Santa Fe: The Ghost of Julia Staab

Living in New Mexico, I have heard about Julia Staab’s ghost for many years. Her husband Abraham Staab made his fortune supplying goods to the U.S Army during the Civil War. He then moved to Santa Fe and was a very successful merchant. 

Abraham in a search for a Jewish wife, arranged for Julia to leave her home in Germany and come to New Mexico territory in the 1870s. 

In 1882 he had an elegant three-story brick mansion--in the French Second Empire style-built on Palace Avenue in Santa Fe for his wife.

The couple was very happy at first. They had seven children and Julia enjoyed showing off her beautiful European furnished home. The mansion’s third story ballroom became the center for Santa Fe’s social elite. It is stated Julia loved her home so much that she remained even after death.

Julia’s life changed with the birth of her eighth child. This baby died shortly afterward, and Julia fell into a deep depression. It was around this same time she discovered Abraham was having an affair. 

With this added stress it is said her hair turned white overnight. She suffered through several miscarriages and finally descended into madness. 

She spent her last remaining years in her bedchamber. She died in 1896 of an apparent suicide. Her surviving children all grew up in the mansion. Their father Abraham died in 1913. The third-floor ballroom burnt down around 1919.

In the 1930s, the Nason family bought the home and the six-acre surrounding estate with the intention of turning it into a hotel. They built a series of Revival-style adobe casitas around the existing Staab mansion and carriage house. 

The original entrance, to the 19th-century mansion, can be seen off the lobby to the right near the hotel’s restaurant. As people walk up the staircase there is a sense of otherworldliness in the area. 

The second-floor guestrooms--originally the Staab family bedrooms still have many of their original furnishings. Julia’s large bedroom is now a favorite guestroom, #256.

The Nason’s called their new hotel La Posada, which in Spanish means “inn” or “resting place.” Their hotel quickly became a popular gathering place for Santa Fe’s art colony. 

It was during the 1970s that Julia’s ghost first began to appear to guests and employees at the hotel.

Her misty apparition wearing black was first seen in the hotel’s lobby and on the staircase that leads to the second floor. 

One compelling encounter occurred when the hotel’s furnace went out. Employees tried to enter this room but the door became mysteriously jammed shut. The phone rang in the hotel lobby from Julia’s bedchamber --no one was staying in this room at the time. A woman’s voice stated:

“This is my house. Why isn’t the furnace working? I’ll get it fixed.”

Ten minutes later the furnace room door was open and it was working. 

Julia’s ghost is often encountered in her bedchamber. While alive, she loved to take long baths. Guests that have stayed in her room report hearing the bathtub running in the middle of the night. 

Many guests have heard Julia’ voice and heavy breathing in the room as well. 

One couple checked out early because the husband saw Julia's ghost at the foot of the bed. 

A hotel employee who was giving a tour of the second floor, knocked on Julia’s bedchamber door forgetting that no guest was staying in the room at that time. He was surprised to hear a woman’s voice state, “Don’t come in, I am dressing.” He quickly moved the group along.

After the hotel was renovated in the 1990s, Julia’s ghost was seen in many other areas of the hotel.

A bartender setting up for service saw Julia’s ghost quietly sitting nearby. He and other witnesses that night saw several glasses fly off the bar. 

One experienced waiter kept dropping his tray of drinks. He told the bartender later that something kept hitting his tray out of his hands. 

A female guest using the downstairs restroom placed her purse on the counter upright. Within seconds all of her make-up flew out of her purse and scattered across the floor.

Two of the cleaning staff also encountered Julia’s ghost. A maid cleaning a male guest restroom spotted Julia’s image in a mirror staring at her. When she turned around no one was there. 

A janitor mopping a floor looked up and saw Julia's brown eyes staring intently at him. He was so unnerved he quit. 

Several of the kitchen staff report pots and pans fly off their hooks and the lights in the room often flicker. The sink taps often turn on and off, the plumbing has been checked but no apparent reason has been discovered.

Today the Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa is one of the cities finest hotels. Elegant gardens and fountains surround the building. It is located just two blocks east of the historic Santa Fe Plaza.

The following is a segment that Unsolved Mysteries did about Julia Staab's ghost. 

Local News Story about my group Central New Mexico Ghost Investigations

The local CBS News affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico did a story about my team's investigations and one of our regular client’s stores—Prized Possessions. My group normally does not seek publicity. In fact word of mouth has always worked for us. But Channel 13 approached us and asked if they could do this story. We agreed. I appreciate the fact that they presented the story professionally.

Here is the video.

Haunted Hotels: The St. James

In the spring of 2010 the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, NM graciously closed its doors to guests so that my group—Central New Mexico Ghost Investigations—could do a private investigation. The present manager and a past manager both took the time to share personal experiences they had at the hotel. I was really impressed they both care a great deal about their town and the St. James.

Judy, an employee of the hotel, also spent a lot of time with our group talking to us about the hotel’s paranormal history. The information these three shared with us could easily fill a book so I will just share some of the highlights here. In another post I will share some of the experiences myself and members of my group had during our investigation of the hotel. But here is something interesting we captured.

We placed one of our DVR cameras on the second floor facing into the Poker Room. We captured this lamp moving when we were taking a break after midnight, on the hotel’s front porch, so no one was on the second floor; the security guard was downstairs in the lobby during this time as well. The window was open but there was no wind.

The word Cimarron means ‘wild and unruly” this is a very appropriate name because both the town and the hotel have a very violent history. Several resident ghosts have made themselves known over the years and even more activity comes and goes because the hotel is right next to the Santa Fe Trail. Also the hotel was used as a make shift morgue in the early days.

Many people died in the hotel or where brought into the hotel to die. One well-known ghost is T.J. Wright. He was shot in the hotel and then taken back to his room, number 18, to die. 

The previous owner’s wife when she entered this room to discuss the renovation of it was knocked to her knees twice by something unseen. Her husband decided the room should be left undisturbed and locked to the general public. The present manager told us he was a skeptic until he had his own experiences in Room 18—the room remains locked to this day.

Pictures of Room 18:

Room 18

The hotel has an entity they call “The Imp.” Several people have caught glimpses of him; he is described as older, short, with a pockmarked face. Judy works the front desk and one day when she returned to her workspace she found that the cash drawer, which she had not opened since early morning, had been emptied. She searched the area and found all the bills stacked neatly under a book on the counter. She has also been locked out of the office area at the front desk several times.

One female guest who stayed at the hotel the year before we did our investigation got more than she bargained for. She later admitted she had verbally been disrespectful to the ghosts during her stay on the second floor of the hotel. 

As this guest walked down the staircase to leave, Judy heard a loud banging, like a suitcase falling down the stairs. When she went around the corner to investigate she found this female guest on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Flustered the guest asked for help leaving the hotel—which was accomplished quickly.

She later called the hotel and explained what she had experienced. As she walked down the stairs she felt a very angry presence walking up the stairs toward her—this presence that she did not see-- hit her real hard. She then felt a much more positive presence that seemed to protect her as she fell.

The hotel’s protective spirit is Mary Lambert. She was Henry Lambert’s second wife. A past guest caught a photo of what is believed to be her profile; it is displayed on the wall above the staircase on the second floor. 

Henry was the original owner of the hotel. Employees and guests have felt Mary’s presence over the years—while alive she ran the hotel for many years. She announces her presence with a distinct floral scent. Our group had an experience with her—but that is for another post. Her room is just down the hall from T.J.’s.

Mary's Room

Happy Ghost Hunting!

Haunted Hotels: The Shaffer

The Shaffer Hotel in Mountainair New Mexico is reported to be haunted by its original owners’ Clem (Pop) Shaffer and his second wife Lena (Ma) Shaffer. 

Pop built the hotel in 1908 in his version of the Indian motif style. Today the hotel is a Registered National Historic site.

Paranormal activity that has been reported in the past by guests who have stayed at the hotel include: personal items being moved in their rooms, lights turning on and off, water taps turning on by themselves, and dark shadows lurking in the second-floor hallways and in the first-floor conference room. 

People have also reported feeling they were being watched.

The owner Joel told us a story of a dark presence that accosted him and his girlfriend in the hallway outside the Wedding Suite. This presence was so forceful it literally flattened his cheeks back against his face in a kind of wind tunnel or bobsled effect. 

He also told to us that at least one of the entities in the hotel had followed him all the way home to Albuquerque shortly after his hallway experience.

My group had several personal experiences at the Shaffer last year when Joel was kind enough to close the entire hotel to the general public so we could investigate the property without interruption.

One of the first experiences we encountered was the distinct smell of chocolate in the handicapped room off the conference center on the first floor. This room had been empty for the winter with no linens on the beds etc. 

Two of my investigators also sensed a presence in this same area at the back door of the conference center that leads out to the fire pit and park.

We also captured some interesting activity on the second floor. We caught a spirit taking his “last breath” in the Abo Suite on one of our digital recorders. 

It was in this room the former owner died before Joel bought the hotel. We caught several EVP’s in and around the second Cowboy Room, which is located at the front of the hotel. 

We also picked up a meter dropping to the floor off an end table on one of our DVR cameras in this room when no one had been in it for over an hour.

We experienced high EMF’s (electromagnetic field) readings on our Kll’s and Mels in the two guest rooms directly above the kitchen storage room; there were no high power sources in these areas. 

These two rooms connect to the hall that we captured an interesting black bat-like shape on the ceiling with another of our DVR cameras. 

Pop Shaffer and his son created the concrete fence and gate that runs along the side of the hotel. This structure alone creeps me out.

Shaffer Hotel Video

This video was shot on one of our group's DVR cameras. The owner of the Shaffer Hotel in Mountainair, New Mexico closed his hotel so our group could do an investigation of the place. 

I and four other investigators stayed up most of the night doing EVP sessions and checking our DVR monitors for activity. 

The scene below is from a camera we set up on one of the second floor hallways. The black mass on the ceiling is perplexing to say the least. I do not know what it is...

Darkness Radio Event

Just got back from the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. The Stanley is considered one of the most haunted hotels in America. 

This hotel inspired Steven King's The Shining and Pet Cemetery.

Dave Schrader from Darkness Radio and the Cast from Ghost Adventures hosted this event. I found Dave and Zak to be very down to earth and accessible.

It was a very informative conference. 

Speakers, such as, Jeff Belanger and Bill Chappell made the trip very worthwhile. 

Jeff has written some of the most entertaining and informative books about hauntings. Bill is a retired engineer who has developed some great ghost hunting equipment, the PX, Ovilus etc.

Several members of my group Central New Mexico Ghost Investigations and myself attended this ghost hunt/conference. 

Our group normally conducts hunts with only 4 to 6 people at a time. 

We investigate homes and hotels etc. where the owners are kind enough to let us have the space with no one else around. 

So we turn off the lights, walk in our soft-soled shoes, and send in 2 people at a time, which allows us to do very quiet investigations.

I was pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of the ghost hunt we attended at this conference. 

Despite several hundred attendees groups were divided over two nights into various parts of the hotel, manor house, and concert hall. 

The Stanley closed its doors except for the conference attendees--they also turned out all the lights for us. 

We where divided into small groups and went to various locations were leaders, such as; the Constantinos (EVP specialists) and Zak, Aaron and Billy from Ghost Adventures led the various groups in investigations in the most haunted locations. 

We went into the employee tunnel and then into the cave next to it. Our small group EVP session picked up a spirit swearing at us and we head a disembodied voice (Manuel) speak to us. 

It was really fun. (Note: my group does this kind of thing all the time and we seek it so it does not scare us). 

We had a great session with Jeff in the bachelor suite in the manor house. 

Using a PX and a Shack Hack we got direct responses on both in direct answers to our questions--when you use these two types of equipment you always record--so we have great evidence. For example, both gave us the same name for the spirit we were talking to and both mentioned the Stanley by name. 

My group also did some investigations on our own and we actually picked up some compelling evidence on our camcorder and digital cameras during the day on the hotels' side staircase. 

One of my investigators went back up to our room during lights out using this same side staircase--her flashlight battery drained and a very dark entity followed her. 

Something fluttered up between my pants leg and sock during the bachelor room session when I was leaning against a wall with no one on either side of me.

One a final note: The Stanley Hotel is a must visit. It has a wonderful staff and an old world charm rarely found. Do not visit this hotel in the summer--it has no air-conditioning.

In the winter the central heating is so effective you can throw open your room windows and have fresh air 24/7. In the summer there are constant ghost tours so it is noisy. In the winter the hotel is peaceful in comparison. 

The food in the bar and dinning room is wonderful but very expensive. Rent a car or drive your own. It literally takes five minutes to get anywhere you want in Estes Park from the Stanley.