Tamara C.
Yelp
A few years ago, right around Halloween, me and my friend Laura watched The Travel Channel's "Ten Most Haunted Hotels in the USA" special. The St. James's Hotel in dusty and deserted Cimarron, New Mexico was right up there in the top 10. Although it has been a few years, I remember it like yesterday and can't imagine that it has changed much.
Besides being haunted, the St. James has quite the colorful history. Built in 1872 by Frenchman Henri Lambert who was at one time the personal chef to President Lincoln, The St. James was conveniently located along the Santa Fe Trail. This location made it popular with gunfighters, gold prospectors, and all other sorts of folk making their way west. Today the rooms of the famous gunfighters such as Wyatt Earp are cordoned off with red velvet rope so that you can peer in and see what their accommodations would have looked like. It is a small wonder that the hotel is said to be haunted. There were at least 26 murders and God knows how many shootings and stabbings. Go ahead, just for fun, count the bullet holes in the ceiling in the main dining room. Unfortunately, the dining room was closed during our stay so we had to eat elsewhere.
Now, for the reason we wanted to stay there. Rooms 17 and 18. Room 18 is so haunted that no one enters. Legend has it that guest James Wright stayed there and he had won the title to the hotel in a poker game but he was murdered, shot in the back before he could collect his win. Room 17, across the hall was the room of Mary, the wife of Henri who is said to tap on the window if it is left open and her presence leaves a fragrance of rose perfume.
Our room felt like we were stepping back in time a 100 years. No telephone. No television. Our accommodations looked much like those of the gunfighters' preserved rooms downstairs. This place is like a time capsule. Naturally for our visit we stayed in room 17 left the window open for Mary and we went across the hall to jiggle the doorknob and stared through the keyhole of room 18. Nothing bad happened. At bedtime we brought out a Ouija board to facilitate communication with any ghosts that might be lurking about and guess what happened!
Nothing.
My friend tells me I lightly snore. She didn't sleep. She was too scared because of the Ouija board and was awake all night.
Despite the ghosts being a no show, it was still really cool staying here just for the historical value. To you folks that happen to be in the area, as in, in-the-middle-of-nowhere, NM, take a detour and go visit.
2015 - Review # 15