The city of Albuquerque is a historic one and as with most historic places there are plenty of ghostly tales to tell.
From haunted hospitals that have been transformed into grand hotels and libraries teeming with ghostly children Albuquerque really does have it all! No matter what type of ghost story floats your boat you will probably find it right here!
Let’s check out some of the most haunted places in Albuquerque, NM:
8. The Church Street Cafe
The Church Street Cafe is an eighteen room hacienda which was originally built back in the early 1700s as a private residence for the Ruiz Family.
In fact, for almost 200 years the building was known as Case de Ruiz! It is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in the state of New Mexico and it remained in the Ruiz Family until its last living member, Rufina G Ruiz passed away at the grand old age of 91 in the early nineties.
It is safe to say that the family loved this home! Shortly after Rufina passed away, Maria Coleman snapped up the property and renovation works got underway to create the Church Street Cafe.
It was at this time that the first hauntings began. The house was inhabited by the spirit of Sara Ruiz who had been Rufina’s mother and something of a healer.
She was not at all pleased that her beloved home was being ripped apart right in front of her and she made this very clear.
Marie has described how the female apparition would scream at her to ‘get him out of here now!’ whenever she tried to bring contractors over to price up the work!
Eventually she did manage to hire a construction team, but they were constantly interrupted by tools being moved and kicked around the house!
Eventually, Marie started to communicate with Sara’s ghost and now they seem to have agreed an uneasy truce.
Sara is by no means gone! In fact, employees say that they often see Sara in a long black dress and even some of the customers have reported feeling her presence in the cafe!
7. Kimo Theatre
One of the most haunted locations in Albuquerque is also one of the most infamous thanks to the tragic story of young Bobby Darnall.
Bobby is said to have been just six years old when he was killed backstage at the Kimo Theatre thanks to a hot water pipe from the boiler exploding in 1951.
He is now said to haunt the theatre and staff and performers have more or less adopted Bobby into their day to day lives. It has become customary for a donut to be left backstage for Bobby on the opening night of every performance.
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If this is neglected then things will always go wrong for the performance with lighting and sound equipment malfunctioning during the performance. It is much better for all concern if Bobby gets his usual sweet treat!
Little Bobby may be the most well known ghost in Kimo Theatre, but he is certainly not the only one.
There are at least two other entities that haunt the building, both much older than Bobby and likely dating back to around the 1920s when the theater first opened.
6. Casa Esencia
Built in 1783 by Salvador Armijo, the property is now on the official National Register of Historic Places and regularly features on lists of the most haunted places in the city and in New Mexico as a whole.
Employees will regularly report hearing unexplained noises including disembodied voices. Several workers have also said that they have felt themselves being touched when nobody else is around!
One of the focal points for the paranormal activity seems to be the events space, but access is by invite only!
5. Hotel AndaluzBOOK A ROOM
Fun fact! Conrad Hilton is actually from New Mexico and the Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque was actually one of his first hotels – number 4 in his portfolio to be exact!
It opened in 1939 and was the very first building in New Mexico to have air conditioning!
See also: Most Haunted Hotels in NM
Over the years, the hotel has been renovated and upgraded and it now features on the National Register of Historic Places.
Luxury is the name of the game here, but no amount of grandeur can cover up the paranormal activity in the building.
Guests often complain that their jewelry is moved around during the night and many have also complained of being woken up by the sound of a woman screaming!
4. San Pedro Library
When you first enter the bright and airy San Pedro Library you will surely believe that we have been mistaken. How could such a lovely place possibly be one of the most haunted places in Albuquerque?
However, you must never let appearances deceive you – never did that old saying ‘never judge a book by its cover’ ring truer than right here in the San Pedro Library.
There have been a number of reports of strange activity here including the lights turning on and off by themselves and objects that move around the library by themselves.
Perhaps the creepiest reports of all are those that claim there are apparitions of children that appear in darkened rooms with the library!
3. Carrie Tingley Children's Hospital
Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital was first opened in 1910 by Clyde Tingley and his wife Carrie Wooster Tingley. There were children treated there for a variety of different ailments including tuberculosis, scoliosis and spina bifida.
The hospital has now merged with the UNM medical facilities, but the ghosts of the past still linger here. In some of the unused sections of the building, people have reported seeing glowing lights filtering out from under the doors.
There are also fairly regular reports of invisible energy fields or barriers that make it difficult, if not impossible for people to pass through certain doors and/or hallways! In the oldest parts of the hospital people also say that they have experienced the disembodied voices and sometimes sobbing of children.
Others say they have heard heartbeats almost like hearing a baby on an ultrasound. Finally, on a handful of occasions, people have also seen figures in black robes in dark hallways around the hospital.
2. Abandoned Insane Asylum
One of the most haunted places in Albuquerque is also one of the most closely guarded secrets. Even some Albuquerque locals do not know about the abandoned insane asylum that sits on the corner of Edith and Osuna.
It is actually owned by neighbors and they take trespassing very seriously, so even those in the know tend to stay away.
However, there have been a handful of brave souls who have risked a visit and returned with tales of the paranormal to tell.
One common story is that a large black figure follows those who enter the asylum and this has also been captured in a number of photographs taken in the building.
Many believe that the hauntings can be pinned on the fact that a former doctor, sometimes referred to as ‘Dr. Samuel’, used to conduct inhumane experiments on his patients often killing them in the process.
The bodies would then be dumped in the basement to be disposed of later. When it seemed that his crimes were about to be uncovered the doctor went down to that same basement and hung himself.
1. Hotel Parq CentralSTAY HERE
It may not look like much at first glance, but the Hotel Parq is actually one of the more grand hotels in New Mexico. It also happens to be one of the most haunted buildings in Albuquerque.
If you spend an evening sitting in the rooftop Apothecary Lounge with its breathtaking views out across the city to the mountain backdrop then you may find that claim a little hard to swallow.
However, Hotel Parq has a darker side! The building was not always a hotel. Originally it served as a hospital which served railroad employees.
Sometime in the eighties it was renamed Memorial Hospital and became a psychiatric unit. Even then there were claims of hauntings.
Patients would insist that they were disturbed in the night by unseen hands tugging at the bed sheets, but few were willing to believe them given their mental health status.
However, now that paying hotel guests are having similar experiences, it all seems a little bit more credible!