Ghosts and haunted houses

Every city has a haunted house that “caters” to ghosts and spirts. This is indeed the month of ghosts and other apparitions lurking around with Halloween just around the corner.

Las Cruces and nearby Mesilla feature several famous haunted locations, including the Doña Ana County Courthouse and Jail, the Amador Hotel, the La Llorona Park, the Old Memorial Hospital, the Las Cruces Railroad Museum, and the Anthropology Museum at New Mexico State University to name a few.

These sightings are not just off hand observations- they have become part of the history of Las Cruces. A formal definition of a ghost is the spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. They are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life - they can appear as apparitions, voices, unexplained sounds, sudden cold, or moving objects.

Speaking of ghosts, what is the meaning of Halloween? Halloween originated in Europe; the holiday became the celebration we recognize today when it was brought to America by the early settlers. People originally carved out turnips and placed candles inside to ward off evil spirits, but Americans switched from turnips to pumpkins.

In 1820, Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, became one of the first distinctly American ghost stories centered around the holiday. Another favorite was Casper the Friendly Ghost, who first appeared in the 1940s. Casper was a translucent ghost who wanted to socialize with living beings.

Halloween received its biggest transformation within the last 50 or so years, thanks to the creation of big candy corporations, and, of course, Hollywood. It is also important to point out that although Halloween and Día de los Muertos occur roughly at the same time, they are very different celebrations.

Halloween, as we see it today, is largely built around fear and the supernatural. From haunted houses and ghost stories to horror movies and spooky costumes, it is meant to give us a thrill. It’s about embracing the scary and the unknown, even if it’s just for fun.

The decorations you see in neighborhoods—think cobwebs, gravestones, and jack-o’-lanterns—are designed to evoke a sense of eeriness. Día de los Muertos is entirely different. While it also revolves around the dead, the tone is one of joy and celebration, not fear, it is about reconnecting with ancestors and family and remembering those who have passed, not in sadness, but with happiness and love.

Back to the story of local ghosts. The old courthouse on Amador Avenue is a well-known haunted location. There are apparently several recurring ghosts that have taken up residence at the courthouse.

One of them is Ms. Mary Waters, a local waitress, who turned into a multi-generational ghost story legend. One January evening in 1951 she was found under mysterious circumstances, lying in the middle of the street, semi-conscious, by the Amador Hotel.

Assuming she was simply intoxicated, the police took her to the jail across the street. She died soon after. The official cause of death was a ruptured liver. Legends suggest that she was found with a horrific look on her face, leaving some people to speculate her death was paranormal related.

Mary Waters was a real person and is buried at the Masonic Cemetery. Another recurring ghost is a judge seen at a second-floor office window, sometimes on the balcony smoking a cigar. Some suspect that the ghost is that of Judge Numa Charles Frenger, who presided over the 3rd Judicial District from 1938 until 1945. He is also buried at the Masonic Cemetery.

The Amador Hotel has stood on the on the corner of Amador Avenue and Water Street since the 1860s/1870s, and it is widely known for local ghost stories and paranormal claims. At various times, the building served as a hotel, a courthouse, a post office, bank, and county office center.

One of the well-known ghosts is Annie, a little girl said to haunt the second floor. Those who have encountered her spirit have heard her giggling and seeing a small figure dart across the floors. People have also reported lights turning off and on, footsteps, and shadowy figures. Others have reported hearing footsteps, things dropped on the floor and a general coldness entering a room.

The La Llorona Park is a popular spot for family outings, bike riding and for just enjoying the different seasons of the Rio Grande. La Llorona (the “Weeping Woman”) is about a grieving spirit who haunts riverbanks — such as the Rio Grande. La Llorona is looking for her children because she drowned them herself.

She apparently wanders all over Latin America because every town with a river claims her. Santa Fe swears it happened there. Historically, the tale is a ghost story as well as a cautionary warning to keep children from wandering too close to rivers. People have reported seeing a woman dressed in white wandering along the Rio Grande riverbank at night, searching for her children. Others have heard screaming and crying when no one is around.

The Anthropology Museum at NMSU has several ghosts that like to haunt vacant rooms. Students and staff have reported hearing shuffling of feet in empty corridors, lights flashing off and on, rooms that turn cold and icy when you enter them and artifacts that randomly fly off shelves.

Whatever your beliefs are regarding ghosts, at some point you have turned around, thinking someone was behind you, but no one was there ... lights have turned on and off for no reason ... you've heard a quiet whisper, or a book has fallen off of a shelf, but you were alone ... just your imagination, you may think. But stop and take notice next time you hear something go bump in the night.

On Halloween, as you visit the various haunted houses or hand out candy, could there be a ghost hiding in the mist? For those who want more adventures, check out the website for Southwest Expeditions. They do year-round guided walking and paranormal investigation tours through the three-story, 37,000-square-foot 1937 courthouse and jail annex (more info https://swexpeditions.com/).

Quoting a traditional Celtic/Cornish folk saying, “from ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!"