Loretto Heights College/Denver-hauntings

[ld_s...@my-dejanews.com]

Ok well I am new here and not to sure of etticutte or formality, but I have a
tale to tell for those who are interested.

In 1981, I was enrolled in a private Liberal-Arts College that had
rececntly {as of 1979,} prided itself on being an non-denominational, co-ed,
liberal arts college(excuse the re-peat please). Anyway, being a person of
no religious affilliation, the first thing I noticed, was that obviously this
had been a Catholic institution at one time. The second thing I noticed, was
this was a very old school. ie the Administration building, which originally
housed the entire school was built in 1890. No big deal, except that it was
built entirely in red sandstone, with a Gothic architecture...tower and all.
Heck..the elevator still had the folding gate, that you had to pull closed.
Let me add to, the elevator often seemed to have a mind of it's own.

The first year I was there, I seemed to often get a weird feeling as the
sun began to set. You know, one of those, I don't know why...but I really
need to get outa here feelings. I also noticed that it was really strong
when I had to go to the 5th floor, for my 6pm Ballet class on MWF.
Sometimes, the feeling during class was so strong, I thought I saw images in
the mirrored wall, but dismissed it as heebee jeebees, and light reflections.

Then one night, after a rehersal had gone particularly late...I had the
dreaded feeling again, but also for some reason a sudden saddness overtook
me. Thinking I was just exhausted, I dismissed it and left the building and
headed for my dormitory. However, something made me turn back and look.
When I did, on the old fire escape that ran down the outside of the building,
there was a Nun; in one of those old "Flying Nun" dresses holding a small boy
by one hand...maybe 5 or 6, and a little girl by the other, maybe 3 or 4.
Thinking it was odd enough, especially out on the fire escape; I turned
completely around. Then all of a sudden, they were completely engulfed in
flames and there were flames bursting out of all the ballet studios windows.
I ran screaming into the cafeteria. A bunch of students, friends {it was a
really small school} came running out along with the Security personal that
the Cafeteria employees had called. Much to my embarressment....nothing was
there...everything was normal. The Security officer approached me and
said..."Oh I see you've seen our Mother Superior." I was like...Wha Huh???
I was told that, she was a ghost of Loretto that many were familiar with, but
not all got to see. Patted me on my shoulder and told me to rest easy.

As the next few years past, I heard many stories of the ghosts of Lorettto
Heights...heck we had a graveyard on campus, where many of the Sisters of
Loretto are buried. I became a member of the student newspaper, and took it
upon myself to find out the relevance of the stories and my own experiance.
Turns out...in 1978 as the school was in the procees of no longer affiliating
with the Catholic church, a group of parapsychologists was invited to research
the paranormal activity that had gotten markedly more active that year. I
listened to their tapes, before writing my series of articles. I tell you, my
small hairs still stand on end thinking about it.

Thanks for letting me share,

ld_siskel:o)

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own

[Elizabeth]

Thanks, Lisa, I enjoyed that very much. In your research, did you dig anything up
(no pun intended) on a fire ever having ocurred there? Was there ever any lore
related to the apparitions of the two children and the nun?

Welcome to AFGS! Make yourself comfy! :) I look forward to reading more of your
stories.

ld_s...@my-dejanews.com wrote:

--
-Elizabeth
Porch AV Geek

[ld_s...@my-dejanews.com]

In article <371C4BBC...@best.com>,

Elizabeth <eli...@best.com> wrote:
> Thanks, Lisa, I enjoyed that very much. In your research, did you dig
anything up
> (no pun intended) on a fire ever having ocurred there? Was there ever any
lore
> related to the apparitions of the two children and the nun?
>
> Welcome to AFGS! Make yourself comfy! :) I look forward to reading more of
your
> stories.

> Dear Elizabeth,

Thanks for your warm response. Yes the story is true. During the
depression of the 1930's, many families were leaving what became known as the
"dust-bowl" due to over-farming; and heading onto California in search of
work. The Sisters of Loretto often took in "orphans"{mainly children of
families that were so destitute that they couldn't properly care for them.}
Many came back to claim them, but sometimes, other couldn't or didn't. As
the story goes, on one particularly cold night the fireplaces were stoked
heavily,{every other room had one, when I was there, but they were all
blocked up when steam piping was added}. Apparently, an ember or such burst
from the fireplace and set alight the wooden floor. The 5th floor, which held
the ballet studios and offices when I was there, was originally one of two
dormitory floors--ie the 4th and 5th. When the realization was had of the
fire, the girls and nuns were able to escape down the main central staircase.
However, the Mother Superior, whose room was at the end of the hall aka what
became the ballet studio, went to get the two new children who had been left
in the ward next to her room. When she went to take them out through the main
area, it was engulfed in flames, so she tried to go out of the fire escape
outside the ward. Appparently, the heat was so intense that the door had
swollen shut, and by the time the rest had gotten out of the building and
tried to climb the escape to help her, she and the two children had been
burned alive, trying to get out. Due to the fact that they had only just
been left, no one knew who the children were, and their paperwork was
destroyed in the fire. There is a graveyard on campus, and the Mother
Superior's tombstone is at the center of it. On each side of her tombstone
are two small markers, with the date of death. There are other stories if
you are interested...please re- post. Sorry this reply was so long...kinda
new at this. Thanks again for listening.:o) Lisa

[Rick Adkins]

damn good story.

Rick A

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for the background on that. Very interesting, and incredibly sad.

Definitely do feel free to share more stories!!! :)

ld_s...@my-dejanews.com wrote:

--
-Elizabeth
Porch AV Geek

"I know I will be loosened from the bonds that hold me fast,
that the chains all hung around me will fall away at last."
-The Waterboys

[teddy]

Yes, please post other stories you have! This was fascinating.

teddy

[Stephen]

Very good story. I am always intrigued when questions are left unanswered.
Thanks for filling in the details for us.

--
Humbly,
Stephen
Porch Alchemist
Looking for ghost hunters in Jax, Fl
http://www.jacksonville.net/~park/spr.htm
"To love one's self is the beginning of a lifelong romance." -- Wilde
ICQ 36102673

[His Angel]

ld_s...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message

<There are other stories if you are interested...please re- post. Sorry
this reply was so long...kinda new at this. Thanks again for listening.:o)
Lisa>

Lisa dont worry about the length hon. And please post some of your other
occurences.

Porch Angel

0 :-)
=============================
The Tiger lives in a world of sunlight and shadow
Always secretive--Never devious
Always a killer--Never a murderer
Solitary--Never alone
For it is an irreplaceable link
In the process and the wholeness of life."
-John Seidensticker
===============================

[LITTLEPJoo]

Wow! Thanks for sharing it! This sounds wild. They told you they were aware of
the ghost but did you ever get any background on the fire incident? Welcome to
the NG!!
PJ

[LITTLEPJoo]

LOL! Duh, you gave the background on the fire in the very next post! Sorry!
I'm still glad you're here Lisa and would love the read more. :)
PJ

[Kali]

Way cool story! I'm glad that at least the security guy was
understanding.

[Evangeline Than]

Excellent story, Lisa, pull up a bean-bag and tell us more!

Have you done any research into why the flames might have appeared?

Evangeline
-------------------
Porch Rainmaker

[DHawk0948]

Wow. I've lived in Denver a long time and I know Loretto Heights well, but I've
not heard this story before. Very interesting.

Doug

[Samantha Perry]

Please tell us more. Funny thing though - I went to a place called Loretto
Convent for a year or so when I was 5... funny old world hey - I've never
heard of the order before or since til your tale came along...

--
sam
Porch Cheerleader and member of the Porch Spanking Squad
s...@removeavspecialist.co.za
www.avspecialist.co.za
~Be yourself, no-one can ever tell you you're doing it wrong - James Leo
Herlihy~
ld_s...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message
<7fhq2c$dsq$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...

[XineWms]

Hi Doug. I'm in Denver, too. New to the list.

Xine

[DHawk0948]

Xine, I haven't been here too long, either.

Doug

[XineWms]

So, Doug. Colorado Free University has some sort of Ghost Walk hickey coming
up. You know about it?

Where in Denver are you? (I'm South)

Xine

[DHawk0948]

Montbello. Far northeast. My wife and I went on the DFU Halloween Ghost Tour
one year. It was interesting, but the guy conducting it was too annoying for
words. He has a little expression -- I've blocked it now -- that he repeats
over and over and over and over until you want to find a rag and gag him. AARG!
Drove us nuts! [However, DFU rocks]

[XineWms]

Hmmm. Maybe I DON'T want to check it out. My husband pointed it out to me the
other day... I thought it sounded fun.

Really I'm most interested in DFU for it's fencing classes. I'm a fencer. OK,
a BAD fencer, but I LOVE doing it. In any competiton, my goal is simple: not
last place.

[DHawk0948]

I took fencing in college but got into trouble for what the instructor
described as "saber fighting." <g> Hey, I just wanted to win and, besides, I
watched a lot of pirate movies when I was a kid.

Doug

[XineWms]

Don't take this as some sort of creepazoid pass or anything. I'm married with
a child and I know you're at least married...

but you, me, the hubby and wife ought to grab a nice cup of coffee some sunday
afternoon.

Excuse me if I am bold, ignore me with impunity if you want (I won't be
insulted). It was just a passing thought.

Xine

[DHawk0948]

That would be nice.

[rmad...@gmail.com]

I lived there for two years and the ghost of the nun played the piano on the fourth floor of pan hall. It was some of the most amazingly beautiful piano playing I have ever heard ... Which is funny because the piano was out of tune and broken, but when she played it sounded perfect.

[D]

On Mon, 13 Jul 2015 14:35:33 -0700 (PDT), rmad...@gmail.com wrote:

>I lived there for two years and the ghost of the nun played the piano on the fourth floor of pan hall. It was some of the most amazingly beautiful piano playing I have ever heard ... Which is funny because the piano was out of tune and broken, but when she played it sounded perfect.

Interesting, it suggests residual since the piano
was in good working order when she used to play it.
Tuning pianos is only easy if you learned to do it
by ear. The middle, C4 octave can be tuned using a
high-precision digital tuner (i.e., center strings
only, tuning unisons by ear), but all other strings
only sound good to the ear after they were tuned by
ear. Having a good quality tuning hammer is a must,
and slightly detuning whatever string you are tuning
before tuning it up to pitch ensures that the tuning
hammer is in fact locked on the pin that you expect
it to be so that you don't overstretch a string lest
you break it, but also because it helps to "set the
pin" as you repeatedly strike the key with authority
while relaxing the tuning hammer. It's an acquired
skill, but like anything with enough practice, you
can get pretty good at it. A really well-tuned piano
sounds "crunchy", so to speak, and rings like that
while playing sustained octaves on every tone from
top to bottom, and bottom to top, unisons and all.

I've lived in the Denver area since 1970, and I've
been to several haunted locations, including an old
mansion (whose name was famous but I don't remember)
for a wedding reception, and that place was straight
up spooky! It was during the summer and there was a
big party out in the large garden area, statuary and
wrought iron work all over the place. That estate was
very definitely haunted and in a most disquieting way.
I'm glad that I live in a nearly un-haunted old cabin.

[legallyblo...@gmail.com]

I work in the building you are discussing. This explains some of the things I hear when I'm here late.

[D]

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 18:12:52 -0800 (PST), legallyblo...@gmail.com wrote:

>I work in the building you are discussing. This explains some of the things I hear when I'm here late.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phipps_Mansion ?

[susanna...@gmail.com]

I went to Loretto Heights in the early 70's and remember touring the upstairs of the old administration building including the tower which is usually closed off. There is a point as you head up the stairs where the walls become black with soot. I was told that a nun did indeed die in a fire there. Never heard about the two children.

[susana...@gmail.com]

I am from Chicago but I attended Loretto Heights College in Denver 1958-1959 and 1959-1960. I never heard of the fire or hauntings, however, when I was there, Conrad Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor came for a visit, gave a nice donation to the college and a Cadillac to the nuns. All the students were out to wave good bye when they left and it was all quite impressive. I am 75 years old now.

[82qui...@gmail.com]

Hey Doug, do you know anything about a cave not too far from Loretta Heights, right off of Lowell and Hampden, northwest corner ? What was it before? It had a manmade fireplace. Very creepy place.

[smmul...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 12:35:54 PM UTC-5, susanna...@gmail.com wrote:
> I went to Loretto Heights in the early 70's and remember touring the upstairs of the old administration building including the tower which is usually closed off. There is a point as you head up the stairs where the walls become black with soot. I was told that a nun did indeed die in a fire there. Never heard about the two children.

I was there in 76-77. I lived in Pan hall and in Walsh hall. I did get to climb the tower in the wee hours of the morning. I was working security and was friends with an off duty police officer who also worked security and had the keys. It was very dark and filled with startled birds which in turn startled me. The view at night was beautiful.

I did encounter a ghost while I was there. I was in Walsh Hall in 77, on the north side on the first floor. It was the first day of the school year. I had a roommate that I had never met and so was trying to appear cool to her. She put a piece of wood in the window saying that she wanted to make sure that no one could break in. There was nothing outside the window but the grave yard where 62 nuns including mother superior was buried. My bed was right up against that window.Sure enough in the middle of the night I hear someone scratching at the window. There were no branches. The room became ice cold. My teeth were chattering and I was shaking. I thought that there was a person trying to get in. I got out of bed and hid on the other side of the room behind my roommates bed trying to decide when I should wake her to get the hell out of there. A translucent white figure very gracefully passed by the window. The room immediately became warm and I was filled with a very peaceful feeling. I went back to bed and fell asleep. I never told my room mate. I did hear later that the campus was haunted by a nun who died in a fire.
I did hear that a year or so before I got there parapsychologists had done there thing and that there were recordings. Someone earlier posted about it. They said that the Catholics gave up the college in 1978 but I think it was 1968.
I so love Loretto Heights and know that there are plans to make major changes. I really hate to see that. Maybe mother superior will have something to say about it.

[da0re...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, April 20, 1999 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, ld_s...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> Ok well I am new here and not to sure of etticutte or formality, but I have a
> tale to tell for those who are interested.
>
> In 1981, I was enrolled in a private Liberal-Arts College that had
> rececntly {as of 1979,} prided itself on being an non-denominational, co-ed,

> liberal arts college(excuse the re-peat please). Anyway, being a person of

Hey I came across this whole post because I am curious and am wonderijng if anyone has any idea about the property that is currently at the dead end road behined aurmn heights ( right next to Lorretto Hieghts , ) back behinede the wooded area ? it is three abandoned white buildings surrounded by a fence with bob wire and not visible but comes up with no address or anything on maps even with coordinhants?

[Rose Watts]

OMG SAME. I lived there for almost two years and yes, I heard the piano being played and saw the ghost. I have said the same thing about how beautiful it sounded even with the piano being so out of tune.

[JACE]

I currently live here, and I am not a believer in supernatural things, But I have had a couple of encounters living here in the lofts, to the point that I had to research this place, I have been awoken in the middle of the night by a white glowing ball looking at me while I slept, the second I opened my eyes and saw it, I screamed and ran to turn the light on, this thing illuminated the room as I ran towards the lamp it must of thought I was chasing it and zoomed always from me, i tried to justify it but the next morning, As I was washed dishes, the lamp to the room slowly turned off and on, I tried ignoring it but it happened again as i looked into the room.

[Mark Prince Molina]

May I have your permission to feature your stories on my horror podcast? It would be a great honor to share your work with my audience. Thank you in advance for your consideration!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f33dsjL9zM&list=UULFMqyv6NpcNHXUQhzkkKiPfw