Denver's Top Haunts For Halloween

In its 150 year history, Denver has racked up a storied past, and today boasts some ghoulish and ghostly sites and stories, all around town. So if you're looking for a Halloween getaway, consider this Rocky Mountain retreat!

Stay in the famously haunted hotels:

•Brown Palace Hotel: For the spirited, try to get some sleep in room 904 of Denver's historic masterpiece. That's where the ghost of Mrs. Louise Crawford Hill, a lovesick socialite, allegedly still resides. Or join the hotel's historian on a hotel tour and learn about The Brown's most hair-raising hauntings, mysterious sightings and disturbances from its 116year past. From October 1-31, the hotel is offering free 45-minute tours each Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 1 PM. Reservations required - details online.

•Oxford Hotel: The luxury boutique, which opened in 1891, caters to travelers and wraiths alike. Several rooms claim haunted pasts including room 320, the favorite of a long-deceased adulterous wife who still visits the hotel's guests. Overnight - if you dare!

And celebrate Denver's spooky side all month long:

•Thousands of pumpkins will be ripe for the picking from the Denver Botanic Garden at Chatfield's pumpkin patch during Pumpkin Fest!

•Everyone will love Chatfield's incredible Corn Maze, one of the most popular mazes in the nation. Boasting 12-foot cornstalks, this year's maze design highlights an intricate picture of the globe in honor of the Botanic Gardens' sustainability efforts. For teenagers and adults, there's a winding haunted trail and haunted house sure to send chills down every spine.

•Colorado Horse Park, gets in the Halloween spirit with their fun fall festival, where ghouls and goblins of all ages are welcome to visit the trick-or-treat barn, pumpkin patch, and petting zoo. (October 18, 2008)

•Discover "spooktacular" Halloween fun at the Denver Zoo. This year's Boo at the Zoo theme encourages children to be a hero for the planet and dress up as their favorite superhero while they learn about several ways they can help the environment. Trick-or-treaters visiting more than 30 trick-or-treat stations can enjoy close encounters with the creepy kind, viewing vampire bats, reptiles, spiders and Denver Zoo's other creatures. Activities are free with admission. (October 25 - October 26, 2008, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m)

•Things get spooky around this time of year - especially at Denver's famed downtown Elitch Gardens Theme Park. This enormous fun zone transforms from theme park to "scream" park all month long for Fright Fest. From haunted houses to a free Trick-or-Treat Trail, there's something for the whole family to enjoy. (October 3 - November 1)

•Take a stroll down Trick-or-Treat Street at Children's Museum of Denver! Go trick-or-treating through eleven candy houses on the Museum's plaza. The Halloween excitement continues with monastery art projects, a monster carnival and unique theatre performances. (October 29 - October 31, 2008, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.)