Abigail Bliss
Audio By Carbonatix
Combine ghost stories with cannabis and, suddenly, every shadow seems like a paranormal encounter. At least, that was my experience on October 14 as Smile High Tours founder Josh Fesmire walked me through the damp grass of Cheesman Park, a former cemetery where an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 bodies remain.
Minutes before stepping out for Smile High’s Ghosts and Green Tour, I was inhaling a bag of Super Boof vapor from a Volcano on East Colfax Avenue.
Carrying a background in theater, education and cannabis, Fesmire is energetic with a fun, easygoing tone. He joins visitors of his Ghosts and Green Tour at Cirrus Social Club, one of Denver’s only licensed cannabis lounges, to walk them through the menu, which includes a tight selection of edibles and rotating strains of flower that can be consumed via bong or Volcano bag.
A funky, fruity strain that is popular among the masses, Super Boof provided a mellow, conversational high that wouldn’t spike my heart rate, because who needs any extra paranoia on a paranormal tour? But we all like getting scared once in a while, and a few hits of the right stuff can add to the thrills.
According to Fesmire, his guests fluctuate between locals and tourists, but most who join his cannabis-friendly ghost tours are regular consumers. He leans on his seven-year background in the legal cannabis industry to make sure everyone is familiar with terpenes, cannabinoids and other more nuanced aspects of the plant before they get busy. After all, you don’t want people seeing spirits before the tour begins.
Things at Cirrus are unscripted and social, and make up around the first hour of the experience. We left the cannabis lounge around 8:30 p.m. and began our short walk to Cheesman Park, crisscrossing through the neighborhood and pausing to admire homes’ Halloween decor. Then the scary stories came.
Abigail Bliss
As we came closer to the park, Fesmire delved into its history as Mount Prospect Cemetery and how, due to the mismanagement of Edward P. McGovern, thousands of bodies were never exhumed and relocated as assigned. The notorious undertaker was paid by the casket, and it was alleged that, for higher pay, McGovern dismembered the dead and tossed their unorganized, hacked limbs into cheap, child-sized coffins.
Fesmire tied the speculation to the present, explaining this year’s discovery of rotting corpses at a Pueblo mortuary. While leading us through Cheesman Park, he merged other more recent events with the past, such as the unearthing of human remains at the adjacent Denver Botanic Gardens in 2022. Some stories were taken from credible records, but Fesmire admits that Denver history “is not as well-defined as many people would think. I’m trying to put together different sources and make them make sense.”
“When it comes to ghosts and spirits, it’s even fuzzier. I mostly have relied on talking to people, finding people to tell me about their experiences,” he adds.
Fesmire claims that while hosting his Mile High Hauntings tour in LoDo, he had his own paranormal encounter at the Oxford Hotel — but the tour guide remains “a cautious skeptic.” Not that he’s here to shame any believers. When I mentioned a shadowy movement at the children’s playground in Cheesman Park, Fesmire picked up the pace.
Abigail Bliss
The walk continued into Capitol Hill, where we made a stop at the Molly Brown House Museum on Pennsylvania Avenue. Standing outside the Victorian mansion, Fesmire reviewed Margaret Brown’s reputation as a Titanic survivor and the spirits said to haunt the space — supposedly, not all are human. Though some believe that Brown’s mother, who passed away in the home, has lingered to keep things in order. Rearranged objects are often moved back to their original places without any other explanation, Fesmire added.
Next, we made our way to the Peabody-Whitehead Mansion, one of the most notorious haunts in Denver, on East 11th Avenue and Grant Street. Originally, the home was owned by Dr. William Riddick Whitehead, a war surgeon who saved many lives. Some patients, however, were not so fortunate and their spirits followed Whitehead to his residence, where post-battle terrors further haunted him. Separate allegations of murder and suicide have brought about many other ghost stories.
Similarly, at our last stop, Fesmire explained that twelve spirits are said to possess the Patterson Inn, including the former lady of the house, Kate Patterson. But Kate Patterson is one of the good ones: Those who have encountered her apparition have witnessed only kindness.
According to Fesmire, most of the city’s ghosts are friendly and, fortunately, for those who took maybe one too many bong rips, the tour is devoid of jump scares. Still, his ghost tours are a great way to get into the spooky season — and get in a good workout.
From Cirrus to the Patterson Inn, we walked around three miles, one way, so plan to catch a ride to the cannabis lounge rather than drive. That way, you can consume without worry and skip the lengthy trek back. With all of that in mind, you might want to wait until the walking is done to eat edibles, and stick to smoking or vaping.
Smile High Tours launched in April. Unless he has another booking, the three-hour Ghosts and Green tour is open to groups of as many as eight guests daily. Reservations are available online at various times between 2:30 and 10 p.m., but there’s an obvious added spooky factor after dark. Tickets cost $40 per person and do not include purchases at Cirrus, which is located at 3200 East Colfax Avenue.
