NEW MEXICO
© Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos 1948
Inspiration
GHOST RANCH
Ghost Ranch in Abiquiú, New Mexico has become synonymous with its most famous artist resident - Georgia O’Keeffe. Back in the 1800s, cattle rustlers - the Archeluta brothers settled on the land. According to legend, the brothers spread rumors of evil spirits that plagued Box Canyon to deter any visitors and to conceal their crimes. This caused the ranch to be nicknamed "Ranch of the Witches", later to be called Ghost Ranch. The canyon may or may not have started out haunted - for "the Archeluta brothers were not content with just basic cattle rustling and when travelers passed through their land, they had a tendency to vanish..."
In 1936, Arthur Pack an American naturalist who founded the American Nature Association, purchased the ranch giving it raving reviews in Nature Magazine - which enticed Georgia O’Keeffe's first visit. The artist soon fell in love with the ranch and began to divide her time between there and New York - eventually moving to the nearby village of Abiquiú. Today, Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre education center and retreat - the towering red cliffs and its vivid colors still hold a hypnotic power and a feeling of stepping back in time. New Mexico is a mysterious place - an intriguing destination for Halloween Season travel.
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LEGEND OF VIVARON
Oldest Ghost Ever Recorded
The ghost of a 30-foot-long rattlesnake-demon known as Vivaron was said to haunt the area around Huerfano Mesa, hiding in tunnels under the mountain during the day and emerging at sunset to commence its nightly hunt. In 2016, a new species of reptile was identified at Ghost Ranch. The reptile has been named Vivaron after the snake-demon and was identified as a new species of rauisuchid, a distant relative of the modern-day crocodile. Vivarons were between 12 to 18 feet long and lived in the area of Ghost Ranch around 212 million years ago. Rauisuchids were some of the largest and most dangerous carnivores in Pangea during the 16-million-year-long Triassic Period. The Guinness Book of World Records awarded Vivaron the distinction of the ‘Oldest Ghost’ ever recorded.
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LORETTO CHAPEL
Old Sante Fe Trail
In 1873, the Sisters of Loretto began construction of the Chapel using the same French architect and builders as Saint Francis Cathedral Basilica - the Chapel of Our Lady of Light with its gothic-style architecture. Unfortunately, the architect died before access to the choir loft was built and given the height of the loft and the small size of the Chapel - a staircase would have taken up too much floor space... Legend states that seeking guidance, the Sisters of Loretto prayed a nine-day novena to St. Joseph, the Patron Saint of Carpenters. On the final day of the novena, a carpenter appeared with only a hammer and carpenter’s square and built what is now known as the Miraculous Staircase. When the Staircase was complete, the carpenter disappeared without receiving thanks nor payment. The Sisters tried all local lumber stores but could not find accounts of the purchases and discovered the wood used was not native to the American Southwest. ​
“In a cold like this, the stars snap like distant coyotes, beyond the moon. And you’ll see the shadows of actual coyotes, going across the alfalfa field. And the pine-trees make little noises, sudden and stealthy, as if they were walking about. And the place heaves with ghosts..."
Mornings in New Mexico by D.H. Lawrence
SANTE FE PLAZA
Día de los Muertos
The historic Santa Fe Plaza opens its annual Día de los Muertos celebration with festive mariachi music and traditional entertainment on the Santa Fe Bandstand, festooned with papeles picados, colourful cut paper decorations seen at celebrations throughout Mexico. Ofrenda adornment honors those who have passed on within a backdrop of brightly coloured masks, decorative skulls and hundreds of marigolds. Performances by Ballet Folklorico, Catrina dances by Xochitl Ballet Folklorico and Teatro Paraguas are followed by Traditional Mexika ~ Azteca Blessing by Danza Tonantzin de Analco. The Candelight Parade is led by Las Catrinas de Xochitl Ballet Folklorico y Las Mojigangas - ending with a dance party.
Ghost Stories of
SANTE FE
Burro Alley is one of Santa Fe's wild, wild west stories with all kinds of mayhem that happened on this street. Pistoleros, thieves, venders, lynching, gunfights, you name it - it happened on this historic and haunted road where paranormal activity has also been witnessed.
​​The Headless Horseman of New Mexico trots along Alto Street en route to the Santa Fe River - where legend goes that the horseman was beheaded by a couple of Spanish witches who gave him a love potion.
​​Tales of the Mission of San Miguel of a child’s ghost in the present-day gift shop, a bell ringing allegedly that helped a blind man miraculously see and paranormal sightings all along the surrounding block.
Haunted Trails ...
Desert Shadows Ghost Tour >
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GHOST TOWNS
Town of Shakespeare was once a bustling community that temporarily swelled in population in the 1870s when a silver mine was discovered. The town became a frenzy of wild west activity, including the hangings of cattle raiders “Russian Bill” Tattenbaum and Sandy King. But once the silver dried up in 1893, so did its residents. Frank and Rita Hill purchased the derelict town in 1935, and it’s been a National Historic site since 1970. Glenrio was once a thriving Route 66 town on the New Mexico-Texas border that formerly teemed with motels, cafes and eateries. Long gone are the glory days of the Mother Road, and towns like Glenrio have been all but deserted since the 1980s, comprised entirely of ramshackle buildings, abandoned diners and deteriorating signs. Dawson is a town of zero residents and dozens of tombstones. The only thing that remains in this one-road town near Raton is a cemetery containing the graves of hundreds of coal workers who died in mining explosions in 1913 and 1923. The pinnacle of ghost towns with zero buildings and no cell service - the remnants of Dawson capture the beautiful, quiet eeriness of a state juxtaposed by sprawling beauty and preserved macabre.
photo credit Getty Images
ROSWELL
Roswell is a town that needs no introduction. Located about three hours southeast of Albuquerque in the middle of endless desert - the site of the infamous “Roswell Incident” of 1947. When metallic debris was recovered after a crash - some claim it was a military balloon, others say it was a UFO. Whatever the reality, the town leans into the legend with an unparalleled kitsch. Downtown is lined with alien-shaped streetlights, businesses are alien-themed and there's a McDonald’s shaped like a flying saucer. Alien footprints, murals, statues all along the main drag - culminating at the ultimate pit stop: the International UFO Museum and Research Center.
photo credit Getty Images
