Custodian describes ghostly interruptions at Cheyenne school

Olivia Hamilton worked as a custodian at Deming Elementary School in Cheyenne from 2020 until 2025. During those five years, she developed a routine for handling the building’s alleged resident. She kept her phone on while cleaning, but the device would pause whenever she played content containing cussing, sex, drugs, or alcohol. The interruptions occurred only at Deming, located at 715 W. Fifth Ave. The ghost, Hamilton said, seemed to enforce rules appropriate for young children.

Hamilton first learned about the rumors during her first year on the job. She overheard the principal complaining about frequent calls from paranormal investigators in Louisiana and Colorado. The principal expressed irritation at the volume of inquiries. Hamilton began researching the school’s history online. She found accounts of a man, possibly the janitor, who died in the boiler room shortly after the school was built in 1945. Local legend states that people looking into the windows at night can see the janitor’s shadow beside their own reflection. Tapping the glass, Hamilton said, reportedly caused the ghost to tap back.

The building felt different after sunset, Hamilton noted. She often heard a sound like a basketball bouncing in the boys bathroom. She attributed the noise to the loud boilers clicking. During a summer project to replace the boiler and abate asbestos, she witnessed something more distinct. Arriving at 6 a.m. to move cleaning equipment, she heard heavy boots landing on the hollow gym stage. She saw a man in a flannel shirt and jeans from behind. He had brown hair on the sides and was balding on top. As she turned to greet what she thought was a construction worker, the figure vanished. No one else was in the building.

Before the boiler replacement, Hamilton photographed a leak in the original unit. Water had traveled from the back of the boiler to the front, forming the shape of a man’s head and shoulders. The drain was directly in front of the leak, yet the water moved in a curved path to reach it. The route seemed unnecessary. After the new boiler was installed, the boiler room felt less eerie. The original unit had been present since the school’s construction.

Hamilton also reported seeing a small girl with pigtails and bangs at Miller School, a nearby campus that shared staff. One day, while standing in the library, she saw the child zip past her friends. One friend confirmed seeing the figure. They knew no child was actually in the room. Madori Presley, a teacher at Deming, told Cowboy State Daily she has always sensed an older man’s presence in the building. Presley described the spirit as a guardian who watched over the school and ensured adults did their duties. The spirit seemed to dislike when children were too loud but tolerated their presence. Presley wonders if the energy has changed now that the school is closed.

A kindergarten teacher at Deming reported that the sink in the classroom bathroom turned on by itself. The faucet required lifting a lever. The teacher found the water running but no leak. On one of her last days at the school, Hamilton stood near the office hallway. She heard a rhythmic thumping sound like heavy boots. A gust of wind blew past her, but no one was in the corridor. People were present in the office, but no maintenance workers were in the hall. Hamilton searched for someone wearing work boots. She found no one.

Deming Elementary has now shut down. The building stands empty at 715 W. Fifth Ave. Hamilton left the job after the ghostly encounter in the gym. She said she felt the need to work in a different building for the rest of that day. The school’s history includes the 1945 death of an unnamed man in the boiler room. The exact cause of death remains unknown. Local residents continue to share stories about the janitor’s shadow appearing in windows. The school’s closure marks the end of regular foot traffic in the halls where these sightings occurred.