Wild characters, diverse cultures, spooky myths and slippery sales
schemes color Colorado's past. In a place where shameless showdowns and
dusty shootouts over money, drink and women were once standard
procedure, storytelling around campfires became an integral part of a
rich heritage. From the jackalope and vampires to Indian curses and
snake oil salesmen, the Centennial State has it all. Weirder still are
the strange but true stories like that of the first body buried in La
Junta's Fairview Cemetery, a man who landed there for refusing alcohol
to a kid, and that of the hotel in Telluride that once offered a
promotion that included funeral costs with your stay. While history may
have neglected these silly, seedy and salacious stories, author
Stephanie Waters has rediscovered Colorado's best forgotten tales.