The haunted Brook Forest Inn
THE BROOK FOREST INN
8136 S. Brook Forest Rd
Evergreen, Colorado 80439
(303) 679-1521
historicbfi@aol.com
www.brookforestinn.com
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Tales abound about ghosts at Brook Forest Inn
By Curt Olson
http://www.brookforestinn.com/ghost.htm
(Note: This link is no longer on the Brook Forest Inn website)
Maybe it’s just hearsay.
This story started with a phone call from a holiday visitor to the Brook Forest Inn who just had to say what
he heard while staying there.
We thought you’d like to hear what others had to say about it.
Besides serving food and providing entertainment, the Bavarian-styled building on Brook Forest Road is
a lightning rod for delicious rumors and ghost stories cooked up over the years. You will have to decide
what is fact and fiction.
Local lore says Nazis frequented the inn in the 1920s and 1930s. Current co-owner Mary Ann Gallagher
has heard all of the stories – and seen the swastikas in the building.
A visitor to the Hiwan Homestead told Sue Ashbaugh that the inn was used by German spies posing as
bicycling tourists who were actually crossing the country making maps of America for Germany.
The unidentified visitor told Ashbaugh he knew this because his family used to spend summers in the
Brook Forest area. The summer the alleged spies showed up, the visitor said his family moved down
closer to Evergreen to get away from it all.
Tall tales?
In one of the closets where the original floor tile still remains, a small reverse swastika lies on the floor
buried under boxes. Gallagher said she heard that was the sign of a cult that Hitler belonged to. “I’ve
even heard indirectly that Hitler may have owned that property at one time,” she said.
Rumors of lost Nazi gold buried on the grounds prompted former owners to rip up the floor looking for it. It
was never found.
Ghosts have been a main sample of the building’s history and Gallagher doesn’t agree or discount the
stories. Credit a close encounter of the almost-kind.
“Things get moved around there,” she said. “You can be the only person working in a room and your
tools get moved around.”
It doesn’t scare her All the stories say the ghosts are friendly. Like the ones that threw the big party.
Gallagher was closing up one evening to go home. She was the last person in the building. As she
prepared to leave she heard sounds of a huge party going on upstairs. Loud noise, laughing and talking.
She didn’t bother to see for herself. She turned out the lights and left the party.
So did another gentleman who was hired by a previous owner to check for ghosts in a room on the third
floor. He entered with all the sophisticated ghost detecting equipment of the day. Shortly after he set it up,
he exited very quickly without looking back or coming back. The company had to send someone else to
pick up the equipment. The employee would not come near the place.
Todd O’Brien temporarily lives in room 27 where “Carl” supposedly hung himself years ago. O’Brien said
he was never scared by the stories until the day the Courier came to visit.
That same day he received a phone call from a Denver photographer who wanted to come & set up the
equipment to catch them.
Page 4A. December 2, 1992. Canyon Courier.
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Brook Forest Inn - "A beautiful mountain Inn with numerous ghost stories. Haunted on the top floor by two
ghosts: Jessica, a chambermaid murdered by her lover, a stable hand, and the stable hand who
committed suicide after killing her. Cold presences are felt going the stairs to the third floor, according to
the staff. The Second floor is said to have been the location that "Carl" murdered his wife after finding out
she had an affair with another man. (The AFSPR and RMPRS investigated and found numerous magnetic
anomalies in the suggested room for the past homicide.) "
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http://www.canyoncourier.com
A haunt in the hills
It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma. The Book Forest Inn has experienced many incarnations during it's
90-year history - idyllic Swiss Chalet, Nazi comrpound, brothel/ upscale speakeasy for Denver's early
prominent settlers, hippie den/free love hangout of the '70s, elegant restaurant/B&B, computer
conference center. The Brook Forest Inn is decidedly Evergreen's most colorful historic landmark.
Separating Brook Forest Inn fact from fiction is no easy task, but owners John and Susan Thayer-Yates
intend to capitalize on the Inn's substantial mystique as they prepare to open the famed Pine Cone
Restaurant once again to the public.
Thayer-Yates has owned the 19-room Inn since 1999, when they purchased and reopened it as a
conference center for computer executives who come from around the globe to spend several days in
intense instruction, staying at the Inn. It was a lucrative business for the Thayer-Yates ... until 9-11, which
forced major slashes among their corporate clients' training budgets. In turn, the Thayer-Yates' began to
consider additional revenue sources to enable them to continue running their computer conference
business, ACREW - Accelerated Certification Real Education Workshops, while allowing the Inn to expand
to serve the general public.
"We have the Inn listed with a realtor, but our preference is to continue to run the business, and
supplement it with a restaurant and B&B," said John Thayer-Yates, who is taking on the restaurant end of
the business while wife Susan runs the computer conference training business.
Thayer-Yates describes himself as an entrepreneur, and he proves it by hiring one of Evergreen's most
renowned chef/managers Geno Accetta, of the Bistro. Accetta brings his restaurant management
expertise to the Inn, and explains that it will be open to the public in stages.
"We know Evergreen is excited and supportive of the reopening of the Inn in any capacity, and we're
starting with breakfast daily at the Pine Cone restaurant, with brunch served until 2 p.m. on Saturdays
and Sundays. We anticipate that by fall we will be open for dinner," Accetta explains.
The Pine Cone Room is as elegant as any you'll find in Evergreen, with the original wood plank ceilings,
walls and floors providing a warm glow to the room, which fronts the cub creek and expansive and
immaculately kept lawns of the Inn. Thayer-Yates' brother Greg has been serving as the Innkeeper,
managing the lawns and facilities. And by the looks of things, he's been doing a fantastic job, as the Inn's
exterior and interior look polished despite some on-going construction necessary to accommodate the
computer training.
Thayer-Yates isn't haunted by the ghost stories and Nazi legend of the Inn. As an entrepreneur, he fully
appreciates the commercial appeal of owing a haunted and jaded historic site.
"When I was running the computer business, we kinda laid low marketing the Inn as haunted or as a Nazi
spy camp," he laughs. "But as a B&B and restaurant, of course those stories hold great appeal, and
there's been tons of stories told by our computer guests who've stayed at the Inn that substantiate all the
tales we've read or been told about the ghosts of the place."
He recounts the story of how a paranormal organization devoted to debunking the mythology of ghosts
sent a team of its scientists to the Inn to prove once and for all that no ghosts actually exist.
They set up their equipment, which measured electromagnetic impulses and air displacement, and
discovered that the Brook Forest Inn, like only two other places in the United States, does indeed have
unexplained paranormal activity, Thayer-Yates enthusiastically recounted. He provides a website for
anyone interested in the scientific explanation (aacsich.org).
In regular layman's folklore, it goes like this ... the Inn is haunted by two separate occurrences in its past:
the strangling in the Monte Carlo Room of a woman by her lover, who then hung himself in the livery
stable; and a little boy ghost who apparently died at the Inn, and who now can be heard either laughing or
racing through the halls at night from midnight-1 a.m.
Tales of Nazi gatherings and buried gold are also part of the Inn's legacy.
The story goes that the Inn was a meeting place for the Nazi's during World War II. Legend has it that a
large sum of gold was buried in the walls of a series of tunnels that catacomb the Inn. It is known that in
the 1930s, the Inn was used by German spies posing as bicycling tourists who were actually touring the
country to make maps of the area for the German war effort.
While under restoration, the new owners found small swastikas engraved on the floor of one of the
closets. Rumor has it that Hitler himself may have indirectly owned the property at one time.
Thayer-Yates says the purported swastikas may actually have been a Swiss symbol, similar in design, but
entirely different in meaning.
"No one can ever really know what went on here 70-80 years ago, but I can guarantee it was never
boring," Thayer-Yates laughs.
For details on the Brook Forest Inn, visit www.brookforestinn.com.
http://www.brookforestinn.com/info.htm
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Two ghosts, Carl the stable hand and Jessica the chambermaid, are well known to many Brook Forest
guests. They frequently can be heard making mischief on the third floor of the Inn, which is closed and
locked. And another ghost, that of a little boy apparently murdered at the Inn, has been heard crying
during the quietest hours.
http://www.brookforestinn.com
Currently, the Inn is open year-round to accommodate anyone during any season. The Brook Forest Inn
is a true mix of history, legend and folklore.
Tales of two ghosts, Carl the stable hand and Jessica the chambermaid are well known to many locals
and guests. The story goes that Carl was romantically linked to Jessica. However, infidelity came between
then and Carl shot Jessica to death. He then hung himself in the livery stable for his crimes. Their spirits
are said to walk the 3rd floor of the Inn. Another ghost, also part of the legends, is a little boy who
apparently died at the Inn. He has been crying during the quietest nighttime hours.
One of the previous owners hired a gentleman to check for ghosts on the 3rd floor. He entered with all the
sophisticated ghost detecting equipment of the day. Shortly after he set up, he exited very quickly without
looking back. The equipment was packed up by the company and the employee would not come near the
Inn or speak of what happened on the 3rd floor.
The new owners have personal experiences of their own to share in these ghostly matters. Ask them if
you dare.
Tales of Nazi gatherings and buried gold come from many old timers. They recall that the Inn was a
meeting place for the Nazi’s during World War II. Legend has it that a large sum of gold was buried in the
walls of a series of tunnels that catacomb the Inn. It is known that in the 1930s, the Inn was used by
German spies posing as bicycling tourists who were actually touring the country to make maps of the area
for the German war effort.
While under restoration, the new owners found small swastikas engraved on the floor of one of the
closets. Rumors have it that Hitler himself may have indirectly owned the property at one time.
Be it myth or fact, we hope you have enjoyed reading some of the past that represents the Brook Forest
Inn. Enjoy your dining experience and thank you for patronage.
Thank you for stopping by.
The team at:
The Brook Forest Inn
We welcome your suggestions and comments, to let us know how we can better serve you.
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New: From the Brook Forest Inn Website
The Possible Haunts at the Inn
FACT:
Original Owners of the Inn the Welz’s had at least one child – a son. Born on June 11, 1911 who passed
away at the Inn on March 25 1922. At ten years old, he died of Pnemonia.
URBAN LEGEND:
The story of a small child who passed away on the third floor of the Inn, possibly of Influenza. He is said to
roam the third floor knocking on doors and running up and down the hallway.
“Carl” the stable hand was rumored to have strangled his significant other, the chamber maid, in the
Monte Carlo. Legend then states that Carl went up the street to the stables and hung himself.
A full apparition of a woman has been seen outside the Monte Carlo on the balcony. Neighbors have
seen people walking on the second floor in the two rooms that face the street as well as walking on the
balcony – when the Inn was empty.
Prior to World War II, the Inn was a meeting place for the Nazi Bund. Stories have been told of how the
dining room carpet covered a large swastika painted on the floor. Rumor also had it that large sum of
Bund gold was buried in or near the Inn at the outbreak of the war. Tales of murder involving Bund
members and of a secret burial in the Inn have also been told.
Previous owner Betty Atencio tells a tale of guests staying on the third floor alone – vacant of any other
guests. One morning when the Inn’s only guests were leaving their room to come down for breakfast –
they were confronted by a man that was very pale, who said nothing, but stood in their way. When the
guests finally came down – and reported the rude stranger – the Inn manager reported that no one else
was in the building. Later that evening when the guests visited the Brook Sports bar downstairs – they
recognized the stranger in a picture hung by the bar. Ironically though – the person in the picture was a
previous employee of the Inn and had been dead for several years.
In a conversation with MH Crain, she remembers that Liberace used to stay at the Brook Forest Inn and
he would come shopping in the village of Evergreen and found unique Christmas Ornaments.
Finally – the oldest tale told is one of Jesse James and his supposed visit to the Brook Forest area in
1876 after the Northfield, Minnesota Bank robbery to bury the loot for safekeeping.
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From the AACSICH website:
http://www.aacsich.org/2nd_floorBFactive3_copy.jpg
www.aacsich.org
Investigation into Claimed Paranormal Events at The Brook Forest Inn
Written by Mark Manning with revisions by Wendy Haver, Bryan Bonner, and Billy Wilburn.
This data was collected in a combined research effort by Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society
(R.M.P.R.S.) and
The American Association for Critical Scientific Investigation into Claimed Hauntings (A.A.C.S.I.C.H.)
Introduction:
Paranormal phenomenon has been reported in many claimed haunts throughout the world. One such
claimed haunt was reported in Evergreen Colorado at the Brook Forest Inn. The American Association for
Critical Scientific Investigation of Claimed Hauntings along with the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research
Society conducted a controlled scientific investigation in order to disprove or prove the claimed
paranormal activity that had been reported by multiple witnesses at the Brook Forest Inn. The following
report consists of claimed I-witness accounts along with scientific data retrieved from selected areas within
the claimed haunt location.
The data was taken in a scientifically controlled environment with objective procedures that will be exacted
in this field report. Moreover, the data contained a coverage area of 75-80 percent of the known
electromagnetic spectrum excluding high end cosmic, alpha to gamma and ultraviolet radiation. The
conclusion from this data suggested an unusual energy manifesting periodically within the areas of the
claimed haunt. However, lack of and insufficient data created several problems with an overall final
conclusion that an unknown anomalous energy was recorded within locations coinciding with the areas
that claimed paranormal activity occurs. More research must be done in order to correctly understand
what is occurring at the Brook Forest Inn.
Claimed Paranormal Activity:
The legend behind the claimed haunting consists of two different stories. The first of these stories was
that a husband (given the name Carl) murdered his wife on the second floor in the Monte Carlo II suite
room as seen below in photo A.
This first story ends with the husband committing suicide. There are two versions of this first story. In
one story he commits suicide in the livery stables behind the Brook Forest by hanging himself. The other
known version states he hung himself in one of the rooms on the second floor. No specific details were
given as to what room this event was claimed to have occurred.
The second story states a small child died on the third floor from influenza and now roams the halls
knocking on doors, playing, etc. Unfortunately no written sources could be located to validate any of
these stories. Witnessed activity was mostly concentrated on the Northern section of the second floor.
Such strange occurrences include maids who have smelt rotting flesh to objects moving around when no
one is looking. Others have seen full apparitions of a woman outside the Monte Carlo II suite (M3) on the
balcony. No activity was reported on the Southern portion of the second floor. The third floor, which was
not examined during our investigation, houses reports of a small child running through the hallway,
knocking on doors, and playing with toiletry items.
Scientific procedure and protocols:
The scientific procedure consisted of three environmentally controlled regions on the Northern section of
the second floor and part of the Southern second floor (not listed on map). One area (M3 or Monte Carlo
Suite II) was selected primarily because it was the area of reported paranormal activity and the two other
locations [M4 (Monte Carlo Suite I) and P1 (Parisian Suite)] were randomly selected.
(Photo 3: Parisian Suite)
However, test sampling and video monitoring occurred more in M3 than any of the other randomly
selected areas. A safe zone or area of no known activity was established in the hallway on the northern
portion of the second floor as seen in the photo below.
(Photo 4: Northern 2nd floor hallway)
The three controlled areas were monitored continually via four video camcorders. Two infrared
camcorders were placed in area M3 and another infrared wireless video camera was positioned in the
doorway of the Monte Carlo suite I (M4). The last video unit a .5 lux low light was positioned in randomly
selected room P1 as shown in photo 3. The selectively control areas were tested for temperature,
electrostatic, ionic, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation stability in order to determine a “normal”
base line energy reading. This “normal” status is what all-active instrumentation test readings were
originally based. On average all, active instrumentation test readings were acquired every two and a half
to three hours during a duration of six hours from 23:00 ( 22/6/02 ) until 5:00 ( 23/6/02 ). Geomagnetic or
electromagnetic storms caused no known effect on the data retrieved during active test measurements. A
low-level manmade milliguass (mG) field was detected in area M4, but the field was constant. In turn
instrumentation could be modified to ignore its presence. Another two extremely weak manmade
milliguass (mG) field were located in M3. These two fields originated from an Ethernet Internet connector
and a telephone. These fields were extremely weak and could only be detected at approximately 10 to 15
centimeters from the devices. The general electromagnetic spectrum map I demonstrated the area in
which both fields were located.
Ionic, Electromagnetic, Electrostatic field radiation, and Temperature variant data:
Room M4 was measured only with a baseline test reading, and a low-level milliguass field of .6 mG was
detected as a constant throughout the entire room. No other unusual, nature or manmade measurements
were found during the baseline instrumentation test readings. Unfortunately no active instrumentation test
readings were acquired in area M4, after the initial baseline instrumentation measurements.
Furthermore, area P1 also had an unusually high and constant milliguass measurement at 2mG. This
usual field was probably caused by a high voltage source on the first floor in the kitchen. No other
electromagnetic fields were found during the baseline instrumentation test reading of P1, however this
data is inconclusive because only one instrumentation measurement test was taken of P1 and no further
testing were done. Room P1 was discarded from the report because of only minuet information that was
gathered during the measurement test readings.
Area M3’s baseline instrumentation reading measured an average of 85.5 ° F with a ± 0-2 geomagnetic
microteslas (mT). Moreover, a normal room air ionization rate was established at 2.0-5.0 ions/cm2. No
measurements above zero were observed in milliguass, electric fields, or radio waves as can be seen in
electromagnetic spectrum map I. Area M3 received a total of three active instrumentation test readings
and each active instrumentation reading included extraordinary significant changes in the electromagnetic
spectrum.
The first active reading taken from 1:45 to 1:55 had considerable non-constant peaks in all
instrumentation readings. Temperature remained constant at 78.1° F, however mT (microtesla) readings
peaked at a mean valve of 4.75 mT with an overall duration of 10 seconds. Milliguass (AC) measurements
also registered a peak of 1 to 1.5 mG with a duration of approximately 10-20 seconds. AC electric charge
peaked at 10-15 Volts/meter along with a high air ionization rate of 17 ion/cm2. Each event lasted around
10-20 seconds and occurred primarily over the middle of the area M3 (over the bed). Interestingly,
enough these unusual fields seemed to move toward the wall and then dissipate. Each event of this first
active instrumentation reading can bee seen on Electromagnetic spectrum map II. No known cause for
this strange anomaly could be established. The second active instrumentation test readings in area M3
also produced an intriguing array of data.
This array began with no activity and then suddenly peaked to 4-5 mT (mean average 4.75).
Accompanying this geomagnetic microtesla spike was a rather high (AC) milliguass peak of 3 mG (both
peaks lasted about 10-20 seconds). In contrast to the prior active instrumentation test reading the air
ionization rate was substantially lower at 2 to 5 ions/cm2, which can be seen on electromagnetic spectrum
map III. The temperature reading remained mostly constant to the prior reading at 77.7 to 78.1° F during
the second active instrumentation test reading. Once again all of this activity occurred around the center
of the room and moved toward the southeastern wall.
No known cause could be found for these strange anomalies either. The third and last active
instrumentation test reading consisted of an immediate peak in mT (microteslas) and had a higher overall
air ionization count of 8 to 10 ions/cm². No AC milliguass (mG) or AC electric radiation fields were
recorded during the last active instrumentation test reading. All four instrumentation test reading (one
baseline and three active) can be seen below in diagram 1.1 along with times of recorded data.
(DIAGRAM 1.1: time and strength of recorded spectrum data. The diagram does not accurately reflect the
duration time of each peak.)
All active instrumentation test readings showed non-constant energies that would randomly appear in the
center of M3 and dissipate as they moved toward the southeastern corner of the room. The infrared video
footage and audio sound equipment recorded nothing unusual in M3 or any of the rooms that were
monitored.
Discussions and Conclusions from Scientific Data on Claimed Haunt:
The immediate data suggests the detection of an unknown energy anomaly in the area of M3 where
several witnesses had reported paranormal activity, and according to the legend the traumatic events of a
“Carl’s” wife’s murder occurred. All electrostatic, ionic, and other electromagnetic radiation data gather
suggests some type of randomly appearing and non-constant energy in room M3. The odd behavior of
this phenomenon to appear as non-constant energy type and the energies relative movement suggests
something other than a geomagnetic anomaly.
However, the Brook Forest Inn’s structure is enclosed in quartzite and a type of piezoelectric effect could
be to blame for the unusual fields (Klien, 1999).
If this were true then the randomly selected rooms would have the same occurrence of anomalies.
Unfortunately only baseline tests were taken of the randomly selected rooms and until more research is
conducted no answer will be known. No high voltage air conditioning or heating units were located in the
area under or above M3, however the presence of several computers on the first floor may explain the
constant peak in AC milliguass found in area M4.
No peak from any constant source was recorded in area M3 suggesting the unusual behavior of the
recorded data. Unfortunately the data-sampling rate (two and half to three hours) and random active
instrumentation test reading, which was lacking, created several problems with a direct conclusion. With
the data obtained thus far there is something unusual (whether manmade, nature, or supernatural)
occurring at the Brook Forest Inn.
With better data retrieval, a direct conclusion may be met. Unfortunately, this report is lacking in both and
will remains inconclusive until that time.