Colorado is calling all ghost hunters this month as a plethora of events take place to celebrate Halloween. From eerie ghost towns offering a peek into Colorado's past to a famous hotel that inspired a cult thriller; visitors can be wowed by the state's spooky happenings.

Colorado's Ghost Towns

Alta: The centre of mining activity in the Alta-Gold King area until the 1940s, Alta is situated 10 miles from the popular western ski town of Telluride. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the site includes several original buildings, including cabins, a boarding house and outhouse buildings – all of which look spectacularly eerie and isolated amid the high-alpine backdrop.

Independence: Close to 11,000 feet on Independence Pass sits the ghost town of Independence. A steep, nail-biting passage for travellers between Leadville and Aspen in the 1800s, the Aspen Historical Society today provides tours of the short-lived town that was hurriedly deserted by miners on wooden skis made from their own cabins in 1899.

St. Elmo & Tin Cup: Just west of Buena Vista, St. Elmo is one of Colorado's best-preserved ghost towns. With wooden storefronts and a dusty main street, it looks like something straight out of a John Wayne movie. Nearby, Tin Cup was one of Colorado's rowdier towns in which sheriffs didn't last very long… and echoes of their sorry fates linger at the town cemetery.

Tomboy: Tomboy once had over 900 residents sending its ore down to Pandora, near Telluride. The town closed in 1927 when the ore at Tomboy mine ran out, leaving many mining remnants and former homes. Local companies offer jeep tours which pass through 'Social Tunnel', where single women met their Tomboy miners for 'social' time.

Halloween Events

Colorado Springs: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will host Boo at the Zoo from 22nd – 23rd October and 29th – 30th October. The event includes creepy crawly animal demonstrations, more than 20 trick or treat stations and a 'Boo After Dark' event over the latter weekend for a night-time trick or treat experience in the company of the zoo's inhabitants. Activities are free with zoo admission.

Denver: The Asylum Haunted House greets visitors with three attractions – Post Mortem, the escape; Primitive Fear Anarchy; and Ridgegate, the deranged until 31st October.  In Post Mortem, the escape the body of a resident lost to disease and deemed untreatable on an autopsy table is soon revealed to be a trap. Working in teams of friends and strangers, guests must work together to escape the chamber and avoid becoming the next victim to be laid on the autopsy table. During Ridgegate, the deranged visitors will be in for a scare as characters from the mental institution come to life. Tickets are available now from $29.99. In addition, the Colorado Railroad Museum will run a Trick or Treat Train on 30th October hosted by conductors and engineers in full costume, where passengers can fill their treat bags and tickle their funny bones at a number of special stops, including the Olde Railroaders silly graveyard. Admission includes unlimited rides; adults $15, children $5.

Estes Park: The Stanley Hotel served as inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining and has long been considered one of the most haunted buildings in the world. The historic hotel will be hosting its biggest Halloween line-up ever with Twin Terror Weekends on 21st – 22nd and 28th – 29th October to welcome in the Halloween season. The weekends will include a Redrum Mystery Dinner with a theatrical presentation of murder and suspense; The Shining Ball; Boo Bash at The Concert Hall and the Halloween Masquerade Party. Tickets are available online.

Loveland: The USA's sweetheart city will take a turn for the scary as Creepy Walk in the Woods takes place on 21st – 22nd and 28th – 29th October. Just west of Loveland at the base of Devil's Backbone, Creepy Walk in the Woods isn't the average haunted house or corn maze – this once sacred land, now cursed with creatures so haunting they could never be kept indoors, awaits brave visitors in an unguided exploration into the savage woods. Admission is $20 per person with gates opening at 6pm.

Colorado is a year-round destination offering unparalleled adventure and recreational activities, an abundant arts scene, Western heritage, distinctive cuisine and 25 renowned ski resort areas. The state's scenic landscape boasts natural hot springs, the headwaters of four major rivers, numerous peaceful lakes and reservoirs, 11 national parks and monuments and 58 mountain peaks that top 14,000 feet, known as 'Fourteeners'.

Further information can be found at www.colorado.com

Consumer social media handles www.facebook.com/coloradoukireland & www.twitter.com/coloradoukeire

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