This fall season, you can get in the spooky spirit by racing coffins.
Yes, coffins.
Every October, people line the streets of Manitou Springs, Colorado, to watch teams sprint down Manitou Avenue pushing decorated handmade casket-shaped wheeled racing devices.
In case you’re wondering, the origin story of this event is just as quirky.
The Emma Crawford Coffin Races trace back to the late 1800s, when Emma Crawford arrived in Manitou Springs seeking relief from tuberculosis in the town’s famed mineral springs. Before her death in 1891, Crawford wished to be buried atop Red Mountain. Her lover and a group of townspeople carried her coffin up the mountain and honored that request. Then, in 1929, years of harsh weather sent Crawford’s coffin sliding down the mountainside, where her remains were later discovered.
So, naturally, Manitou Springs turned the story into a race in 1995.
The town celebrates Crawford’s unusual legacy with the annual Emma Crawford Coffin Races with teams consisting of four pushers and one costumed “Emma.” The teams build their own wheeled coffins and race for glory through downtown, with prizes recognizing speed, costumes and, of course, coffin design.
The 32nd annual event returns Oct. 24, 2026, beginning with a noon parade before the coffins take to the street around 1 p.m. The event is free to watch, and an afternoon after-party keeps the festivities decidedly alive.
It might be a little bit weird, but in a town that proudly embraces the phrase “Keep Manitou Weird,” that’s precisely the point.
Learn more at manitousprings.org/emma-crawford-coffin-races