A Menacing Presence at Bonito Lake

Bonito Lake (Reservoir)

“It was a robbery that went sour . . .”

Bonito Lake is located at 7300 feet in Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. Beautiful scenery surrounds this man-made reservoir, near Ruidoso.

The ghost story connected to this lake has its roots in 1855.

Most people today do not realize that the remains of a ghost town lie at the bottom of Bonito Lake.

Bonito City sprang up as a mining camp during the Gold Rush. In 1882, this city was just a cluster of tents, it residents a group of starry-eyed miners from states as far away as Virginia.

At its peak, in the mid-1800s, Bonito City had a schoolhouse, three general stores, a saloon, a post office, a boarding house, one blacksmith, and one lawyer.

For a brief period, Lincoln County was able to boast that it was the most populated area in New Mexico.

Bonito City Post Office

But Bonito City was about to become the site of a gruesome mass-murder.

Martin Nelson, aged 24, with dreams of becoming rich overnight, arrived in Bonito City, claiming to be a miner. But locals noted this particular young man never seemed to do any work.

A newspaper clipping
about Murders.

Nelson boarded with a local family for several weeks and then moved to the bustling Mayberry Family boarding house that was the town’s official hotel.

There had been a string of recent robberies in town, but no one had a clue as to who was doing them.

At 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, May 5, 1885, Martin Nelson’s luck was about to run out. He entered the room of Dr. R. E. Flynn at the Mayberry. The doctor had recently arrived from Boston.

Nelson’s intent was to steal this man’s watch. But Dr. Flynn woke up and struggled with the thief. Nelson shot and killed him.

Hearing the commotion, the Mayberrys descended upon the room. Nelson, now panicked, began shooting at the Maybury family members.

John Mayberry Sr. and his two sons, John Jr., and Eddie (Robert) died instantly. Mrs. Mayberry wounded, ran down the stairs, attempting to escape, with her 14-year-old daughter, Nellie.

Nellie Mayberry after
murders was sent back
east to live with relatives.

Nelson shot Mrs. Mayberry a second time, killing her. This bullet also struck Nellie.

Nellie then pleaded for her life, and Nelson agreed not to kill her on the condition that she promised to attend his hanging. She did, and he spared her life.

Meanwhile, Pete Nelson, a neighbor (no relation to Martin), hearing the shots as he closed his saloon for the night, entered the Maybury house. Martin Nelson also shot and killed him.

By this time, a large number of people had gathered outside the boarding house. Nelson trapped, stayed hidden until 7 a.m. He then tried to escape out the back door.

The town grocer, Herman Beck, was waiting for him. Beck was killed by a single shot from Nelson’s rifle.

Nelson managed to leave town, and then a posse chased and caught up to him in Littleton Canyon and killed him.

Nelson’s victims were then buried in the town cemetery on a hilltop overlooking Bonito City. His body was placed near, but not in this cemetery.

The gold boom played out within a few short years, and eventually, Bonito City became a ghost town. The post office closed in 1911, and by 1920 all that remained was a store and eight houses.

In the late 1920s, the Southern Pacific Railroad gained permission to dam the Bonito Creek to create a reservoir that would fuel its steam engines. Workers removed what was left of the town.

By 1933 the lake was so high the water level was approaching the graves of Nelson and his victims.

Angus City Cemetery

The remains of the Mayberry family were relocated to a common grave in the Angus Cemetery—not far from the lake. Nelson’s body was reburied east of this cemetery. Today Nelson's plot is overgrown, but a gravestone still stands as a marker.

Mass grave marker for the victims.

When Nelson’s body was exhumed, it was noted he was thrown face down in a rough pine box. His green felt hat was intact, and several bullet holes were found in it.

He was buried with his body pointing west. Some feel this is why he does not rest in peace. The belief of that era was to place the dead facing up and pointing to the east. This assured the deceased could rise up to meet Christ.

People point to this fact as the reason Martin Nelson’s menacing ghost still wanders the area where he lived and died. And then there is the fact his body was disturbed.

When the Southern Pacific stopped using steam trains, they no longer needed the reservoir. Today Bonito Lake is the main water supply for several surrounding communities, including Ruidoso, New Mexico.

This is the reason swimming, wading, and boats are not allowed on the lake. The area is open for fishing but only from the shoreline.

Bonito Reservoir with the dam to the right.

Campers, mountain bikers, and rock hounds also frequent the area. Others still pan for gold along the Rio Bonito.

But some of these visitors have become so frightened they have left never to return.

It appears Nelson’s ghost has frightened many a tourist and some locals. His scary presence is felt along the shoreline. Some even say he appears to be at the bottom of the lake.

A strange circle of lights has been seen floating on the surface of the water. Eerie sounds are heard including gunshots.

Others have picked up some intriguing EVP’s at Nelson's gravesite.

Local residents warn paranormal enthusiasts that it is not a good idea to awaken this murderer, especially since his presence is felt in such a remote area.

Haunted Hotel Monte Vista

There are many rumors about this old hotel located in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. The Monte Vista has more than one ghost.

I heard many stories about this hotel during my four-year undergraduate work at NAU in the mid-1970s.

The Monte Vista became well known for its paranormal activity, especially after it was highlighted on one episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

This show talked about the hotel’s most haunted room--#305.

Rocking chair in Room 305.

There are numerous witness accounts of seeing a woman sitting in a rocking chair near the window. Many others have seen this chair rocking all by itself.

Some witnesses have reported hearing unexplained knocking sounds inside this room’s closet.

It is known that an elderly lady was once a long-term renter—who would sit by the window for hours in this room. But why she did this is lost to history.

Another active haunting is connected to the hotel’s cocktail lounge. In the 1970s, three men robbed a nearby bank. A bank guard shot one of the three during the robbery.

After their escape, making a bad choice, the three men decided to stop in the Monte Vista lounge for a cold one. The wounded robber bled to death in this bar.

The activity in this room began after this. Patrons and employees are often greeted by an enthusiastic, “Good Morning.” Also, barstools and filled glasses are seen moving about without assistance.

In this same lounge, a couple dressed in formal attire is seen dancing, laughing, and smiling. They never seem to stop. There is another unusual item about them—they are transparent.

Years ago, Flagstaff’s red light district was located a couple of blocks from the Monte Vista. Two prostitutes entered the hotel in the early 1940s with their Johns.

Soon after, they were killed, and their bodies were thrown out of Room 306s 3rd-floor window.

Guests that stay in this room report they were woken up in the middle of the night abruptly. They all state they felt an eerie feeling--as if they were being watched.

The men that stay in this room report feeling hands being placed over their mouths or throats. All state this restricted their ability to breathe.

John Wayne, while staying at the Monte Vista, in Room 210, saw one of the hotels more active ghosts. He encountered this entity more than once. 

The spirit he saw is known as the “Phantom Bellboy.”

This bellboy knocks on the door and softly announces, “room service.” Wayne and other guests that have seen this young man describe him as wearing an old-fashioned red jacket with brass buttons.

Wayne returned later to stay in this same room. He told the staff this ghost appeared to be friendly, and he did not feel threatened.

More creepy ghosts are connected to the hotel’s basement.

Laundry and maintenance workers report a baby crying in distress, endlessly. This sound is so disturbing they often leave the basement, stating they couldn’t take it anymore.

An even more frightening presence in this basement is a six-foot dark shadow figure that has scared staff and deliverymen. He is seen lurking behind people.

These witnesses often leave the basement immediately, stating that this figure exudes a strong sense of menace.

A young ghost—a boy, is seen in the hallways. He appears to be looking up and talking to someone much taller than him. Some speculate this must be his mother—although she is never seen.

Guests have reported this boy touched their hand. Children tend to see this ghost more often.

Monte Vista’s old elevator is self-serve, but more than one guest has reported being greeted as they entered this elevator. A polite attendant asked them, “Which floor?”

Guests also report seeing a phantom hand close the elevator gate.

In Room 220, there is a ghost dubbed the “meat man.” This ghost is believed to be another former long-term resident at the hotel. He had an odd habit of hanging raw meat from the room’s chandelier.

In the 1980s, this man was found, three days after his death, in this room.

Shortly afterward, a maintenance man doing repairs in the room turned off the lights and locked up. He returned to the room shortly afterward to look for something he lost.

To his amazement, the lights were on, and the television audio was on full blast. The linens on the bed had been ripped and scattered across the floor.

Since this initial incident, many guests that have stayed in this room report the television seems to have a mind of its own, and more alarming, large, cold hands touched them as they slept.

I write about a haunting and my personal encounter in one of NAU’s dorms in another post here.

Haunted Nebraska State Capitol

Several legends surround this building. The following two stories have taken on folklore (or ghostlore) status.

The one shared the most involves Christmas lights that used to be placed on the Capitol dome.

Nebraska State Capitol

Finding workers to do this job was difficult. The state had to find people brave enough to risk a 17-story drop to string these lights.

Because of this state prisoners were offered this job, enticed by shorter paroles and jail sentences.

One prisoner who volunteered for the job, in 1968, had a heart attack at the top. He fell to his death.

Witnesses state his screams and sobs were heard for years after his death.

Spiral staircase in
capitol.

Another legend involves a 50-year-old man who fell down the spiral staircase in the building. He became dizzy while looking down the stairs and fell 12 flights. His ghost is also said to haunt the capitol.

Some have debunked these two legends, but others point to a real haunting that occurs in the capitol’s law library.

A female ghost interacts with male visitors in this room.

Witnesses have reported when they couldn’t find the light switch while entering this room, this ghost has grabbed their hand. She then guides their fingers to the light switch.

Many others report seeing books lying strewn across the libraries' floor, after the doors were closed for the day.

Law library at the capitol.

An elevator at the capitol building.

Late one night, a female worker, had a strange encounter involving the elevator on the 3^rd floor. After pressing the button, she waited, only to see the elevator zip passed her floor, and go up to the 12^th floor.

She then answered her phone call, where a mysterious voice told her to wait, “They were coming back down.” When the elevator doors opened on her floor, no one was there.

Spooky Point Sur Lighthouse

This lighthouse, first built in 1889, was fully automated by the Coast Guard in 1972.

Point Sur Lighthouse

It sits high atop a large volcanic rock on a remote location, just north of Big Sur, California.

Today, this lighthouse is a California State Park and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Despite its strong intense beam many ships wrecked, as they tried to navigate along this rugged section of the California coastline.

But this is not the reason midnight haunted tours are offered in October at the lighthouse.

Instead, it is the spirits of family members of the lightkeepers who linger on this beautiful spot.

Many believe these spirits stay because the keeper’s house affords spectacular views of the wild coastline and the Pacific Ocean on three sides.

This house has ocean-view windows in every room, including even the closets and bathrooms.

Several volunteers who help out at the fully restored lighthouse have encountered these ghosts.

Julie Nunes, states the lighthouse has a peaceful, “Shangri-La” feel. She states the ghosts she has encountered are not malevolent in nature.

Kitchen a Point Sur.

Before entering the light keeper's house Nunes, always knocks and greets one ghost, named Ruth, that resides in the house.

Ruth was one light keeper’s wife. She likes to hang out in the house’s kitchen. Smells of cooking are reported, and it seems Ruth likes her privacy for she often swings the kitchen door shut.

Nunes has recorded another female spirit’s voice stating-- “Now she wants you to go home.” And “Pokey, go to bed.”

It is believed this is the voice of Catherine Ingersoll, a Danish immigrant who married one of the lightkeepers.

She is telling her daughter, Pokey, to go to bed. On this recording, the listener can hear the faint sound of the little girl’s voice responding.

Another volunteer, Sheila Fraser was alone in the keeper’s house cleaning. As she put a vacuum away, she heard something downstairs.

Stair landing where
Fraser saw the ghost.

She looked down from the stair landing and saw a woman who looked real.

“She wore her hair up, her sleeves were puffy, and she wore a long skirt. As Fraser watched, she just disappeared.

Fraser has also seen a male ghost watching her from the keeper house's living room window.

In the following video, Nune places an Ovilus down on the kitchen table next to a pair of skeleton arms. She asks, “Pokey, are you here?”

Watch closely, for the skeleton hand on the left—near the coffee mug—moves. I didn’t see it the first time I watched—but it makes a slight movement.

Besides the October tours, year-round tours are offered at Point Sur Lighthouse.

Oregon’s Spooky McMenamins Edgefield

McMenamins Edgefield

Located in Troutdale, Oregon is an impressive hotel named McMenamins Edgefield.

This large hotel has a brewery/winery, and offers fine dining, concerts, a movie theater, gardens, a spa, and a golf course.

Gardens and vineyard at Edgefield

It is also, without doubt, one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S.

The reason for this is how the site was used, for the seven decades before it became a hotel.

In 1911, the Multnomah County Poor Farm opened where the Sandy and Columbus Rivers come together.

Multnomah Poor Farm

This 345-acre farm was a progressive new idea, to help families, the disabled, and the mentally ill to become self-sufficient.

Even with overcrowding during the Great Depression, the Multnomah was still thriving. Residents in Portland would often visit the farm to buy handicrafts made by the residents.

After WWll, with Roosevelt’s New Deal, most of the residents were able to move on—leaving only the more disabled and sick residents on the farm.

A county jail was established on one section of the land in 1954. The inmates refused to work the farm, so it fell into disrepair. The decision was made to sell the livestock and lease the farmland.

The main building was used for the Edgefield Nursing Home starting in 1964.

When the nursing home closed, the property was abandoned for over 20 years, it was extensively vandalized. It was about to be torn down when the Troutdale Historical Society stepped in and saved it.

Spa with soaking pool.

Winery tasting room.

Then with financial support, the McMenamins brothers were able to renovate it.

After the hotel opened, it became apparent to both staff and guests that the grounds and buildings are haunted. A nurse wearing white, a former janitor, and a ghost dog have all been observed by many.

The phantom dog, besides being seen, wakes guests up late at night, by sticking its’ wet nose into people’s faces. Others state they heard the unmistakable clicking of a dog’s nails as this canine moved through their rooms.

One guest hearing this sound, spoke to the dog, telling it, “You are good fella,” at which point it jumped on her. She never saw it.

A phantom janitor, wearing a uniform of a different era, is seen, smiles, and even talks to guests. He is spotted in the same spot each time.

One time he gave a guest the direction to the ladies room as she left the ballroom, but it was where a restroom used to be. He often just disappears after people spot him.

Tasting Room

Allison Berliner, a wine server, has seen the ghostly nurse. She saw this entity walking with keys in her hands in the winery, at 11:00 in the morning. This ghost stopped as if to unlock a door and then just vanished. (The winery was previously the poorhouse infirmary.)

Mural near where entity walked
through Berliner.

One night, as she walked between the second and third floor, she felt an energy go right through her chest. It took her breath away, and she hyperventilated.

At one point Berliner was transferred to work at the hotel’s Black Rabbit Bar. She encountered a shadowy figure that had “very dark energy,” so, to her relief, she was transferred back to the winery.

Maids at the hotel report a variety of experiences. One housekeeper as she stood at the foot of a bed had her ankle grabbed firmly. This unseen hand wouldn’t let go until she jumped away. (Several guests have had this same experience.)

Another maid had just cleaned a room when she returned to retrieve an item that she had forgotten—she entered the room to find everything in disarray.

The night before this happened, a guest staying in this room told the front desk that she awoke to find a dark figure standing over her bed.

Several rooms on the second floor are very active. Guests report awaking to someone tapping on their chest or being poked in the side, or their feet being grabbed while they are in bed.

One guest had her backside grabbed by an unseen hand as she showered. She screamed and retrieved a towel, as she watched one of her shirts in the next room, lift up and fly across the room.

Another guest, who has visited the hotel several times, tells the story of kissing her boyfriend in one elevator when her hair was yanked violently. No one else was in the elevator with them, and her friend’s hands were both on her waist.

Haunted room.

One guest awoke to find an old man standing over her—he had his hand extended as if he wanted her to shake it. He only disappeared after she obliged him.

Guests often take pictures, knowing the hotel’s reputation. Many have captured mists outside. One guest who snapped many photos during his visit found that all the ones he had taken inside had just disappeared. This had never happened with his camera.

A female guest lost her brush. She poured her purse out on the bed in an attempt to find it—only to see it lying on top of the contents she had spilled out, moments before.

Haunted room.

A couple that stayed in a corner room on the third floor—another room with a lot of activity—had a disturbing night. The wife was shoved off the bed, only to see her husband was asleep and turned away from her.

In this same room, another couple both awoke to the sound of something substantial, hitting a hardwood floor. They turned on the lights and discovered the floor was carpeted, and nothing was on the floor.

A third couple heard creepy footsteps circling the bed. The husband saw what appeared to be a grandmother sitting in the corner, watching them.

These couples state they can hardly wait to revisit the hotel. Others say they are too scared to return.

Other activity includes: Cold breezes inside where they shouldn’t be, the feeling that something is watching, a child’s loud cries in what was the infirmary and lamps turn on by themselves.

Concert on the lawn at Edgefield.

The hotel doesn’t deny these hauntings. In fact, they have had the structures cleansed in the past.

Edgefield's' wines and beers.

But they also do not publicize them. The owners don’t have to. The McMenamins Edgefield is a popular destination for a myriad of reasons. Hot mineral springs—anyone?

Haunted Kansas Aviation Museum

“There are things that have happened that can not be explained.”

Art Deco style.

The original Wichita, Kansas, Municipal Airport operated for nineteen years from 1935-1954. Its terminal reflects the much admired, art deco style.

Wichita, for years, was known as the “Air Capital of the World.” And at one time its airport was one of the busiest in the U.S.

Kansas Aviation Museum

Today the old airport terminal is surrounded by McConnell Air Force Base and is an aviation museum.

This museum displays forty of the oldest and most rare airplanes plus some of the earliest engines. The visitor can also get up close to a B-52, and a variety of other hands-on exhibits.

B-52

But be forewarned, the staff claims that there are as many “dead as the living” at this old terminal.

Barb Kramer had only worked a few months at the museum when she began to experience unexplained activity. She was often assigned to close the museum at night.

In a room, just after she had shut off the lights, she felt an extreme cold spot. It was summer, and the room had no air-conditioning. (For many years this terminal had no air-conditioning or heat.)

One night as she shut down the museum after a special event, she heard what she thought were children’s footsteps and laughter on the stairs. She then heard one of them say, “shhh.”

Thinking some visitors were still in the terminal she went to investigate. She found no one.

Saff have also reported, slamming doors, happy, excited voices, and a disappearing man wearing a 1940s hat.

Several employees have heard both public announcements and music from another era. Lights on dimmers are known to turn to bright and then turn completely off on their own.

Several apparitions have been spotted, and the sounds of children playing are often heard during the day.

Others report the feeling someone is following them or watching them.

Most of these hauntings have been connected to events that happened at the old airport in the past—some tragic—but one haunting was brought to the museum via an airplane.

Jernigin's Crop Duster

Duke Jernigin, was a pilot of a crop duster when he crashed and died in his plane.

His bright, yellow plane is displayed in the museum, and paranormal groups that have investigated, state his spirit remains with his aircraft.