History of Cheesman Park
In the late 1800s, the area now known as Cheesman Park was originally the Prospect Hill Cemetery. However, by 1890, the city of Denver decided to convert the cemetery into a park.
The city gave families 90 days to remove the remains of their loved ones. Those that remained were supposed to be moved to other cemeteries. The city contracted a man named E.P. McGovern to handle the removal and transfer of the bodies.
This is where things took a dark turn. McGovern discovered he could make more money by dismembering the bodies and using child-sized coffins instead of adult ones. He would hack up the remains, sometimes using as many as three coffins for a single body, as he was paid by the coffin.
When this gruesome practice was discovered, McGovern's contract was terminated. However, by then, the damage was done. Many bodies were left in a horrific state - partially removed, dismembered, or simply left behind.
The conversion to a park continued, but it's estimated that as many as 2,000 bodies may still remain buried beneath Cheesman Park today. This has led to numerous ghost stories and reports of paranormal activity in the area.
Visitors and locals have reported seeing shadowy figures, hearing whispers and unexplained noises, and feeling sudden cold spots or an unexplained sense of unease. Some claim to have seen apparitions of confused-looking people in old-fashioned clothing, possibly the spirits of those whose final resting place was so callously disturbed.
The horrific treatment of the dead and the lingering presence of forgotten bodies have cemented Cheesman Park's reputation as one of Denver's most haunted locations, with its dark history serving as the inspiration for various horror stories and films.
