Haunted Places in Santa Fe: 7 of the City's Best Ghost Stories
A hotel on the Plaza with a hanging in its courtyard, a grieving mother who never left her mansion, a staircase built by a stranger and a prison where 33 men died. Santa Fe has more ghost stories per block than almost any American city.
Santa Fe was founded around 1610, and most of its haunted places are within a few minutes’ walk of the Plaza: La Fonda on the Plaza itself, La Posada and the Drury Plaza a few blocks east, and Loretto Chapel, San Miguel Chapel and the Oldest House along the Old Santa Fe Trail. The one exception is Old Main, the closed state prison 15 miles south, which you can only see on a booked tour. Tourism Santa Fe lists several evening ghost walks, and the stories you will hear on them come mostly from guides, hotel staff and old newspaper tales rather than records. We have checked each one and say where the history ends and the legend begins.
Address 100 E San Francisco St, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Where to look La Plazuela restaurant over the old well, Room 510, the third-floor halls, the Santa Fe Room
Reported ghosts Judge John P. Slough, a ruined salesman at the well, a murdered bride, a cowboy in the bar
Visiting A working hotel; public areas, restaurant and bar are open to visitors
There has been an inn on this corner of the Santa Fe Plaza for centuries; the hotel says records point to the town’s first inn around 1607, and it was the end of the Santa Fe Trail. The current Pueblo Revival building opened in 1922, was run as a Harvey House for decades and now has 180 rooms around a famous rooftop bell tower bar.
Its best-known story is real history: Chief Justice John P. Slough was shot in the lobby of the old Exchange Hotel on this site in 1867, and guests still report a tall man in a long black coat in the halls. Diners in La Plazuela describe a figure who walks to the middle of the room and drops into the floor where an old well was, and a bride is said to linger in Room 510.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book dinner in La Plazuela, the old courtyard restaurant built over the well, then take a nightcap in the Bell Tower Bar.
Address 4311 NM-14, Santa Fe, NM 87508 (about 15 miles south of the Plaza)
Where to look Cell Block 4 and the floors still marked by the 1980 riot
Reported ghosts Shadow figures reported by officers since 1981; slamming cell doors
Visiting Closed prison on the grounds of a working one; visits only on booked, escorted tours
Tours Guided history tours for private and school groups, booked by email
Tickets Ask the Corrections Department for fees; background check needed at least five days ahead
Ghost hunting No: tours focus on history and the department does not offer ghost hunts
The Penitentiary of New Mexico opened south of Santa Fe in 1956, replacing the 1885 territorial prison. Built for about 900 men, it held 1,156 by early 1980. On February 2 and 3, 1980, inmates seized the prison for 36 hours, took 12 officers hostage and killed at least 33 fellow prisoners, many in Cell Block 4, the protective custody unit. It was one of the deadliest prison riots in American history. Old Main closed in 1998 and is now used for film sets and guided tours.
The Corrections Department runs its tours as history and deliberately leaves out ghost stories, out of respect for the people who died and those who survived. The stories still exist: officers and National Guard members have reported a human-shaped shadow in the old prison since 1981, and a local ghost research group that visited nine times found the slamming sounds people heard had ordinary causes. Visitors see hatchet marks and burn scars still on the floors.
Haunted Rooms tip: Tours are booked in advance by email with the Corrections Department, need a background check and are for ages 16 and over; bring a flashlight and a layer.
Where to look Room 256 (Suite 100), the Staab House staircase, the bar
Reported ghosts Julia Staab, seen in a black Victorian dress
Visiting A working hotel; public areas, restaurant and bar are open to visitors
At the heart of this six-acre adobe resort is the 1882 Staab House, a three-story brick mansion built by merchant Abraham Staab for his wife Julia and their children. Julia died in 1896. The house was turned into an inn in the 1930s and is now part of a 157-room Tribute Portfolio resort and a member of Historic Hotels of America.
A janitor reported the first sighting in 1979: a woman in a black Victorian dress with her hair in a tight bun. Since then staff and guests describe gas fireplaces switching on, swaying chandeliers, a shelf of glasses crashing down and the smell of roses. Julia’s old bedroom, Room 256 (also called Suite 100), gets the most reports.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 256, also known as Suite 100, which was Julia Staab’s bedroom.
Address 401 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Where to look The gift shop, the nave and the old bell
Reported ghosts A small boy in the gift shop; a friar on the grounds
Visiting Historic church open to visitors; small admission fee; Mass held on set days
San Miguel was built in the Barrio de Analco, home to Tlaxcalan and other Native people who came north with the Spanish, probably soon after Santa Fe was founded in 1610; it is first mentioned in 1628. It was damaged in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt and rebuilt in 1710, and is often called the oldest church in the continental United States. Its bell carries the date 1356, but a 1914 study showed it was cast in Santa Fe in 1856.
A mid-1800s legend says the bell rang on its own and gave a blind man his sight while it tolled. Ghost tour guides add a little boy who is said to haunt the gift shop and try to play with visiting children, a friar on the grounds, and an uneasy feeling some visitors describe inside. People are buried beneath the church, as at most old missions; the ghost stories themselves come from tour guides, not records.
Haunted Rooms tip: Visit quietly; it is still a consecrated church that holds Mass, so check the schedule before you go.
Address 207 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Where to look The spiral staircase, the gift shop and the Inn at Loretto next door
Reported ghosts A nun said to smoke cigars and slip money into the till
Visiting Private museum and wedding chapel; small admission fee
The Sisters of Loretto commissioned this small Gothic Revival chapel for their girls’ academy in 1873, and it was consecrated in 1878. Its architect, Projectus Mouly, modeled it on the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Its famous spiral staircase climbs 20 feet to the choir loft in two full turns with no central support, and the sisters credited it to a mysterious carpenter who appeared after they prayed to St. Joseph; a local historian has argued the builder was a French carpenter, Frank Rochas. The academy closed in 1968 and the chapel is now a private museum and wedding chapel.
Santa Fe’s ghost tellers say one of the old teaching nuns never left. In the story she wears black, smokes cigars, browses the gift shop, talks to children and leaves extra money in the register. Tourism Santa Fe ties the same tale to the Inn and Spa at Loretto, built on the academy site, where shop staff in the late 1970s reported an extra ten-dollar bill in the till each morning and the smell of cigar smoke.
Haunted Rooms tip: Go early in the day for the staircase, then walk a block to San Miguel Chapel and the Oldest House.
Reported ghosts Two witch sisters and the headless horseman of Alto Street
Visiting Operates as a small visitor attraction; hours vary
This thick-walled adobe across the lane from San Miguel Chapel has been sold to visitors as the oldest house in the United States since at least 1879, and later owners claimed it dated to 1200. Tree-ring dating of its roof beams points to the 1740s to 1760s, though some lower walls may be older, possibly Pueblo work. Whatever its age, it sits in Barrio de Analco, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Santa Fe.
The best-known legend says two sisters who lived here were witches who sold love potions. Juan Espinoza bought one, lost his love to his brother and came back for a refund, and the sisters cut off his head with his own sword. He is said to ride as a headless horseman down Alto Street toward the Santa Fe River. Tourism Santa Fe also says a malevolent presence is felt in the house. It is a folk tale, with no record behind it.
Haunted Rooms tip: See the house, cross to San Miguel Chapel, then walk Alto Street by the river at dusk for the horseman story.
Where to look The third floor and Room 311, the basement, the fourth floor
Reported ghosts A crying boy in Room 311, a man in old-fashioned clothes, a woman in a black mantilla
Visiting A working hotel; public areas, restaurant and bar are open to visitors
The Drury Plaza opened in 2014 inside the old St. Vincent Hospital, a 1953 John Gaw Meem building on land the Sisters of Charity had used for hospitals since 1865, together with 1911 Marian Hall. After the hospital moved out in 1977 the state used the buildings for offices and a nursing home, and they gathered a long list of ghost stories along the way.
Nurses on the third floor told of a child crying and gasping in Room 311, said to be a boy brought in after a Christmas Eve car crash. Others described a man in old-fashioned clothes and a woman in a black mantilla on the top floor, and blood-like stains in the basement. Drury’s managers say they have seen nothing.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for a third-floor room in the original hospital building rather than the newer wings.
These places appear in older lists of haunted spots. We keep them here so you know the facts before you go, but you cannot (or should not) visit them.
Casa Real, Galisteo Street
Legends of America says this senior care center, built in 1985 near the site of an old penitentiary graveyard, has cold spots and moaning in its wings. It is a working health care facility for elderly residents, so it is not a place to visit for ghosts.
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We collect first-hand accounts from visitors and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your visit. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most haunted place in Santa Fe?
La Fonda on the Plaza and La Posada are the most famous, for the ghosts of a hanged man and of Julia Staab. Old Main, the state prison where 33 inmates died in the 1980 riot, has the darkest history, but its tours deliberately leave out ghost stories.
Are there ghost tours in Santa Fe?
Yes. Several companies run evening ghost walks from the Plaza, and Tourism Santa Fe lists them. La Posada also tells Julia Staab’s story to its guests.
Who is the ghost at La Posada?
Julia Staab, wife of merchant Abraham Staab, who built their brick mansion in 1882. She fell into a deep depression after losing a baby and died in 1896 aged 52; staff and guests say she appears on the staircase and in her old rooms.
What is the legend of the Oldest House in Santa Fe?
Two sisters who lived there are said to have been witches who sold love potions. One customer, Juan Espinoza, demanded his money back and was beheaded with his own sword, and he is said to ride headless down Alto Street toward the river.
Can you visit the old Santa Fe penitentiary?
Yes, on a guided tour booked in advance with the New Mexico Corrections Department. Visitors must be 16 or older and pass a background check, and the tours focus on history rather than ghosts.
Is Loretto Chapel haunted?
The chapel is best known for its spiral staircase, said to have been built by a mysterious carpenter. Ghost walk guides add the story of a cigar-smoking nun who leaves money in the gift shop register, a tale Tourism Santa Fe ties to the Inn at Loretto next door.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story. Each place shows how many independent sources we checked it against; our own Haunted Rooms pages are not counted.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team are paranormal researchers who write about historic haunted places across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
