Move over, Stanley: This Colorado casino named one of America’s most haunted

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park gets most of the attention when people talk about Colorado ghosts, thanks to Room 217 and a certain Stephen King novel. But about 40 miles west of Denver, a Black Hawk casino has a spooky reputation of its own. A new report from online casino BetUS has revealed the most haunted gaming destinations in the U.S. based on the number of ghost sightings, Google reviews, and more, and The Gilpin Hotel Casino was on the list.

The casino’s famous resident is Lucille, often called Lucille Malone. Local legend says she lived at the Gilpin in the early 1900s and died heartbroken after learning that the man she loved had been killed in a mining accident. More than a century later, visitors and staff still say they see a woman on the second floor and hear her moving around the building. The building opened as a hotel during Black Hawk’s mining days, long before anyone was playing slots there.

The Gilpin also has company. Colorado’s old mining towns have plenty of ghost stories. In Cripple Creek, people say a ghost named Maggie, who smells like roses, hangs around the Colorado Grande Casino and sometimes plays the slots. Even Estes Park has a second option: the Baldpate Inn, just down the road from the Stanley, reportedly has spirits in its Key Room. Some guests also say their drinks have slid off the table on their own.

If you want to see for yourself, the Gilpin is at 111 Main St. in Black Hawk. It’s open around the clock, and you have to be 21 to go in. There are no guarantees on the ghost front. If you don’t spot Lucille, you can at least tell everyone the slot machines were the scariest thing you saw.