From phantom footsteps to a spectral hostess who disdains cleaning, an inn and mansion in Denver listed for $3 million is alive with more than just its guests and residents, the owners said.

Elaine Britten and Joel Bryant, both 62, purchased the 9,700-square-foot Queen Anne Victorian mansion known as the five-guestroom Lumber Baron Inn at 2555 W. 37th Ave. in 2016.

“I found right off the bat [that] this was the sweetest ‘haunting,’ if you will,” Britten said.

Nestled in Denver’s historic Potter Highlands neighborhood, the house was built in 1890 by Scottish immigrant and lumber merchant John Mouat for his wife, Amelia, and their children.

The main floor features three parlors, a foyer and an office, all adorned with meticulously preserved original woodwork. The parlors serve as the social heart of the inn. The top floor houses a grand ballroom once considered one of the largest privately owned ones in Denver, according to Bryant.

Bryant, a former chef, worked in the food industry before buying the inn.

“I absolutely love this house,” he said. “It's so amazing. I grew up in north Denver, and I have a degree in history and anthropology, so I love the past.”

At first, Britten was reluctant to purchase the mansion.

“I took one look at that house, and I was like, ‘No way, absolutely not,’” she said.

She said caring for the property seemed like too much of an undertaking.

But Britten — a self-described “diviner and card reader” who has always felt deeply connected to her spirituality — said that during a tour of the home, a mysterious force guided her to an unexpected sign.

She said she was led to a back bookcase. "Right at my eye level … was a book my dad wrote [Edward C. Halbach, Jr.], which was a highly unusual book,” she said. “My father was the leading authority in the United States on wills of estates and trusts, so this is a book that you would have found in a judge's chamber [or] in a lawyer's office.”

Britten was very close to her father.

“If I had heard the voice of God say, ‘Elaine, buy this house,’ I would have been like, ‘Hang on a second. I’ve got to talk to my dad,’” she said. “I took that as my sign.”

With that, Britten was all in.

“I had no idea what I was getting into with this house,” she said with a laugh.

In the beginning, Britten said, she sensed various spirits inside the house: some tied to its long history, others possibly predating its existence.

The house itself has a distinct presence, she said. “It was a home built for family and for community, and that's what I've loved so much."

Britten fondly recalled an encounter with the home’s original hostess.

“I had to get my sea legs under me, and I very much felt like she was present there, guiding me as I was the new mistress of the house,” Britten said. “One day, I was cleaning the inn and was vacuuming, and I got a strong presence that Miss Amelia was very disapproving of me doing housework.”

According to Britten, the house is home to several other spirits, including a young girl named Sarah Michelle, a soldier-like presence she calls Ben, and another known simply as “The Butler.” Britten said each spirit has a distinct energy and moves freely throughout the property.

Britten and Bryant said the ghosts made the house feel like home.

“I was very skeptical when we bought the place of spirits, and that went away pretty quickly,” Bryant said. Like Britton, he soon encountered the spirits of the mansion, he said. He said they were "really protective of us, our guests and the house."

Britten said she loves many aspects of the house, including the dumbwaiter.

She recalls when they first bought the home, her sons — Jeffrey, 32, Mitchell, 37, and Matthew, 39 — were fascinated by it.

“They were in their twenties and a little crazy, but they were trying to go up and down the dumbwaiter,” she said. "I was like, 'Do some things never change with children? This is so dangerous.'"

Bryant said he is especially fond of the ballroom, which features a high ceiling, a vintage chandelier and a starry night sky mural.

“When we took over, it was kind of dark and oppressive, and there was something in the ballroom that didn't like me, and I really didn't like the ballroom,” he said. “That’s changed a lot. Now I love the ballroom. It's super sunny.”

Both Britten and Bryant also admire the original woodwork.

“We have oak and cherry and walnut and sycamore and maple all throughout the house, and the craftsmanship is just fantastic,” Bryant said.

In addition to running the inn, Bryant and Britten lived in a basement apartment originally meant for the property’s caretaker.

“I was worried about living in the place where I worked ... but once we moved in, it was the natural thing,” Bryant said.

Living on-site allowed Bryant to become intimately familiar with the property.

“Just being able to do the work on the house and fix things ... It's gotten in my blood, and I'm always going to have an affinity for this house,” he said.

Britten agreed, saying the property helped her in a profound way.

“I very much felt like I had a calling and a purpose there,” she said. “I loved taking care of people ... breakfast and tea service are two of my favorite things that we did there and meeting people from all over.”

After nearly a decade, Bryant and Britten are ready to sell the property and move on to the next phase of life, they said.

“It's a good job. It's a busy job ... I really want to explore my art," said Bryant, referring to his previous work as a chef, "and I don't have a lot of time or space now that I'm running a business. I'm ready to do some traveling.”

The property was listed in April, but the price has dropped $205,000.

“Things really kind of slowed down as far as the tours and the interest,” Bryant said. “It's kind of uncertain times right now.”

Bryant said prospective buyers have responded well to the house and its unique details, but the undertaking isn’t for everyone.

“This is not an easy place, but the right combination of people or [a] group that can split up the duties will find that it's just a wonderful place,” he said. “The house really does protect the people that are taking care of it.”