Haunted Trinidad “If you had a nickel for every ghost…”

by Scott Mastro
TRINIDAD — From Cokedale’s Mining Museum to the Tarabino Inn on 2nd, to the Mail Store on Cedar, the Savoy Hotel on Commercial, and to Fabilis Wings and A.R. Mitchell on Main, ghosts are crawling out of the woodwork…literally.
Cokedale’s Mining Museum offers ‘whisperings from the next room.’ Footsteps and clerks stocking shelves can be heard in the grand hall. It was the company store.
Some of the ghosts make house calls. At the Ruger residence, Rosie Ruger says, “We were painting before we moved in, and there was a knock at the door. No one was there. What did we do? We went outside for a cigarette.”
After they moved in, Max Ruger says, “I was woken by a hand on my leg. Thinking it was the dog, I sat up. He was sitting at the foot of the bed, looking at me bug-eyed.” Jay Ruger says, “I was in the kitchen, alone at home. Somebody walked through the house.”
Museum co-curator Glenda McMaster says, “It was the tall, dark man in the black hat. He hangs out in the post office when not visiting.” Museum co-curator Michael McMaster says, “I’ve seen the Blurry Girl at the top of the stairs, probably a store clerk going for something in the back room.”
During museum renovations Patty Ruger saw “… a woman fly the length of the big room, hair pulled back, in a flowing gown. At the front door, she vanished. Maybe she disliked the dust.”
At Carpio’s Cove near Trinidad Lake, a group of whispering men can be heard. Most say they’re Native Americans who fished and hunted there.
The Tarabino Inn’s co-owner Teresa Vila says, “People smell cigar smoke in the library, hear a little girl knocking, and see an elderly woman. I’ve smelled the smoke and seen the shadow of a man walking.” She says, “I’m a skeptic,” then goes on to say, “Batteries in remotes drain, and some see a dog on the first floor. On the second floor a woman taps people on the shoulder and former owner Barney Tarabino haunts the Walnut Suite. The oven’s come on, off, on, and off again.”
The inn’s been investigated by Haunted Corazon. On the third floor landing psychic Carol Blatnick-Barros told one spirit, “Don’t push me down the stairs.”
At Fabilis Wings, employee Derek Martinez says, “I hear footsteps and whispers upstairs. Everybody hears them, especially at night.” Javy Martinez says, “It’s 110 degrees in the kitchen and I’ve felt a cool breeze on my neck, like a hand brushing by it.” Most employees say, “In the basement it feels like someone is watching you.”
Derek says, “Some Boy Scouts went to use the bathroom down there. They came up and said, ‘Who’s the old man in the basement?'” Employee Chase Cortez says, “I’m here alone and hear footsteps.”
Upstairs in the former Columbian Hotel, Carol Blatnick-Barros commented there were a lot of spirits. They heard a whispered response. “Yes, there are 300.”
At the Mail Store, co-owner Ron Lagerman says, “When we were cleaning to open, Tammy and I were in the basement. We heard footsteps up here and the door opening. Former employee, Jim Bucchola turns on lights, knocks things over, opens doors. It doesn’t bother us.”
At the Savoy Hotel, Madam Camille and a little girl playing in the hall can be seen and heard.
The A.R. Mitchell hosts a gentleman on the stairs, a little girl on the mezzanine, and a woman named Dottie.
Looking for ghosts? They’re crawling out of the woodwork…literally.
Skeptical?  Go see for yourself:
Cokedale Mining Museum – 719-846-7438 – cokedalemuseum@gmail.com
Tarabino Inn – 719-846-2115 – host@tarabinoinn.com – 310 E 2nd
Fabilis Wings – 719-846-7298 – 103 W Main St
A.R. Mitchell Museum – 719-846-4224 – 150 East Main St.
The Mail Store – 719-845-1300 – 123 Cedar St
Savoy Hotel – 303-388-3231 – 311 N Commercial St
Haunted Corazon – 719-680-4721 – hauntedcorazon@hotmail.com