Things more frightening than being single ... or in love

As Halloween approaches, many of us wonder what costume to wear this year, and whose party is going to be the best. But how often do we really stop to think about where Halloween came from? Or, more importantly, as we party on Halloween night who are we partying with, our friends, or the neighborhood ghosts?

Halloween started over 2,000 years ago. It was not a festival to see who could get dressed up, yet wear the least amount of clothes; it was a festival to honor the dead.

People would not dress as sassy schoolgirls or wear masks that looked like good ol' George W.; rather, they would wear the skins and heads of animals.

It was believed that this was the night the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

But there is no such thing as ghosts ... or is there?

I decided to find out on my own. I am tough to persuade without cold hard facts. And let it be known to all: I am convinced.

I started my search by looking up "ghosts" on the Internet. Were there any haunted spots right here in Denver? I almost fell off my chair when, at the top of the list (www.geocities.com), I saw our own student center-the Tivoli!

Before the Tivoli was converted to the student center it now is, it was a brewery. Since being converted into the Tivoli Student Union, there have been strange incidences reported, such as noises from the vents on the third floor sounding as if there was an elegant party going on, and strange whispers being heard when alone in the bathrooms. According to an issue of The Metropolitan, from Oct. 30, 1998, Auraria historian Dennis Bryan tells a story of a little girl in a formal dress who is often seen upstairs in the multicultural lounge. But, I was not yet convinced of the reality behind ghosts.

Next on the ghost filled list was the well-known Cheesman Park, formerly known as City Cemetery, and now simply a beautiful park full of gardens ... and ghosts?

According to Denver native Phil Goodstein it is. Goodstein runs "The Ghosts of Cheesman Park" tour every year as Halloween approaches, and has heard stories that are more than convincing.

I began to read the history of Cheesman Park, and the scandals that had taken place there. Graves had been dug up to be reburied in a new cemetery. The Capitol Hill neighborhood was overflowing with reports of confused and lost ghosts knocking on people's doors and windows. This was the talk of Denver until it got so out of control that reconstruction of the cemetery was brought to a halt by the mayor.

The haunting continued and go on even today. According to neighbors in the area, moaning is often heard by current Capitol Hill residents. It is said that strange shadows and misty figures are often seen floating around the area.

There are still an estimated 2,000 bodies under the park's gardens.

Goodstein tells of a legend that, at midnight during a total eclipse of a blue moon you can stand on the steps of the pavilion and, rather than seeing Cheesman Park lying in front of you, you will see a grave-filled cemetery.

The last place I decided to research was a bar in my neighborhood, The High Street Speakeasy. Some friends and I decided to go to The Speakeasy for some drinks. At closing time we were invited to stay, and stay we did. Until 5 a.m.

The owner of the bar, John Wallace, led me on a tour of the old brothel, including the 16 rooms upstairs-one with blood-soaked wallpaper and the basement where he says the ghost of a man is occasionally seen. The basement was the only spot in the bar where he seemed a little tense to take me. While down there, I understood why, as chills exuded through my spine. But to tell you the truth, I was shaking during the whole 3 a.m. tour.

There have been reports at the Speakeasy of doors slamming and women screaming; but nobody is ever there. It is supposed that many deaths happened there, and the angry ghosts linger. Ghost hunters have spent the night there, and some of the things they have reported are astonishing. A reporter for Westword, John la Briola, spent a night there as well. He reported sounds on his audiotape such as "a mocking female laugh ... and a low ominous growling." Some of the things that I saw, heard and felt were just as scary-and I have yet to return to this bar.