Saint James Hotel
HauntedHouses.com
Haunted
Place - The Saint James Hotel
LOCATION:
It stands in the city of Cimarron, which
is in Northeast New Mexico. Cimarron is a city on the historic Santa
Fe Trail. The hotel is located near the intersection of U.S. Highway
64 and Highway 21, at 17th and Collinson Streets.
Mailing address:
St. James Hotel
Route 1, Box 2
Cimarron, New Mexico 87714
DESCRIPTION:
The Saint James Hotel, which was built
in 1880, is described as "a genuine piece of Western Americana."
The interior of this Hotel is both Victorian and Western in style. It
is adorned with crystal chandeliers, velvet curtains, brocade wallpaper
and heavy, sturdy furniture, which was built to withstand a lot of abuse
from rowdy clientele. A steep staircase leads up to the second floor guest
rooms. Below these guest rooms, one can find the old 1873 saloon, which
is now used as the hotel's dining room and where the original, antique
bar still exists. There are mirrors all along the front of the bar.
The Saint James is open all year round, with 13 historic rooms, which
range from being fancy, to practical. A modern annex to the hotel has
12 rooms.
HISTORY:
The Saint James Saloon and Hotel
was built by Henn Lambert, a former cook of General Grant and President
Lincoln, during a time in New Mexico's history where law and order was
unheard of, until 1903. While many well-known people, such as Annie
Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody,General Sheridan, Zane Grey & Bat Masterson,
stayed at the Saint James, so did many of the criminal element, who
considered New Mexico a haven from legal justice. It's not surprising
then, that the Saint James had a raucous, violent history, with 26 documented
killings and many other undocumented ones. Gunfights, brawls and knifings
took their toll on the living, and explains why there are so many restless
spirits still checked in as residents of the hotel. If one studies the
ceiling of the dining room, 22 bullet holes still exist. A double layer
of heavy wood prevented the killing from spreading up to the sleeping
clients upstairs.
MANIFESTATIONS:
The Saint James now has the reputation
of being an elegant, friendly hotel with fine food and service. The
unseen clients expect it as well. Psychics have identified 7 of these
restless ones, though more are present.
1) Mary Lambert (wife of Henn Lambert).
Her presence is marked by her strong perfume, which waifs through
the hallway by the upstairs guest rooms. If the living want to sleep
in her old room, the window must be kept shut completely as Mary wants
it to be safe for everyone. She will tap and beat on the window if
left open, waking up the hotel patrons sleeping in that room, and
won't stop until the window is shut. She perhaps is still looking
after her hotel and her guests.
2) Another reason that Mary Lambert
can't move on is that her 2/12 year old son, Johnnie, who is still
a ball of energy is having too good a time running around the hallways,
playing in the hotel, getting into mischief and won't be coaxed to
the other side. Johnnie's spirit was seen by a young man cleaning
up the downstairs bar. He saw the 2 year old, with long golden curls,wearing
a long white gown, spinning a bottle while sitting on the bar. Thinking
he was a guest, he asked him to go back up to his room. When the little
boy looked up at him, half of his face was horribly scarred with burns.
The boy jumped off the stool and disappeared into the floor!
It seems that Johnnie had run
into someone carrying a big pot of fried foods and suffered fatal
burns.
3) Johnnie isn't the only child
ghost. He has the company of two little girl ghosts,12 yrs. and 9
yrs. old, who died of diphtheria in the late 1800s. Both are very
polite and well-behaved, and don't approve of Johnnie's behavior!
4) A mischievous "gnome-like"
old man, named Little Imp by the owners, plays tricks on the living,
annoying many, especially new employees. He once appeared on a bar
stool, and laughed at the young man hired to clean up the dining room.
He is also the one who took a steak knife from the holder in the kitchen
and stuck it in the floor between the two owners of the hotel. More
evidence points to him as well, when lamp shades and glasses crack
all by themselves, and objects disappear and reappear in other places.
5) Card player - T. James Wright.
Because he was killed before he could collect his huge card winnings,
he haunts hotel room # 18. He is unfriendly, very angry, wants to
be left alone and gives off evil vibes. He has been known to knock
over unwanted people who come into room #18, and has spun his chandelier,
which is hanging in room #18, around and around to let the living
know that he is still there. So, the owners give this spirit what
he wants. Room #18 is locked and not rented to guests. It hasn't been
renovated or fixed up. Inside, there is a table, playing cards, a
shot glass and a bottle of Jack Daniels. A vase of flowers stands
outside his door.
6) Other ghosts who live there
have appeared to the living. Early one morning, when the owner's wife
had walked into the dining room, she saw in the mirror, on the front
of the bar, an apparition of a pleasant-looking cowboy in a big hat,
standing behind her.
STILL HAUNTED?
YES!
PSYCHIC RESEARCH:
Psychics have identified the spirits
mentioned in 1, 4 and 5 and have discovered that the many other ghosts
who haunt the hotel are happily reliving all the great experiences that
they had at the hotel, which makes sense to the current owners, who
currently strive to offer service pleasing to their living clients.
The children ghosts in 2 & 3
were identified by psychic Nancy Myer.
The
Southwest Ghost Hunters Association has investigated this hotel
and has come up with some interesting results.
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