Spectral Ladies of Cripple Creek: Part One

The Ghosts of the Imperial: Alice Long’s Story

The Imperial Hotel in Cripple Creek is one of those places where history never really leaves. Its creaking staircases, dimly lit corridors, and stories whispered over a century give it a presence that still lingers. But behind all the laughter of guests and the later melodramas staged in its basement lies a family story more tragic than theatrical.

George and Ursula Long ran the Imperial for many years. They were first cousins, and together they had four children, the oldest being Alice, born in 1903. Alice grew up inside the walls of the Imperial, but she carried struggles that her era had no name for. Today, we might recognize her as neurodivergent. Back then, she was simply labeled “unstable.”

As Alice grew older, her anxieties deepened. When her temper flared, her family’s solution was to lock her away in the apartment in the hotel. Imagine it: life bustling below — the clink of glasses, the chatter of guests — while Alice sat alone behind a locked door.

Then came the event that turned whispers into legend. In the 1940s, George Long met his death at the bottom of the stairs. Did he trip? Or was he pushed? The story has always pointed to Alice, by then in her thirties and strong enough to make it possible. No one will ever know the truth.

After George’s death, Ursula sold the hotel and the family returned to Denver. Alice lived out her life there, passing away in 1963 at the age of 61. There are few details about those years — just silence, as if history itself chose to close the door on her story.

And yet, her presence lingers. Some say you can still feel her in the Imperial’s upper rooms, pacing, unsettled, searching for the freedom she rarely knew in life.

But Alice is not just a ghost story. She is also a woman whose grave can be found at Fairmount Cemetary in Denver, her name carved into stone. Her father, mother and siblings all rest at this spot. If you ever stand there, pause for a moment. Feel the quiet.

Remember that behind every haunting is a human being whose story deserves to be told.

Parts Two and Three: Maggie and Olga