By Cecilia
Barr Lake, Colorado.
We recently lived in a house in Northern Colorado by Barr Lake, about 20 miles northeast of Denver. The homes there are very old, and everyone has at least one story of something strange happening in or around their home. We all shared stories of how things would mysteriously get moved and how we sometimes sensed a presence in our homes. These are all things that I had learned to ignore over the years, that was, until this morning. Though we have already moved, I have been returning to the house on Barr Lake to do some cleaning before everything is final.
This morning, I was there alone. At first, I heard the usual strange noises that the house always made, but my cat acted oddly. She was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down into the basement with her hair standing on end. I kept telling myself that she was acting frisky, I guess, in hopes that I would feel better.
There is a small bathroom in the front hall where I began to mop the floor. As I was leaning into the bathroom from the hallway, something or someone hit me – hard, on the back. It felt as though a fist had slammed into my back! When I spun around, nothing was there.
I looked around the area to see if something had fallen on me, but nothing was there. There couldn’t have been anything to fall, as everything had already been moved. In the meantime, my cat was at the end of the hallway, hair standing on end and hissing. Then she took off running. Needless to say, I immediately left the house. I have many stories to tell of that old place, but I have never been physically touched by them.
I feel there are three spirits in the house, including an older man, a woman in her 20s, and a young girl, that people have seen. For whatever reason, I feel that it was the old man who hit me today. My back is still red and very warm where I felt the fist, but there is no bruise. I am not sure why “they” would hit me. But I wanted to tell that story.
Submitted by Cecilia, October, 2005.
About Barr Lake
Over a century and a half ago, the Barr Lake area was a natural depression in the prairie that collected and held spring water. As pronghorn antelope roamed the adjacent prairie grass, Buffalo, elk, and wolves congregated around the spring. Native Americans, including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute, followed the game and often hunted the area.
By the 1860s, cowboys began to move cattle through the Barr Lake area, taking advantage of the rich grasses and water from the Wallow. It soon became an important rest stop along the Goodnight-Loving Trail from Texas to Wyoming.
The greatest influence on the area was the railroad’s establishment in 1883. The railroad linked Denver to Chicago and passed right by the Barr Lake area. Suddenly, numerous pioneers began to settle in the area.
In 1886, construction began on the Burlington Canal, diverting water from the South Platte River into the wallow to create Oasis Reservoir. The Oasis Dam was built in 1908, creating what is now known as Barr Lake.
Today, nature enthusiasts, fishermen, hunters, and boaters enjoy the amenities of Barr Lake State Park.
Directions: From Denver, take I-76 northeast, exit on Bromley Lane, and go east to Piccadilly Road. Then, south to the park entrance.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2025.
Also See:
Colorado – The Centennial State
Ghosts, Legends, Myths & Mysteries
See Sources.