Last week, I wrote about Russell Hunter’s paranormal experiences while renting a Denver home near Cheesman Park in the late 1960s. These experiences became the basis for a 1980 Hollywood horror film called The Changeling.
This week, it’s time to fact-check this ghost story! Using genealogy and house history tools available on DPL computers and in the Western History and Genealogy Department, we were able to track down a few surprising tidbits.
1. Did Russell Hunter, writer of The Changeling, really live in the “haunted” house at 1739 East 13th Avenue for two years in the late 1960s?
We’ll have to take Hunter’s word that he actually rented the home.
Denver city directories and telephone books cannot confirm that Hunter lived in Denver at 1739 East 13th Avenue in the late 1960s. Hunter said in interviews that he moved to Colorado from New York City in the 1960s to help his parents manage the Three Birches Lodge in Boulder. According to Boulder city directories, Pearl E. and Russell H. Ellis managed the Three Birches Lodge in the 1960s. Despite their “Ellis” surname, these were in fact Russell Hunter’s parents. “Russell Hunter” was born “Russell Ellis” and presumably made a name change for his career in show business. This name change is substantiated in the 1930 U.S. Census and the Social Security Death Index (both available in Ancestry Library Edition - available for FREE on DPL computers!).
2. In the attic of the 13th Avenue home, Russell Hunter claimed to have discovered a trunk containing “a nine-year-old’s schoolbooks and journal from a century ago.” The journal detailed the life of a disabled boy who was kept in isolation on the third floor of the house by his parents. Later, Hunter said a séance revealed the spirit of a deceased boy lurking in the home. Did any children live in the house at 1739 East 13th Avenue at the turn of the 20th century?
At the turn of the century, a childless couple lived in the home at 1739 E. 13th Avenue.
The couple, Henry Treat Rogers, a prominent lawyer (1837-1922), and his wife Kate Rogers (1865-1931) filed a permit with the City of Denver in July 1892 to build a “brick dwelling” in the Wymans Addition of Denver. Architect Henry Ten Eyck Wendell designed the home.
Though the couple did not have children, they did have a niece and nephew who spent time living in their home.
The niece, Frances Clarke Ristine (1881-1934), came from Illinois to live with the Rogers when she was 10 years old and stayed until her marriage to George Ristine. After living in Chicago for several years, Frances and her husband returned to Denver after the death of her uncle, Henry Treat Rogers, in 1922, and lived in the 13th Avenue house with Kate (who formally adopted Frances as her daughter around 1927). Frances became the longtime secretary for Denver Orphans Home and the president of the Globeville Day Nursery while living in Denver. She inherited 1739 E. 13th Avenue and a small fortune after the death of Kate Rogers in 1931. Frances Clarke Ristine died in 1934.
The nephew, Henry Treat Rogers II (1892-1918), graduated from Yale in 1914 and came to work in his uncle’s law firm, Rogers, Ellis & Johnson, around 1916. This younger Henry Treat Rogers also lived in his uncle’s house on 13th Avenue, however, he enlisted in World War I in 1917 and never returned to the house. He died in 1918 at the age of 25.
There were conflicting reports about Henry Treat Rogers II’s death. While one obituary claimed that he died from physical exhaustion on August 18, 1918, in Cincinnati, another claimed he died in France “from the effects of nervous strain from the close application of his duties.” A memorial fund at Yale was established in his name by his uncle, Henry T. Rogers.
Despite what we've learned about the Rogers family, many other mysteries of the house at 1739 East 13th Avenue remain—and the answers may well dwell within the resources available at Denver Public Library!
The nephew, Henry Treat
The nephew, Henry Treat Rogers II, probably died during the Flu Pandemic.
It is a possibility, but as I
It is a possibility, but as I mentioned, there are conflicting reports about Henry Treat Rogers II's death. If he died in Cincinnati on August 18, 1918, this would have been a few weeks too early in the timeline of the influenza pandemic in Ohio. It really wasn't until September that cases were being reported in that state. If Henry Treat Rogers II died in France during World I, it is believed that he died from “from the effects of nervous strain from the close application of his duties.” Thanks for reading and commenting!
I was terrified when I first
I was terrified when I first seen this movie in the theater.Just saw it again and it's still a great movie. I love George C. Scott in this movie. One of the greats.
Just watched,, again,, The
Just watched,, again,, The Changeling, as part of a horror package that comes on every year around Halloween.I agree that the séance scene is one of the most eerie on film.The vacant stare and monotonous tone of the medium are far more terrifying than some of the overblown scenes being shot in current films.
A nod to the great Canadian actors that show up and to the wonderful Canadian locations.
A must see and as to the authenticity of the story,,, don't all tales of terror have a sliver of truth?
Yes, that séance scene is
Yes, that séance scene is understated yet very scary! Thanks for commenting, Joann!
I love this film it is to
I love this film it is to this day my favorite. it is supper scary. I think it really makes you believe it's true. It captivates you.
Thanks for commenting, Dawn!
Thanks for commenting, Dawn!
I've been fascinated with and
I've been fascinated with and terrified by this movie since I was a kid. Last weekend, I was walking my dog through Fairmont Cemetery and stumbled across the grave of Henry Treat Rogers - his was the largest gravestone in the center of what seemed like a family plot. Right next to his was the gravestone for a child, a girl, Elizabeth Holland, born April 15 1892, died April 25 1901. Next to hers were graves for what I'm assuming are her parents - Florence Ward Holland (1865-1932) and Theodore Holland (1859-1937). There were a few other graves on the other side of Henry Treat Rogers' that had a different last name, of which I am unable to recall. Do any of those names mean anything to you?
Definitely my favorite horror
Definitely my favorite horror movie. I love that it's scary, suspenseful, and investigative. Have it on VHS and DVD. I watch it at least once a year and it still gives me chills. I enjoyed reading this article as well as your previous one, and learning the story that inspired the movie.
Glad you enjoyed it, Joe!
Glad you enjoyed it, Joe! Thanks for commenting!
Hello,
Hello,
Shortly after the movie came out, my family and I met with Russell Hunter, at his home in Denver. Our family actually lived in the mansion before Mr. Hunter did in the mid 1960's. He deliberately gave false information including it's true address, for reasons I cannot recall at this time. It might have had something to do with the threat on his life. Most of the events in the movie did not actually happen. There was not a boy, wheelchair, well, etc. While Mr. Hunter was living there, he had done some remodeling work and found the attic. I remember my father searching a long time for the attic. You could see the small window from the outside of the house, but he couldn't locate it. The reason why, was because the doorway to the stairs of the attic was hidden behind a wall in the butler's pantry. The mansion was located at 1313 Williams St. And yes, it was torn down as well as the other mansions on Williams St. by a real estate developer. I used to have photos of the original house when it was built, and photos of the changes that the homeowner had made to it later on - still in the early 1900's. Also had copies of the building permits, etc. with the homeowners' names. I know for sure that the Phipps family did not own this house and Henry Treat Rogers does not sound familiar to me. So sorry that you did all that research on the wrong address. Mr. Hunter, (may he rest in peace), was a very interesting gentleman, a great story teller, and playwright. We enjoyed our time with him. I loved the movie too. It was quite exciting to find out that the movie was based on a home that we had once lived in.
Thank you for reading and
Thank you for reading and sharing your history with the home at 1313 Williams Street. This adds a whole new layer to the story! Please keep sharing!
Hi Mic- Thanks for sharing
Hi Mic- Thanks for sharing all this info in the house you once lived in ! My first encounter wit this story was via the old Denver Magazine ( April 1980 ). From what I remember from then article- it stated that the house was on the east side of the park ( around Race and 12th ) and that the Phipps family were the subjects of the story. The part from the film about the senator being then 'changeling' would have been somewhat true if the family was indeed the Phipps, intro Lawrence C Phipps went on to become a senator. What threw me off years later when I had re-encountered the story, was that the locale of the house had changed to Williams St and that the owners were a different family ( the Rogers )Of course, you are correct that no Phippses ever lived at the Williams aST locale. Main points of the story have changed over the years !
It's so interesting to read
It's so interesting to read comments about a movie that I love, which scarred me for life when it came out. I was 17, living with my parents. A friend of mine and I came back to my (older) house after seeing the film and being completely freaked out, and we're about to head up the enclosed staircase to my room when we saw -- and I kid you not -- a wheelchair perched on the landing at the top of the stairs. Granted, it was a modern chair but the screams we let out shook our house to no end. My mother's explanation was that she was cleaning out the attic.... Anyway, I love and own this movie, and to this day can't watch it by myself. I had no idea it was purported to be a true story.
From 1974 to 1991, Frederick
From 1974 to 1991, Frederick C. Peerenboom (AKA Fritz the nite owl) hosted Nite Owl Theatre on the local CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio. It was on this program I first saw The Changeling, probably around 1982-83. It still holds up very well in 2017. The quintessential "haunted-house" movie. Movies like it still keep me awake at night, even at 49 years old! Lol
You hit the nail on the head,
You hit the nail on the head, Charles. This truly is the "quintessential 'haunted house' movie"! Thanks for reading and commenting!
What really made me mad about
What really made me mad about The Changleing is in the last scene where all of those valuable antiques were burnt along with the beautiful, old mansion! Seeing that poor, rare Swiss music box all charred made me cry! That was a very rare Thorens music box. The tune it played is extremely hard to find. And don't even get me started about the rare 19th century Steinway square grand piano that was probably burned up as well! There should be laws made to prohibit movie makers from committing this kind of abuse!
We here at WHG also don't
We here at WHG also don't like seeing old things destroyed:( Thanks for reading, Duncan!
First off, The movie is a
First off, The movie is a true classic. By far my favorite movie ever. And as for Russell's story... I'm actually even more interested because if the added mystery to a true location. The movie does stay in tune with Russell's encounters but also changed as with the REAL history of the house. Very interesting and since there's talk of a remake of the movie in the works. Maybe some more light will shine in this amazing ghost story.
I hadn't heard about the
I hadn't heard about the remake, Lars. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Plain & simple. I love this
Plain & simple. I love this movue.. I think the cast was superb! This movie is so suspenseful, without all the blood & gore you see in other films...Love it!
Such a great story!
Such a great story!
I first saw this movie aged
I first saw this movie aged 20 now i am almost 59 and still i have this movie in my head, My brother drowned aged 4 and i saw the tragedy. This movie i cant tell you how it makes me cry over and over again. Regards from Amsterdam.
I always love finding out the
I always love finding out the story behind the story. It's a bit of a disappointment to know that the things in the movie probably didn't happen in real life, but Mr. Norman wrote a great story just the same. I've loved the movie since seeing it as a kid on TV in the early 80s. Thanks for the information.
Is there no police report to
Is there no police report to substantiate the damage he says was done? or hospital record to verify him being admitted?
Am I to understand that the
Am I to understand that the house formerly on 13th Avenue, the Henry Treat Rogers house, was not the actual house in which Russell Hunter lived? The house where he said that he had experiences which inspired him to write THE CHANGELING? That the actual house was on Williams street?
This movie scared me so badly
This movie scared me so badly when I first saw it, I couldn't sleep for weeks! Excellent use of truly scary situations. A lot of movies are "based" on true events but whatever was or wasn't true doesn't matter here. A must see. Skip the re-make!
I just heard a podcast that
I just heard a podcast that covers the Changeling, and rewatched the great film. Did some digging and came across this old article! It's wonderful insight about how Hunter must have took bits and pieces of the actual story and used his own creative skills to fashion this wonderful story. The Changeling (1979) is a classic. It is one of the great pieces of true gothic horror. I wish it were a true story, but it looks like so many authentic great gothic stories penned by the likes of M.R James, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe...it's just fiction. But what FANTASTIC fiction! I love it. And shout out to the late, very great George C. Scott...he carried this film and made it superb. I miss him!
Hi Katie,
Hi Katie,
I met Russell Hunter when I was a college student at Loretto Heights College in either 1985 or 1986. One of my classmates was friends with him and so we went to hang out with him one night. He was a tremendous storyteller. He played and sang some of his songs from "Little Boy Blue" and "Rasputin" for us. He gave us a tour of the house he was living in, which was a spooky old house in Cheesman Park, but wasn't (obviously) the Changeling house. He told us stories about the Changeling house, mostly about the ball and how he threw it into the Platte river, came home and it was a the top of his staircase. A lot of that evening is fuzzy, but I also remember him telling my friend and I, a story about being shot at by a "hitman" in the driveway of his home, presumably hired by a powerful Denver family. I was so young - had no idea of the significance of this meeting - and I wish I would have pressed him for more of his wonderful stories. Thanks for writing this!
Jeff
Jeff
His house was surrounded by many bushes and trees. Kind of creepy at night. As I remember, the red ball with the white stripe, he kept in an upstairs bedroom on a dresser. I believe Loki was alive around that time. Did Russel show you his small library in the basement? The chair in the corner, with the curtain which moved towards you, if you sat in the chair.
This verifies a memory my…
This verifies a memory my sister and I have been trying to make sense of! I remember as a child visiting a man's house to hear him perform the score for his newly written musical about Rasputin. Others besides my family were there. The house was spacious. I think I recall pink paint or wallpaper and gold decorative accents- I definitely remember thinking the decor was gaudy and tacky, even as a child. He sang and played the piano, pausing to explain a theatrical detail here and there, such as how he would have a device with plastic tubing to simulate bleeding for a scene in which Rasputin prayed for the young tsarevich, who had hemophilia. I vaguely remember being told that he was the guy who had lived in the house from the changeling.
I can't find any record of his Rasputin musical online, and this is the first corroboration I've been able to find of our memory of that night. It's strange to think that I saw a performance of a musical, the score of which may be entirely lost or sitting locked up somewhere, completely unknown.
Hello. Yes, this mansion was
Hello. Yes, this mansion was haunted. By me. I am the child who was killed by the coal cart.
Isabelle or Eric?
Isabelle or Eric?
As a member of the extended
As a member of the extended Rogers family, I note that Henry T Rogers Ii might have died in Cincinnati at about the time my father's family lived there.
This is the first time
This is the first time (tonight) I’ve learned that, “The Changeling” is rumored to be true. After reading this article, my own conclusion is that this story is more fiction than fact. That doesn’t bother me one bit. “The Changeling” is one of the best ghost story/haunted house movies ever made. Also, check out, “The House That Wouldn’t Die” with Barbara Stanwyck , 1970 and, “The Uninvited” with Ray Milland, 1944. Neither one compares to, “The Changeling” but they’re both very chilling and interesting ghost stories.
Who cares if Russell Hunter
Who cares if Russell Hunter embellished somewhat? Didn't the Lutz's do the same thing in The Amityville Horror? It really doesn't matter, as long as you get a great story or horror movie to give you thrills and chills, right?
Who cares if Russell Hunter
Who cares if Russell Hunter embellished somewhat? Didn't the Lutz's do the same thing in The Amityville Horror? It really doesn't matter, as long as you get a great story or horror movie to give you thrills and chills, right?
Is there record to
Is there record to substantiate the claim of finding human remains under or near the house that the spirit directed him to excavate? Surely the police should have been notified. This is a legal requirement.
Did anyone other than Russell
Did anyone other than Russell Hunter see the journal?
Does anyone know where the journal is supposed to be now?
I saw The Changeling when it
I saw The Changeling when it first was in theaters in 1980. I watched it by myself and then I walked several blocks home alone in the dark, LoL. I was 15 years old. I thought and still think it a great ghost story. But looking at it now that I am old I think it's a movie about a child betrayed by a parent in the worst way. It's as sad as it is scary.
I first saw The Changeling on
I first saw The Changeling on TV with my mother when I was about ten years old, circa 1987. That movie scarred the ever lovin' crap out of me. After that, whenever my mom said TC would be on, I'd hide in my room and not come out till the end credits rolled. I slept with a light on for years after that. In my teens, I got it on VHS and watched it again. It was every bit as terrifying as I remembered from a few years prior. Even now at 45, it still sends chills down my spine.
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