The True Story of Denver’s Haunted Lumber Baron Inn
A large mansion built in the late 1800s still stands proudly in Denver, Colorado, and is said to hold a few dark secrets.
The Lumber Baron Inn, a bed and breakfast in Colorado recently came into the spotlight once more after being featured on Netflix's new series, 28 Days Haunted.
Spoiler Alert: 28 Days Haunted
The series is based on a theory of famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, that spending 28 days isolated at a haunted location will allow the veil between the human world and the spirit world to be pierced.
The couple believed that a 28-day investigation could be the ideal amount of time for a paranormal investigation to be solved.
The series follows 3 sets of investigators at 3 different haunted locations across the U.S. Paranormal investigators Shane, Ray, and Amy were all assigned to Denver's Lumber Baron Inn and documented the spooky occurrences that they encountered.
The History of the Lumber Baron Inn
Today, the Lumber Baron Inn is a bed and breakfast, and according to their website, the 9,000-square-foot mansion was built in 1890 by John Mouat.
Mouat built the mansion for his wife Amelia and their 5 children. Mout was a Scottish immigrant and was in fact an actual Lumber Baron. It is reported that the Mouat Lumber company built over 200 homes and buildings in Denver.
The house was known to host lavish parties for Denver's most elite that were held on the 3rd floor, which boasted a 20-foot pyramid ceiling and glamourous maple flooring. Each of the bedrooms had its own private bathroom and there were multiple fireplaces all with intrinsic designs.
Lumber Baron Inn Murders
Sometime in the mid to late 1900s, the home was turned into an apartment building and held 23 different units for renters. It was during this time that two violent murders occurred at the mansion.
Cara Lee Knoche, 17, was renting what is now known as the Valentine's Suite when she was raped and strangled by an unknown assailant. Cara's friend, Marianne Weaver, 18, is believed to have stopped by the apartment to visit her while the killer was still there.
Weaver, unfortunately, met the same fate and was discovered dead in the apartment by a gunshot wound.
Both of the women's murders have never been solved. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to please contact the Denver Police Department.