Museum of Colorado Prisons
Some paranormal prisoners reportedly remain in lock up at this unique Colorado museum
Paranormal Reports at
the Museum of Colorado Prisons
- Visitors reportedly hear whispers from a spirit named 'Shorty'
- Feelings of being watched have been reported in the archive room
- Chairs in the cell blocks are said to move on their own
- Visitors say that they have had full conversations with a phantom inmate named 'Walter'
- Mysterious footprints are said to appear out of nowhere
- Many reports surround the gas chamber exhibit, with visitors frequently being frightened by the sense of not being alone
- Phantom crying has been heard from Cell 18
Museum of Colorado Prisons:
From Inmates to Exhibits
Just outside the walls of Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, in the shadow of a guard tower, sits a small, mint green building. This building could be mistaken for a home, if not for the looming barbed-wire fencing that surrounds the entire building.
But, don’t let the fence fool you, you’re welcome to come and go from the Museum of Colorado Prisons whenever you please.
A former women’s cell block, this charming building in Cañon City, Colorado houses a comprehensive history of the Colorado prison system. Additionally, it includes a detailed account of the lives that passed through the cells.
But visitors say that some of the previous prisoners are still serving out their sentences here in the afterlife.
Timeline of Museum of Colorado Prisons's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Museum of Colorado Prisons through the years
1935
The building that currently houses the Museum of Colorado Prisons was first opened in 1935. It started as the women’s wing of the adjacent Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility. Not many surrounding states had women’s prison facilities at the time. Many female prisoners from Wyoming and Utah got sent to Colorado’s new prison block as a result.
The Colorado facility quickly had its 30 cells filled to capacity. Overcrowding soon became an ongoing issue at the small women’s prison.
1968
From the moment it opened, the women’s wing of Colorado Territorial Prison stayed full. It soon became apparent that the small building would not contain the region’s need for women’s prison facilities for long.
By the 1960s, overcrowding issues hadn’t abated, and so funding was provided to build a new, larger women’s prison facility. The small cell block closed as soon as the new facility opened in 1968.
1988
While the women’s block of Colorado Territorial Prison closed down, the rest of the prison remained active. This left the old block with few options for reuse. Through the 1970s, it saw use as a protective-custody block for male inmates, as well as a SWAT training facility. But in the 1980s, community interest grew in preserving the old structure as a public museum.
The old prison block was refurbished and opened as the Museum of Colorado Prisons in 1988, and has been open to the public ever since.
2025
Today, the Museum of Colorado Prisons continues to be a popular museum in Cañon City. The old cell block now showcases numerous exhibits from over 140 years of Colorado prison history. Along with everything inside, the museum also keeps an old gas chamber on the property for visitors to explore.
But local lore says the Museum of Colorado Prisons is a place where visitors may encounter apparitions of long lost prisoners.
Is the Museum of Colorado Prisons Haunted?
Tales of hauntings in the old Women’s Prison building pre-date its use as a museum.
During his tenure as warden, Wayne K. Patterson dealt with repeated reports of disruptive crying coming from Cell 18 during the nights. However, as Patterson explained in his autobiography, the reports always came when no prisoners were held in Cell 18.
Once members of the public got the chance to experience the building as a museum for the first time, reports of ghostly activity picked up steam.
Today, museum visitors still hear Cell 18’s phantom crying. In addition, they report activity in various areas of the museum. Some see shadow figures in the old kitchen. Others experience uneasy feelings in the archive room. And intense feelings of being watched are reported while visiting the gas chamber exhibit.
Mysterious Feelings in the Museum
The building has a long history as an active women’s prison, though some museum workers figure the spirits don’t come from the building, but from the artifacts. Most of the exhibits use real artifacts from past life at Colorado Territorial.
Artifacts in the museum are often moved in and out of storage and through different exhibits. Some people report that odd feelings in the building will follow artifacts, as if spiritual energies are attached to them. This is said to be particularly noticeable with artifacts of executions, such as the gas chamber exhibit or the hangman’s noose artifact.
Meet the Prison Ghosts
Over the years, visitors began to construct identities for the spirits they encountered at the Museum of Colorado Prisons.
One well-known spirit, named Shorty, is notorious for whispering in people’s ears as they stroll through the halls of the former prison block. Another, named Walter, has been known to carry on whole conversations with visitors. Walter will reportedly speak proudly of his past crimes and murders.
Phantom Footsteps in the Cellblock
Paranormal investigators have visited the museum repeatedly in the last few years. They often identify additional activity during their investigations.
Chairs in the cell blocks are sometimes seen moving on their own. Phantom footprints and consistent feelings of never being alone in the museum are also reported. Investigators suggest the hauntings come from a mix of the building’s history and the museum exhibits themselves.
Colorado’s Paranormal Prison Museum
Still today, the Museum of Colorado Prisons takes up a quiet corner of the still-active Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility.
The museum remains popular with tourists today, whether they just want to visit for the history or take advantage of one of the public ghost tours on their calendar.
For the dedicated paranormal investigators out there, the Museum of Colorado Prisons also offers private overnight events.
You can spend a night amongst the spirits of the cell blocks, and maybe hear Cell 18’s notorious cries for yourself.
