He credited these noises to Lucille, and was convinced that she was attempting to warn him about a fire that had broken out in the building's kitchen.įollowing the fire, the Black Hawk building was refurbished, but the sightings continued. In one documented story from the 1990s, a man who was living in the hotel at the time experienced lights turning on and off, followed by the sound of pots and pans suddenly falling from the wall downstairs.
The legend of Lucille remains at the Gilpin Casino, and many guests have reported paranormal sightings of the former schoolteacher. Lucille was so distraught when the accident occurred, that she threw herself off the hotel's balcony, taking her own life in the same street where her lover died. During the 1800s, the Gilpin Hotel also housed a one-room school upstairs, where Lucille Malone taught a small group of students. Miss Malone was in love with a local miner, but story has it, that he was tragically run over by a wagon in front of the hotel. Guests can't actually stay at the Gilpin Hotel anymore – it's now a casino, but besides lively gamblers parked at the colorful machines, there's also some other not as lively souls still lingering within the building's thick walls.Īccording to Legends of America, the spirit of a woman named Lucille is believed to haunt the Gilpin Casino.
