For anyone who has lived in Durango a while, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that this place is haunted – to the gills. Like any other place, this town has seen its share of people who have died violently, or from illness, misadventure or old age. And, for whatever reason, some of these people have stuck around long after their physical bodies.
Fortunately, tours have sprung up to give locals and tourists a taste not only of some of Durango’s history, but, if they’re lucky, a peek at what lies between the living and the dearly departed.
For the second year, Durango Education Foundation is offering an evening of the otherworldly variety with its Spirits with the Spectres fundraiser, happening on Oct. 19.
If you go
WHAT: Spirits with the Spectres: Durango Education Foundation’s Walking Tour of Durango’s Haunted Underground.
WHEN: Two rotations, 4:30-9 p.m. or 5:40-10 p.m. Oct. 19.
TICKETS: $150, includes tour, drinks, hors d’oeuvres. Available at https://tinyurl.com/48afcnkj.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit https://tinyurl.com/2p9duay9.
The evening, broken in to groups – or rotations – will take participants on walking tours of downtown, including into – and under – some of our more notorious haunts. Will those who’ve passed into the beyond make themselves known? That remains to be seen, but what living participants will be sure of is a night of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, a costume contest and the opportunity to learn and see some pretty cool parts of Durango’s history.
The foundation decided to host the Spirits fundraiser again because of last year’s success, said Wendy Allsbrook Javier, the foundation’s executive director.
“Last year, it sold out so quickly that we decided to take the leap and double the size of the event. It’s just so fun,” she said. “We wanted people that came last year to have something new to come to. We wanted to bring them back, because they had so much fun.”
Credit Laine Johnson, owner of Horsefly History Tours, who partnered with Javier for last year’s fundraiser and is back to lead the tour this year. She said the new places added to this year’s tour tare thanks to the business owners who have made their places open to the foundation.
“Who knew that so many people would be interested in haunted basements?” Johnson said. “It’s obviously something I love to do. And it turns out, a lot of people have been wondering about these basements and little secret places. We couldn’t do it without these businesses that are brave enough to open their location. These business owners are just really awesome to be supporting this and it’s easy to say yes to it, because it’s a great cause. Our schools are in desperate need of help, and this is a great way to go have a blast with your friends and eat jalapeño poppers in a haunted tunnel.”
And not to give anything away, but the places added to this year’s tour are so cool – think you know May Palace? Ha! You have no idea ... and don’t even get us started on the Elks Club.
The evening will begin at the Strater Hotel, where people will be split into two groups, with staggered start times. Javier said Farm to Fingers is catering this year.
And while Spirits with Spectres is a night filled with paranormal fun, the point of the vent is to help our local schools, Javier said.
“We do three things at Durango Education Foundation: We offer grants for people in our district to make good things happen. We make innovation happen to support our school district. We provide scholarships for graduating seniors. We’re getting close to the $100,000 mark, and we also do big service events that have gotten more and more popular,” she said. “All of these things are for our community as a whole. We keep getting more and more grant applications. ... This fundraiser is a critical means of raising money for exactly what our teachers need to do their best work for our students in the community.”
katie@durangoherald.com