of Governor James Peabody. It was also the home for William Riddick Whitehead and his family. Dr. William Riddick Whitehead served as a battlefield surgeon. He had performed surgery in the blood soaked Russian Crimean and US Civil Wars.
The Crimean War is known as one of the dirtiest and deadliest wars in modern world history due to atrocious medical treatment aggravated by a sweeping cholera epidemic. The number of battlefield soldiers dying while in Whitehead's medical care mounted during the American Civil War. Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall Jackson" was among one of those who died undergoing Whitehead's surgical knife. Some people believe that the traumatized spirits of Whitehead's battlefield patients followed him to Denver from New York and haunt this mansion.
Many years later, the building was converted into a boarding house. In the 1980's, several restaurants and bars occupied the mansion.
In the 1990's the mansion was purchased by Richard R. Arber Associates, an engineering firm which renovated the structure into office spaces. Then Maber properties, LLC, acquired the Peabody Whitehead Mansion through a tax deferred real estate exchange.
In 2010, when I went to visit this building and attend the ghost tour, this building was vacant.
Paranormal Phenomenon
In the 1970's, restaurants such as the Carriage Inn, Bentley's, La Scala, the Bombay Club, the BBC, Albies, and Senor Peabody's occupied the mansion. There were many reports of ghostly visitations at this time.
Restaurant owners were perplexed by trays mysteriously tipping over as well as dishes and glassware suddenly breaking.
Guests and employees reported seeing knives, forks, pots, and pans flying around the kitchen and dining areas. They also heard the ringing of disconnected servant's bells and phones, the occasional unexpected flashing of the disco lights.
A restaurant owner called an electrician to fix a constant flickering chandelier. The electrician said he could not do anything because the chandelier wasn't hooked up to any electrical wiring.
In 1983, on Halloween night, an entrepreneur opened a bar named "Spirits." That business was forced to close within the year. During the time that the bar was open, a ghost poured a bottle of beer down the shirt of a cook who had disparaged homosexuals.
In the 1970's, owners brought in psychics, parapsychologists and camera crews to discover more about the spirits.
One of the investigative teams reported that a young woman named Eloise, or Ella haunted the second floor. They suggested that she may have died after being abandoned by her fiance. Some people have seen her image hovering in the mirrors. A few men have also reported glimpsing her in the men's restroom.
There are rumors that the basement contains a restless spirit including that of a waitress who hung herself with her apron from the basement's overhead pipes one night after closing.
Another spirit that occupies the first floor women's bathroom is a spirit of older gentlemen. He is accompanied by a nauseating, strong cherry scented pipe tobacco odor. The smell comes and goes.
Psychics that have visited this site have said that the spirits of the Peabody Mansion are benevolent. The ghosts are grateful for the thoughtful care during the home's restoration.
My Investigation
As I first approached this mansion I felt a dark, foreboding feeling as I walked closer to the house. I sensed a menacing presence here and I kept looking behind and down the long walkway on the side of the house.
It was dark and cold that night but the sky was very clear. I remember that I was impressed with the architecture of the building. It is a brick house with a pitched roof. It reminded me of the many houses that I photographed in Salem, Massachusetts. This was similar looking to the "Witch House" and the "House of Seven Gables."
It is only a three story house, but it looked a lot taller than that. I zoomed in with my 35mm camera, concentrating on the windows of the third floor. I was able to zoom in on the walkway on the left side of the house. This is the area that I felt uncomfortable and thought it was spooky.
After reviewing the picture, I discovered that I captured orbs in the front of the building and around the side near the creepy walkway.
Ghost Adventures Investigation
The popular ghost hunting team featured on the reality series "Ghost
Adventures" investigated the Peabody Mansion in 2012. They brought UFC Fighter Brendan Schaub to investigate with them. The crew gets some pretty compelling evidence such as EVPs of a woman.
The crew interviewed a few people before their nighttime lockdown of the Peabody Mansion. The first person they interviewed was Tim Schultz, who was a lottery winner. He used his money to start a production company. While working at the Peabody Mansion, he witnessed a man being pushed up high against a wall by an unseen force. He also claims that people have experienced being overcome by a spirit.
Next they interviewed Nicole Zotti, an eyewitness who had a strange experience while she was on a tour of the mansion. She said that her fingers tingled in a little alleyway outside the mansion. The tour guide told her that in the 1970's there was rumored to have been an abduction of a woman who was then raped and killed by construction workers that were remolding the mansion. The body was believed to have been buried in the basement underneath the street and alleyway.
Lastly, the crew interviewed a professor at the University of Colorado. He says the mansion has been many restaurants but they have always failed to succeed.
Since the Peabody Mansion was previously a restaurant the crew decides to hire a couple of waiters to conduct an experiment.
They set up equipment and hidden cameras on the hired staff to see if they have any experiences in the kitchen and in the other room where the crew get served a three course meal.
Zak feels something touch his head and reacts to it. After reviewing the footage, one of the night vision static cameras show a strange anomaly shooting down into Zak's head, and then Zak reacts.
Zak, Nick, and Aaron hear a disembodied voice of a female saying "waitress." The waitress in the other room says she feels eerie and that her hands are solid red for some unexplainable reason.
The team decides to go downstairs and investigate. They all descend to the basement and use SB-7 radio device that scans through frequencies. Spirits are able to communicate through this device with their voices in the white noise mode. This is the area where it is rumored that a lady was buried after being raped and murdered by construction workers in the 1970's.
They ask several questions and get many EVP's. Most of them are direct responses to the questions asked. One says a woman was raped, that it is violent there, and the last one says "street" Zak walks over to the area where straight above them is where the street would be located. He shines the flashlight on the area and the SB-7 device says "found it."
The voice also says someone is scared. They ask who and the EVP says "Brendan." Brendan informs the guys that something touched his ankle. He is left alone to investigate and he claims he hears footsteps.
Upstairs on the third floor, Nick feels cool wind blow on his face. The crew heads back down to
