Haunted New Mexico: St. Vincent Hospital, Part ll

When St. Vincent’s hospital in Santa Fe moved to its new location on St. Michael’s Drive in 1983 the old building then was used for several years as a nursing home called by the locals, La Residencia.

Renovated from hospital to Drury
Plaza Hotel

The nursing staff at this facility are aware of the building’s reputation for being haunted. In fact, they initiate new staff members by escorting them at night to the basement on the elevator--leaving them there. They then direct them to find the staircase and meet them back up on the 3^rd floor.

The employees that used this as a “rite of passage” for the newbies on the staff openly admitted they would not go to the basement alone even if they were offered money.

The basement had a history of people seeing apparitions, hearing disembodied voices, loud banging noises, and being touched by unseen hands. As I mentioned in Part l, many feel that the spirits of restless Native Americans haunt the various rooms and hallways in this area.

One evening, the nursing home’s Nurse Coordinator was assigned to escort the new nurse’s aide down the elevator to the basement. When the elevator stopped, she wished her ‘good luck” and reminded this young lady to meet her back upstairs via the staircase.

Time passed, and the nurse’s aide did not come back upstairs. The coordinator and another nurse agreed hesitantly to go down the elevator to find the aide.

As they reached the basement, the coordinator went in search of the young woman while the other nurse kept the elevator doors open. The only light besides what came from the elevator was the Exit signs and the flashlight the coordinator held.

She called out the aide’s name and heard a faint reply. She found the younger woman huddled in the corner of one storage room. The woman was grateful to see her. 

She told the coordinator she had gotten lost and then heard some weird noises. The coordinator called out to the other nurse that everything was okay.

As they left the room, her flashlight picked up something shiny on one wall. She reached out and touched it with her fingers--it was wet. She didn’t have a handkerchief, and she didn’t want to wipe it on her uniform, so she just let her fingers dry.

When they entered the elevator, she looked down at her hand. Her fingers appeared to be covered in blood. She smelled them and picked up the distinct iron scent of hemoglobin. 

Now in a panic, she yelled at the other nurse, “Press the button, press the button.”

Afterward, one workman who had been an employee when the building was used as a hospital told her that this storage room had once held a small furnace. 

The hospital had used this furnace to cremate amputated limbs and organs removed during surgeries.

After this, the nursing home staff no longer used the basement to initiate new employees.

While the building was still St. Vincent Hospital, Room 311 on the 3^rd floor was not used for patients unless absolutely necessary.

During one Christmas holiday a new employee, a nurse’s aide experienced something on the 3^rd floor she will never forget.

She was helping a patient get into bed one evening when she heard crying coming from down the hall. She went to investigate and stopped at Room 311, she listened to the crying once more.

She opened the door and went inside, but the room was empty. She then checked other rooms, but all the patients were asleep. As she walked toward the nurse’s station, she heard the crying once more.

She backtracked and heard the sound as she stopped outside Room 311. This time when she entered she turned on the lights and checked under the beds--perhaps a stray cat had gotten into the room-- but nothing was there.

Later that night, she heard the crying once more. She ran down the hall to 311, but the sound stopped as she entered the room. The following evening she described what she had heard to several nurses.

They informed her that everyone heard crying--that worked on the 3^rd floor, especially during the winter months. They advised her just to ignore it. 

The next time she heard the crying, it was Christmas Eve. She felt it must be a baby--she had worked with babies in an intensive care unit in another hospital, and this crying sounded very similar to what she had heard in the past.

She listened as she heard the crying stop, and then gasping sounds followed. She had heard similar sounds as she had held babies that were dying.

The next week she mentioned the “crying baby” to a group of fellow employees having dinner. 

One woman told her that many years before, she had been on duty on the 3^rd floor on Christmas Eve.

There had been a fatal 2-car accident on I-25 and the driver in one car, a father, had been instantly killed. His young son had been brought in with internal bleeding. 

This baby remained in critical condition and sadly died. The nurse stated she still remembered him gasping for breath as he struggled to live.

The aide asked what room this had been, she replied Room 311.

New hotel

The nursing home left the building after 7 years. The old St. Vincent hospital building has recently been renovated by Drury Hotels. This summer--2014--the Drury Plaza Hotel is having its grand opening. 

Here is Part l of this post where I share another eyewitness account and why the building is thought to be haunted.

* Excerpts taken from New Mexico Ghost Stories, by Antonio Garcez

Haunted New Mexico: St. Vincent Hospital, Part l

At the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Palace Museum in Santa Fe sits a building that is one of New Mexico’s most haunted.

St. Vincent Hospital

This site has been reincarnated as various hospitals since 1865. The present-day building was built in 1977 to house St. Vincent Hospital, which served Santa Fe and northern New Mexico until 1983. 

This facility gained a reputation as being haunted.

The building’s basement and third floor are where most of the ghostly activity occurs.

One legend involves a hospital worker who one night was riding on one of the elevators. He was taken to this lower floor even though he had pressed the 3rd-floor button. 

Once in the basement, he tried to close the elevator doors, but despite pressing every button on the panel, they would not close--even after several minutes passed.

Frustrated, he finally just stepped out into the basement at which point the doors closed, and the elevator went back up. He usually avoided this part of the building because he had heard the rumors. 

In the darkness, he debated whether to wait for the elevator or try to find the stairs when he felt something behind him.

He looked around and didn’t see anything, so he decided to wait for the elevator. But the feeling of being watched overtook him, and he started to search for the stairs. 

He now saw a shadow along the wall that seemed to be following him. He panicked and ran. He tripped over a large packing crate, bumped his head and was knocked out cold.

This basement is large and has many rooms and hallways that even during the day are dark and gloomy.

The above is a local story that is told to inspire “Legend Trippers” to explore the building’s basement. I have heard of more than one incident where teens broke in a basement window to do just this.

Some believe the building is haunted because of what is stored in crates in one hallway in the basement. The St. Vincent is located next to the New Mexico State Museum offices, and for years they stored boxes containing Native American artifacts in this basement.

These items include pottery, stone tools, and grinding stones, etc. all taken from burial sites. 

One rumor often mentioned is that some of these crates even contain human bones. Many believe these rooms are haunted by the spirits of restless Native Americans.

Several nurses, nurse’s aides, and many other hospital staff over the years have encountered strange and ghostly activity in this building. Reliable witnesses tell the following three stories, so they are considered true.

The Game of Chase *

During the time the building was still used as a hospital, one nurse, Maryclare Henebry, worked nights on the 3^rd floor in the adult psychiatric unit. This floor had both secured and unsecured areas.

It was 2:00 a.m., and Henebry was unlocking the heavy double doors to make her hourly round. She felt a presence standing next to her, so she turned. 

A Hispanic man quickly drew his hand back--he had been about to tap her shoulder.

At first, Henebry thought he was a patient, then she realized she had never seen him before. She noted his old style clothing:

“He was wearing dark pants that were crudely stitched and made of heavy fabric. His white shirt was buttoned at the neck and had a wide old-fashioned collar. He wore black leather boots.”

Henebry, who is 5’3” inches in height, was surprised to see that he was much shorter. Henebry asked him who he was, but he did not respond, he instead just stared at her.

To her amazement, she saw him start to disappear where he stood. His head and feet slowly faded at the same time--then his midsection disappeared as well.

Herebry understandably shaken up had trouble relocking the door.

An hour later, at 3:00 a.m., she hesitated when it was time to do her rounds again. She approached the heavy doors and looked through a window down the hall into the secure unit.

To her surprise, she spotted the short Hispanic man again as he rounded a corner out of her view. She then saw a female figure run passed where she stood. This female was taller than the man, wore a white gown, and had long flowing hair.

She couldn’t make out her features for she wore a mantilla or veil over her face. As she passed, Herebry noted she had no feet. Instead, she appeared to be floating three inches above the floor.

Before Herebry could react, the Hispanic man rushed by her, apparently chasing the female spirit as she floated down the hall.

Herebry wondered why this man was chasing the woman, was it a game, or was it something more deadly. She never found out, and she never saw these two apparitions again.

In Part ll of this post, I share two more true witness accounts. The first is about a wall covered in blood in the basement, witnessed by two nurses, and the second is about a nurse who hears a baby crying on the third floor during the holidays.

* Excerpts taken from New Mexico Ghost Stories, by Antonio Garcez

The Crescent Hotel’s Quack Doctor Part I

This hotel designed by Isaac L. Taylor was built atop a mountain in 1885 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was touted as “America’s most luxurious resort hotel.” 

Its purpose was to cater to the many tourists who came to partake of the “healing waters” of the Ozarks. It had a 500-seat dining room, swimming pool, tennis courts, and beautiful gardens. The views from its terraces and rooms are spectacular.

At first, the hotel was a great success, but as time passed people slowly stopped coming to Eureka Springs realizing the healing waters in the area were not as effective as they were made out to be. The hotel no longer able to pay its bills closed.

By 1908, the former hotel was being used as a Women’s College, but by 1924 this school closed down finding student tuitions were not enough to sustain the upkeep on the large building. In 1930 a Junior College took ownership, but they sold the old hotel shortly afterward in 1934.

Normal Baker

In 1937, Norman Baker, a quack doctor who was a con man, bought the building. He reopened the building as a cancer hospital and a health resort. 

He advertised that the combination of the area’s healing waters in conjunction with his “miracle elixirs” could cure cancer without unnecessary tests or surgery.

Cancer patients from all over the country flocked to “Bakers Hospital” to be cured. Unfortunately, Baker was not a real doctor--in fact in 1936, he had been arrested in Iowa for practicing medicine without a license. The Federal authorities becoming aware of his false claims swooped down and arrested him in 1939 on a charge of mail fraud.

“It is said he had each patient write home three times asking for more and more money.”

Baker was also mailing his “miracle elixir” around the country--it was estimated that he had conned 4 million dollars out of desperate cancer patients over the years that he ran Baker Hospital. He served five years in Leavenworth and then moved to Florida where he died in 1958.

He had not cured one patient--instead he managed to shorten the life span of many.

After this, new investors from Chicago bought the quack doctor's hospital and started to restore it, but in 1967 a fire destroyed most of the 4^th story and south wing.

By 1997, when a couple, Marty and Elisa Roenigk purchased the hotel stating they were going to restore the Crescent Hotel to its original glory, not many people in Eureka Springs believed them. 

But within 5 years, and with millions of dollars, they did precisely this. It has been over 100 years since the hotel’s original opening, and the Crescent shines once more.

Today the Crescent Hotel is a popular tourist destination in the Ozarks. An added attraction is the hotel’s large assortment of ghosts.

Norman Baker’s apparition has been seen. Witnesses have spotted him wearing a white linen suit and a brightly colored shirt. He is seen in the hotel’s recreation room in the basement-- it is here where he coaxed patients to write home to request money. 

His ghost is also seen on the 1st-floor stairway. When old photos are shown of Baker, these witnesses state he is the man they saw.

Another ghost is believed to be a staff nurse that worked at the hospital. She is seen in the middle of the night wearing all white on the hotel’s 3^rd floor. Her ghost is seen pushing a gurney on this floor with a deceased patient. Many witnesses stated that she just disappears as she reaches the end of the hall.

Other witnesses have not seen her but heard the gurney’s squeaky wheels as it passed their rooms late at night.

These sightings also fit in with the hotel’s history. Dr. Baker kept a morgue in the basement--and deceased patients were always moved in the middle of the night from their rooms so others would not see them. The hotel still displays the morgue’s autopsy table and freezer.   

Another ghost seen connected to this time is one of Dr. Baker’s unfortunate patients. The hotel’s cleaning staff sees this female ghost. They describe her as a shy elderly woman, oddly dressed, who calls herself “Theodora.” She approaches these staff members, and politely introduces herself then she vanishes right in front of them.

The laundry room on the 3^rd floor is also said to be active. The washers and dryers turn on in the middle of the night without cause.

In Part ll of this post entitled, The Crescent Hotel’s GhostsPart II I share more stories about the ghosts seen at this grand old hotel.

Mexican Ghost Story: La Planchada

Leyenda de la Planchada (Legend of the ironed)

La Planchada in Spanish means “ironed lady.” 

The following is a well-known ghost legend in Mexico and the southwestern part of the U.S. It is a story of a ghostly nurse who is seen in hospitals in central Mexico in urban areas. 

This nurse is seen wearing an old-fashioned nurses uniform. There are several versions of this story. The following is one that has been told many times. This story is connected to the Hospital Juarez, located in Mexico City.

In the 1930s, a nurse by the name of Eulalia worked at the hospital. She always wore clean, crisp ironed uniforms. She was an excellent nurse, and her patients were lucky to be under her care. 

But this changed when a handsome young doctor joined the hospital’s staff. Eulalia and this doctor started to see each other socially. It was not long before Eulalia fell in love and the two were engaged.

Shortly after they became engaged, the doctor left to attend a medical seminar. To Eulalia’s surprise and concern, he did not return the following week. Then another week passed, and the doctor still did not respond. 

Eulalia was beside herself with worry. She felt that something terrible must have happened. It wasn’t until several weeks had passed that the hospital got word from the doctor—it seems he had met a woman in the town that hosted the seminar and the two had wed.

Heart-broken, Eulalia lapsed until a deep state of depression. She was so distracted by her sorrow that her work suffered. She started to neglect the patients that were under her care. 

One night one of her patients died as a direct result of her neglect. Realizing her terrible error, Eulalia became ill herself. Not having the will to fight for her own life, she died in the hospital where she worked.

After her death, strange things started to occur. Patients, nurses, and doctors began to see a nurse in the emergency room area. 

Some stories state that she appears to glow and floats instead of walks through the hospital corridors. Other witnesses say she seems to walk normally. But in all of these reports, it is stated her footsteps are not heard. 

Hospital staff started to call this ghostly nurse, “La Planchada” because she always appears wearing a clean, freshly pressed uniform.

The reports from patients are the most intriguing. This ghostly nurse not only appears but cares for patients in the emergency area of the hospital. * 

One photo of what is
believed to be La Planchada.

It is often reported that at night when some of the hospital staff neglect their patients, this nurse cares for them instead. In the morning, these patients are well enough to be moved to less intensive care rooms. When asked how they are feeling they reply, “a nurse came in and healed me.”

It is stated that Eulalia returns as a spirit nurse because of a sense of guilt. It seems she is forever doomed to pay for her mistake in life. 

As mentioned above, there are several versions of this story. In one version, it is stated that the nurse was a cruel person who mistreated her patients, so when she died, her punishment was to take care of patients for eternity. 

In another version Eulalia was never actually engaged to the young doctor, this version states he rejects her interest in him and marries a woman he is engaged to. She then takes her disappointment out on her patients. The result is several of them die.

Regardless of the story—several hospitals in Mexico lay claim to her ghost. Many witnesses state they have seen her or have been under her care at night.

*  It is sometimes stated that she specifically takes care of patients that stay in the room where she died.