DENVER (KDVR) — While you’re gathering to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, thousands of people will be gathering in a Colorado mountain town to celebrate a frozen dead guy.
Seriously.
For more than 20 years, a tradition-turned-festival has brought skeletons and ghostly figures to the streets of Nederland, some 40 miles west of Denver.
It all began in 1989, when Bredo Morstoel died from a heart condition in the European country of Norway.
Instead of a traditional burial, he was packed in dry ice and brought to a facility in Oakland, California. There, he spent four years in liquid nitrogen, according to officials with the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival. Then in 1993, Morstoel was transferred to Colorado to live with his daughter and grandson in Nederland.
Both of his descendants are described as “strong advocates for cryonics who hoped to start a facility of their own.”
Though Grandpa Bredo wasn’t from the area, he became a familiar figure amongst Nederland residents and a festival was created to pay tribute to him. Some members of the community even helped to keep Morstoel in his frigid slumber in the decades to come. That process involved bringing dry ice to a shed, where Bredo rested in a coffin within an ice box-like container.
That soon blossomed into the three-day festival, Frozen Dead Guy Days which includes the iconic coffin races and a polar plunge in honor of Grandpa Bredo. This festival always took place in Nederland, where the Frozen Dead Guy rested. That changed last year, though.
Slideshow: Photos from the Frozen Dead Guy Days 2023
A person dressed as Frankenstein’s monster wanders trough the crowd during the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival at the Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, Colorado, on March 18, 2023. – The festival, which originally took place in Nederland, Colorado, began after the frozen body of a deceased Norwegian man, Bredo Morstøl, was found in a shed there. The body of Morstøl, who died in 1989, was cryogenically frozen by his family members and shipped to the United States. Legends about Morstøl became popular among Nederland, Colorado, residents, and they created this festival to honor him. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images) 
Team Jailbreak (R) races out of the start line during a coffin race against Team Rainbros during the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival at the Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, Colorado, on March 18, 2023. – The festival, which originally took place in Nederland, Colorado, began after the frozen body of a deceased Norwegian man, Bredo Morstøl, was found in a shed there. The body of Morstøl, who died in 1989, was cryogenically frozen by his family members and shipped to the United States. Legends about Morstøl became popular among Nederland, Colorado, residents, and they created this festival to honor him. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images) 
Dan Thomas of Parker, Colorado, is dressed as the late Bredo Morstol during Frozen Dead Guy Days festival in Estes Park, Colorado on March 18, 2023. – The festival, which originally took place in Nederland, Colorado, began after the frozen body of a deceased Norwegian man, Bredo Morstøl, was found in a shed there. The body of Morstøl, who died in 1989, was cryogenically frozen by his family members and shipped to the United States. Legends about Morstøl became popular among Nederland, Colorado, residents, and they created this festival to honor him. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images) 
Team Dead Disney Dreams navigate the course during the coffin races at the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival at the Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, Colorado, on March 18, 2023. – The festival, which originally took place in Nederland, Colorado, began after the frozen body of a deceased Norwegian man, Bredo Morstøl, was found in a shed there. The body of Morstøl, who died in 1989, was cryogenically frozen by his family members and shipped to the United States. Legends about Morstøl became popular among Nederland, Colorado, residents, and they created this festival to honor him. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images) 
Will Slater of Aurora, Colorado, poses for a portrait at the rear of his familys hearse during the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival at the Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, Colorado, on March 18, 2023. – The festival, which originally took place in Nederland, Colorado, began after the frozen body of a deceased Norwegian man, Bredo Morstøl, was found in a shed there. The body of Morstøl, who died in 1989, was cryogenically frozen by his family members and shipped to the United States. Legends about Morstøl became popular among Nederland, Colorado, residents, and they created this festival to honor him. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images)
The festival moved to Estes Park, 40 miles north of Nederland, last year. It will be there again this year, running from March 15-17, with the beloved coffin races (you can watch last year’s competition in the video player above) and polar plunge, as well as live music, dancing, and themed brunch menus.
In August, Morstoel followed suit.
Grand Bredo was driven to the old icehouse at the hauntingly iconic Stanley Hotel (which also served as the inspiration behind Stephen King’s “The Shining”) with permission from his grandson. He was submerged head-first in liquid nitrogen and now resides in the world’s only museum dedicated to the science of cryonics, according to the hotel.
Luckily, Grandpa Bredo will also have some spooky neighbors soon.
Not only is The Stanley Hotel known to be one of the most haunted hotels in the nation, but it’s also going to have a new horror movie exhibit.
Blumhouse, a multimedia company known for horror films like “Halloween,” “The Purge,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” “M3GAN” and more, will use a 10,000-square-foot space at the hotel to curate exhibits with the company’s extensive catalog including films, TV, and gaming.
As for Morstoel, CBS reports that his family hopes doctors will be able to clone or revive him one day.
Samantha Jarpe contributed to this report.
