with the lights and noises and saw a matching row of three symbols. Next they checked the security tape, which was still running, and they could clearly see the arm being pulled down and the symbols lining up, but there was no one there! Who says old ghosts can’t learn new tricks?

Central City Opera House
One of the more well-known landmarks in Central City is the Central City Opera House. Here, some of Colorado’s finest performers set to the stage, and some have apparently stayed on to perform long after they were gone.

Built in 1878, the national historic Opera House fell into disrepair shortly after its opening because of the mines in town. In 1932, a volunteer effort to restore the Opera House came to fruition and the 550-seat continues to entertain each year.

Among one of the entertainers who decided to stay awhile was Mike Dougherty, a miner turned stage performer who was a favorite in 1865. The miner/entertainer drank himself to death and his love of the stage has caused him to stick around.

Many people have told stories about going back stage and being nearly overwhelmed with the strong odor of alcohol. Some even reported a heavy push on the shoulder or feeling their hair being touched from behind. Others have seen flickering orbs of light floating across the dark stage and then disappearing in the wings. Footsteps have also been heard in the balcony, who some believe were those of a departed female patron. Sporadic cold spots have also been felt that move from one side of the stage to the other.

Nearly all of these incidences have been reported when the theater is dark and during non-performance times.