The Oxford Hotel

The Oxford Hotel opened its doors on October 3, 1891, just as Denver was transforming from a rough frontier town into a sophisticated city. Built by prominent architects Frank Edbrooke and his brother, the Oxford was designed to be Denver's most luxurious hotel, catering to wealthy travelers arriving by train at nearby Union Station.

When the Oxford opened, it represented the height of Victorian luxury. The hotel featured Denver's first elevator, electric lights throughout, and steam heat in every room - modern marvels in 1891. Each room had its own fireplace. The lobby featured imported marble and ornate woodwork. A grand staircase led to the upper floors where the finest rooms commanded views of the growing city and the Rocky Mountains beyond.

The Oxford quickly became the hotel of choice for wealthy visitors. Mining magnates who had struck it rich in Colorado's silver and gold fields stayed at the Oxford when conducting business in Denver. Railroad executives, cattle barons, and Eastern investors made the Oxford their Denver headquarters. When the National Western Stock Show came to Denver, the Oxford filled with ranchers and livestock dealers from across the West.

Presidents and celebrities stayed at the Oxford. Louis Armstrong performed in the hotel's lounge. The hotel's Cruise Room bar, added during Prohibition's repeal in 1933, became one of Denver's most famous watering holes, with its art deco design modeled after lounges on the ocean liner Queen Mary.

The Oxford's genteel reputation hides a dark history of violence and tragedy, much of it kept quiet by management over the decades to protect the hotel's image. But whispers of scandal have always surrounded the hotel, particularly regarding Room 320.

According to hotel lore and paranormal researchers, a woman was murdered in Room 320 sometime in the late 1890s or early 1900s, killed by her lover in a fit of jealous rage. The exact details have been obscured by time and the hotel's reluctance to discuss the incident, but the story that has survived tells of a crime of passion - a wealthy married man who kept a mistress in Room 320, visiting her discreetly when he was in Denver on business.

When he discovered she had been seeing other men during his absences, he flew into a rage and strangled her. Whether he was ever prosecuted for the crime is unclear - wealthy men in turn-of-the-century Denver could often escape consequences that would befall ordinary citizens. What is clear is that the woman's spirit remained in the room where she died, her own rage and sense of injustice apparently keeping her bound to this world.

Other stories speak of suicides in the hotel - guests who checked in alone and were found dead by maids the next morning. The reasons varied: financial ruin, broken relationships, despair at illness or tragedy. The Oxford, like most grand hotels of its era, has likely seen dozens of deaths over its 130-year history.

The identity of the bearded apparition that haunts the women's restrooms is less clear. Some believe he may have been a hotel guest from the early 1900s who had a reputation for inappropriate behavior toward female guests - a wealthy man whose status protected him from consequences, at least in life.

Others speculate he may have been a hotel employee - perhaps an engineer or maintenance man who used his access to the building's hidden spaces to spy on female guests. Victorian-era hotels like the Oxford had extensive systems of service corridors, dumbwaiters, and ventilation shafts that someone familiar with the building could use to move unseen.

Whoever he was in life, in death he continues his voyeuristic obsession, appearing suddenly in mirrors when women are alone and vulnerable, his bearded face staring with an intensity that makes witnesses feel violated even after he vanishes.

The Oxford Hotel's paranormal activity is among the most violent and aggressive in Denver. Unlike many haunted hotels where spirits are simply glimpsed or heard, the Oxford's ghosts actively interact with guests - and not in friendly ways.

Room 320 is the Oxford's most haunted location, home to the angry spirit of the murdered woman. Her manifestations are physical, violent, and targeted specifically at men:

Physical Assaults: Male guests sleeping in Room 320 report being scratched, pushed, or even strangled. They wake up gasping for air with red marks on their necks, or discover long scratch marks on their backs and arms that weren't there when they went to bed. Some describe feeling hands pushing them or striking them.

Mirror Apparitions: The woman appears in mirrors in the room, particularly in the bathroom. Witnesses describe seeing a woman in Victorian-era clothing, her face contorted with rage, her hands reaching out as if to grab them. When they turn around, no one is there, but the sense of malevolent presence remains.

Oppressive Atmosphere: Even men who don't see or feel anything specific report an overwhelming sense of dread in Room 320, particularly at night. Many describe feeling watched, feeling unwelcome, sensing a hostile presence that wants them to leave. The atmosphere is so oppressive that some guests request to change rooms in the middle of the night.

Jealous Rage: The spirit seems particularly aggressive toward men who are staying at the hotel with romantic partners. Multiple couples have reported the woman's ghost focusing her anger on the man, scratching him or pushing him away from his partner, as if her jealousy extends beyond death.

One guest reported waking in the night to see a woman standing at the foot of the bed, pointing at him accusingly. When he sat up, she rushed toward him with her hands outstretched as if to strangle him. He felt hands on his throat briefly before she vanished, leaving him gasping and terrified. He checked out immediately, despite having paid for three more nights.

The hotel has considered taking Room 320 out of service due to the number of complaints and early checkouts, but it continues to rent the room, though staff are careful about whom they assign to it.

The bearded apparition that haunts the women's restrooms is equally disturbing, though less physically violent:

Mirror Appearances: Women report seeing a bearded man's face appear suddenly in bathroom mirrors. He simply stares at them, his expression impossible to read - some describe it as curious, others as leering or menacing. The apparition typically lasts only a few seconds before vanishing, but the experience leaves witnesses deeply unsettled.

The Feeling of Being Watched: Even when the bearded man doesn't fully manifest, women report an overwhelming feeling of being watched when using certain restrooms in the hotel. Many refuse to use those facilities alone, instead waiting for a friend or going to a different floor.

Cold Spots: The bearded man's presence is often accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature. Women report feeling a cold breath on their necks or hands, as if someone is standing directly behind them.

Sounds: Some women report hearing breathing or footsteps in the restroom when no one else is present. The sounds seem to move around them, as if someone is circling them.

One hotel employee reported seeing the bearded man's full apparition standing in the corner of a women's restroom. He was dressed in late Victorian clothing with a thick beard, and he was staring intently at the employee. When she screamed and ran out, security checked the restroom but found no one. The employee refused to work late shifts after that incident.

Beyond the two most famous ghosts, the Oxford experiences widespread paranormal activity:

The Elevator Ghost: The Oxford's historic elevator, one of Denver's first, often operates on its own. It's called to floors where no one pushed the button, and staff report seeing a shadowy figure inside when the doors open to an "empty" car.

The Cruise Room: The art deco Cruise Room bar is haunted by the spirit of a man in 1930s clothing. He's seen sitting at the bar after closing, and staff report glasses moving on their own and the smell of cigar smoke despite smoking being prohibited for decades.

Phantom Sounds: Throughout the hotel, guests and staff report hearing sounds from the past - old-fashioned music, conversations in now-empty rooms, the clatter of horse-drawn carriages outside windows that overlook a modern street.

The Service Corridors: The hidden service areas of the hotel are reportedly extremely active with paranormal phenomena. Staff who must use these areas report shadow figures, sudden temperature drops, the feeling of being followed, and occasionally being touched or pushed by unseen hands.