The Wild West Experience
One night not long
ago, a small group of life-long friends, Becky and Tom Wiggins and George and
Susan Clooney, were settled in for the evening in the old saloon of the Stampede
Saloon and Inn, a historic inn in Olde Town Denver. They were in town because one of the ladies
had won a sweepstakes with the grand prize of a “Wild West Experience.” The two couples had left home in New Jersey a
couple of weeks earlier and were soon to be returning after spending their days
in old mining and ghost towns and evenings at dude ranches and historic
forts. It had been the trip of a
lifetime, and the group was relaxing over their last glasses of wine after
dinner reliving some of the memories of the trip as a storm was blowing in out
of the North.
Susan was beginning to feel tired, and that she had had
enough wine; so she was considering retiring to her room in the balcony of the
old saloon when she saw the reflection of a young woman in the mirror behind
the bar; she was standing on the stairs up to the balcony. Susan was startled by this as the foursome
had been all alone in the saloon dining room all evening and had not heard even
the slightest noise of others being in the inn; that, and the young woman was
wearing what looked to be the costume of an old-time saloon girl. Susan became a little excited then thinking
that there must be a show that was part of dinner: maybe a reenactment of a
saloon fight from the old mining days!
She turned toward the stairway to get a better look at the young woman’s
costume and became frightened as the stairs were empty. But no! The young woman
reflected in the mirror was still on the stairs! Susan was sure then that she had had more
than enough wine and needed to get to bed; she was seeing things! She quietly excused herself from the others
and headed up the stairs.
As Susan was approaching the top of the stairs, the
temperature suddenly dropped and the lights began to flicker. Downstairs in the dining area, Tom and George
both experienced the sensation of someone hold their hands. Tom quickly jumped up and rushed to the front
desk to request the heat be turned up and to voice his concern over the
flickering lights.
As Tom was returning to the dining area to join the others,
the night-shift desk clerk followed Tom back to their table to reassure the
group that all was well; that every now and then, particularly on stormy
nights, these occurrences where not that uncommon at the Stampede. He went on to relay the following story… “Back
in 1871, Trixey Lynn Thomas had come to Denver with her husband; the two had
figured to stake a claim and strike it rich mining gold. Unfortunately, Trixey Lynn’s husband was
killed in a freak accident when their mine collapsed. Having no money of her own and refusing to
run home to her mama, Trixey Lynn began working at the Stampede Saloon as a
dancer. As time went on, she also began
entertaining some of the gentlemen folk, especially the high winners at the
poker table.
One night, much like tonight, Trixey Lynn was particularly
interested in the company of one Bobby Lee Jones; a young miner who had had a
rather successful month panning and was in town to cash in and celebrate. The two were on their way on their way up to
Trixey Lynn’s room above the saloon when there was yelling down below. With the storm, tempers were running hot and guns
were drawn when someone was accused of cheating at the poker table. Shots were fired. Next thing, Trixey Lynn was dead in Bobby
Lee’s arms after a bullet ricocheted and struck her in the heart killing her
instantly.
Later, on another stormy night, during a fundraising poker
tournament held in the saloon in 1921, Trixey Lynn was seen in the reflection
of the bar mirror. Those in attendance,
the most famous of Denver’s high society, experienced a drastic drop in
temperature, the flickering of the chandeliers and mysterious piano music from
an empty corner of the room. The
gentlemen playing in the tournament then experienced the most bizarre
occurrence as their cards and poker chips begin levitating. Then, with a big clap of thunder the cards
and chips all went plummeting to the floor.”
After learning the story of Trixey Lynn and realizing there
is no danger, the rest of the foursome decided to call it a night and began up
the stairs to bed. As George opened the
door to the room he and Susan were sharing, he saw Susan packing her suitcase
and looking frazzled. When George asked his
wife why she is packing, she replied she thought she had seen a ghost
downstairs and, then had heard piano music coming out of the bedroom
closet. Susan then cried, “I can’t take
any more “Wild West Experiences! I am
going home right now!”
After the group got Susan settled down, and told her the
tragic tale of Trixey Lynn, Susan realized there was no harm in the situation
and agreed it is time to turn in and get a good night’s sleep. As the moon was seen breaking through the
clouds, all was quiet and they returned to their rooms. The next morning over breakfast the four
friends were able to laugh at their final “Wild West Experience” of the trip
and were looking forward to the tales they would be able to share with friends
back home.
THE END
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