Scary Fun

Skeleton Craze

Voting is open through Halloween!

Throughout the month of October you’ll find skeleton friends lurking in spots around town. Vote for your favorite, and the Best Skeleton will be crowned at the end of the month. It’s a fun, family-friendly event for residents and visitors alike to see our historic downtown in a spooky new light. 

 

Skeleton Craze Map 2026

Skeleton Craze

Throughout the month of October you’ll find skeleton friends lurking in spots around town. Vote for your favorite, and the Best Skeleton will be crowned at the end of the month. It’s a fun, family-friendly event for residents and visitors alike to see our historic downtown in a spooky new light. Get your ballot at the Visit Manitou Springs office at 354 Manitou Avenue starting October 1.

Ghost Stories of Old Manitou

These haunting and amusing ghost tours will walk you through long lost stories of real residents in Manitou Springs’ history.

The Manitou Springs Heritage Museum, along with actors from Theatre d’Art, provide these evening tours that are thoughtfully scripted and brilliantly presented to provide a fun, family experience.

spooky tour guide holding lantern

Key Club’s Haunted House

October 25 | 6–9 PM | Manitou Springs High School

Manitou Springs High Schoolers put together a really scary haunted house, and their Key Club decided the beneficiary this year is UNICEF.

Buy $6 tickets at the high school the day after the coffin races!

Know Your History

Emma Crawford came to Manitou Springs in 1889 searching for a cure for her tuberculosis in the area’s famed cold-water mineral springs. She fell in love with the charming mountain town and her dying wish was to be buried on top of Red Mountain.

Unfortunately, Emma succumbed to her illness in 1891. Her lover, a civil engineer on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway named Wilhelm Hildenbrand, honored her wishes. With the help of eleven other townspeople, Wilhelm carried Emma’s coffin up the 7,200 foot slope and buried her near the summit of Red Mountain.

In 1929, after years of snowy winters and spring rains, Emma and her coffin came racing down the mountainside. The young children who happened upon her remains found only the casket handles, a nameplate, and a few bones.

Visit the Manitou Springs Heritage Museum website for more historical details about Emma’s life.

All Events

Check out the official calendar for everything going on in October.