The Benevolent Spirit of Red Mountain

I heard piano music drifting from the old crystal cottage boardinghouse that I knew was vacant, then I looked up and was startled to see a woman, who looked like Emma, peering from the attic window, smiling down at me, years after she died.

–Steve Thomas, Denver, Colorado

If you stroll down Capitol Hill late at night, you just might hear a spirited piano rhapsody drifting from the windows of the Crystal Cottage. The current owners do not own a piano, but that does not stop them from dancing to the music.

The cottage was the first house built on "Haunted Hill," in 1884, by a woman from Colorado Springs named Katie Flynn. Miss Katie, as she was known by her devoted guests, ran the sunny little cottage as a four-bedroom boardinghouse. Crystal Cottage attracted fashionable residents from all over the country, like the William Hall family, prominent farmers from Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Showalter, ranchers from Texas; and the Burns and Stroud families, from Kansas city. The most well-known residents of the Crystal Cottage were the members of the Crawford family from Massachusetts.

Madame Crawford was a woman of charm and poise. She was a graduate of Germany's prestigious Leipzig Academy of music, and her home in Boston was the center of music circles. Perhaps her fondness for music is what inspired her oldest daughter, Emma, to become an accomplished musician. Emma showed a decided talent for music at an early age and matured into a talented concert pianist. One review in a New York newspaper raved about her October 1887 concert in Washington Square, noting: "Emma seemed to channel all of her energy into her powerful performances, making her music seem, otherworldly to her spellbound audience."

Unfortunately, Emma's stellar career was interrupted when her tuberculosis became unmanageable. She was diagnosed with the deadly illness at the tender age of seven, and having lived in the grimy city of Boston most of her life had taken a toll on her health. The only known remedy for the lethal condition was rest, clean air and hope. Manitou Springs had become a popular destination for easterners suffering from tuberculosis The dry, fresh alpine air and the healing mineral spring waters were thought to be the only treatment for the deadly illness. In 1888, Madame Crawford, Emma and her sister, Alice, packed their bags and headed west after reading about the "Manitou Cure" in the Boston Herald.

While convalescing at the Crystal Cottage, Emma would often lie in bed and stare out of her attic bedroom window. Her mind dwelt long on the adventures of Indian tribes who had once roamed the hills. She was fascinated with their customs, folklore and the faith they had in their Great Spirit. She daydreamed about being well again and climbing to the summit of the mountain that she fondly referred to as "Red Chief" because it was rumored that the ghost of an Indian chief resided there. Yes, Emma believed in ghosts. In fact, her mother was a spiritualist who often hosted séances at the boardinghouse.

The three Crawford women believed that the soul, upon death, transcended to a higher plane of existence and was capable of communicating with the living. Madame Crawford was a spiritual mentor to both of her daughters and fostered their dreams and inspirations. Alice, being the youngest by six years, was fair-haired, loved to sing and dance and hoped for a stage career. Emma was more of a dark, mysterious beauty who preferred to spend time alone playing the piano or walking in the woods. The Crawford women quickly acclimated to Manitou, and they made many friends in their new home. The dry mountain climate and fresh, clean air seemed to agree with Emma especially, and her health dramatically improved. She seemed to radiate happiness as she began to fall in love with a ruggedly handsome young man named Wilhelm Hildebrandt. She had met the charming engineer while still living in Boston. The smitten bachelor followed Emma to Manitou Springs after he secured a job as chief construction engineer at the Manitou and Pikes Peak cog railroad. The joyous couple was often seen strolling about town arm in arm down lover's lane and "taking the cure" from the various mineral springs.

One beautiful summer day, the young lovebirds took a picnic lunch to the Iron Springs Pavilion, and Wilhelm asked for Emma's hand in marriage. Although Emma was overjoyed by his proposal, she hesitated to accept, explaining that she had always felt that she would die young. However, with slight trepidation, she agreed to marry Wilhelm, with one condition: if she should die before him, he must bury her body on top of Red Mountain. She clarified that she hated cemeteries. For her, they represented great despair. She wanted to be buried high on a mountaintop in the sunshine and fresh mountain air, overlooking the little town of Manitou.

A few months later, just weeks before her wedding day, she had a strange, uncontrollable urge to climb Red Mountain. She had been warned by her physician that any strenuous activity could compromise her health, but she climbed the mountain anyway because she felt "summoned" by a spirit guide. While resting on the peak, she saw a puff of smoke swirl from the branch of an ancient pinion tree that formed into a ghostly apparition. The soaring, transparent image grew into a regal-looking Indian chief wearing ceremonial gear, complete with a full eagle feather headdress. The Indian spirit lingered a few moments before smiling at her knowingly and then fading away. Emma was convinced that the apparition was the spirit of Red Chief and believed that he had called her to the summit to bless her. Before leaving the summit, she tied her handkerchief to the branch of the ancient pinion tree and then raced down the hillside, excited to tell all who would listen about her "miracle on the mountain."

Emma stumbled home late that evening, shivering with a high fever and babbling about climbing Red Mountain and communing with an Indian spirit. The doctor was summoned, but there was little he could do to ease her suffering. She cried out for Wilhelm, and her mother tried to assure her that her fiancé would soon be there, but Emma could no longer wait for her beloved. With her last breath, the dying woman whispered, "Please implore Wilhelm to honor his promise. Remember my love to him and relay that when the Great Spirit takes him one day, I will be waiting for him on Red Chief Mountain." Then she peacefully died in her mother's arms.

After hearing the news of Emma's death, some people wondered if Emma fabricated the mysterious story about being summoned to the mount, until her next-door neighbor found a lacey, soiled...