Fort Collins is a Very Haunted City [PHOTOS, INTERVIEW]

How do I put this delicately? There are ghosts all over Fort Collins and the Northern Colorado area! It's true. Any location with as much history as Fort Collins is bound to have some spectres of souls past who insist on sticking around. You have the ones whose life concluded with sticky and unfortunate situations, and then you have some of the 'friendly' ghost types that just loved the area and don't seem to want to leave it.

One example of the friendly, or at least benevolent, ghost is what some

The Calaboose, a former jail cell, where James Howe was snatched before his lynching in 1888. Photo by Paul Wozniak

believe to be the spirit of Ed Trimble. Back in the day he funded and worked in the Opera Galleria, and after he finished his day's or night's work, he'd walk through the alley next to the Town Pump, by Trimble Court, and through Old Town Square. His footsteps in that alley have been reported on late, lonely nights after 1 or 2am.

Many of your favorite current 'haunts' probably have a much different history than you might imagine. There was a mausoleum and autopsy room below a spot with legendary magaritas. There is thought to be an actual portal, a doorway to another dimension or realm below a favorite ice cream spot. Fort Collins has it's share of things that go bump in the night.

I spoke with Lori Juszak, owner of Fort Collins Tours about a few of the most famous and most frightening ghost stories in Fort Collins.

Its [Fort Collins] one of the more haunted places I have ever located...We did not set out to be a Ghost Tour, we set out to be a historical walking tour, but everywhere I went to ask about the history of the buildings and the history of the people in the area, the business and building owners would say 'And did you know our place is haunted?' When we reached about 30 places we [realized] this was a hotbed of hauntings and we started the Ghost Tours.