Fun Fact #425 Knock, Knock

Fun Fact #425

Knock, Knock

Almost everyone loves a good knock knock joke, but Ft. Collins Colorado may be home to one of the most interesting ever told.

 The legend goes that in 1872, a stagecoach left the Gruber mine in Denver with 62,000 freshly minted gold coins, but as it passed through Ft. Collins the coach was bushwhacked by the Borrell Gang.  Later the old mine under Ft. Collins was converted into a subway and locals would occasionally find gold coins after hearing knocking. Yet one day in 1918 the entire subway was overtaken by a deafening roar of knocking causing people to flee shortly before it was flooded.

In reality, the only mine under Ft. Collins is for Uranium and there was never any gold lost in the area, both being works of fiction by Dean Ballengar to sell a 1979 issue of “Treasure Magazine”. However Tommyknockers are a known cryptid of Colorado. They are thought to be subterranean leprechauns or spirits and are thought of as benevolent Tricksters who reward you with stolen gold and warning of danger by knocking from within the walls. It used to be a common practice for people to throw old pastries into the corners of the mines to thank them. They even have a Steven King book named after them –although it’s set in Maine. It’s thought that what actually caused the knocking within the mines was fibers giving way inside of the support timbers before they would give out entirely. 

 I guess that’s Mr. King's way of saying they’re the main attraction for the Legend of Ft. Collins. Special thanks to the “Ft. Collins History Connection” for helping me research this topic. 

Image from “The ghost hunt uk” website