The Staab House in Santa Fe, New Mexico is more than a hundred years old, its construction finished in 1884. The first formal structure of the area, the three story structure, was Victorian in architecture. The former mansion is reached through the lobby of the La Posada. Abraham Stabb had the mansion built for his wife, Julia Schuster, who he brought to Santa Fe from Germany. The structure was the center of society with Julia the hostess of parties that were attended by men like President Rutherford Hayes, General Sherman and Governor Lew Wallace. According to historian Betsy Sollitt, the Staabs had seven children, but their eighth child died early and Julia went into a self-imposed exile afterward. She would not eat or sleep and when she died at 52, she looked far older than her years. The mansion was converted into an inn in 1936. The employees of the La Posada are quite aware the place is haunted. Sounds as well as sights have been recorded. Most activity occurs around Room 256 which belonged to Julia Staab. Security guard Chuck Barone was assisting the bellman with a group of unruly tourists one afternoon. They came to Room 256 and knocked at the door as per routine. When they did, a voice called out, Im in here. Since the room was supposed to be empty, the bellman checked at the front desk. The bellman returned and advised that the room was empty. Barone adds: I then knocked. There was no reply this time. I opened the door and we went in. The room was empty. It is a second floor room and the windows were locked from the inside. Chucks son, John Barone, was also a security guard. As he was locking up, he checked the mens room and noticed a womans face staring at him from the mirror. Acknowledging it, he felt a cold chill and left without checking the ladies room or turning off the light. Chuck confirms, This is true. He met me and the security manager Dan Chappell outside on the patio minutes after. He was as white as a sheet and scared. He told us what he had seen. Ross Weissenhoff also had an experience in the inn while he was staying there with his girlfriend, Holly Knor. He was staying in a room near Julias when awoke one night to see a luminescent shape at the foot of the bed. As he looked back two more times, it took the form of a woman staring at him. Although he was a skeptic before, he woke Holly and quickly checked out of the room. Christopher Chacone of the Organization of Scientific Investigation and Research arrived with a team to test the La Posada for physical, psychological and electrical reasons for the hauntings. He conducted psychological and physical examinations of the witnesses and checked the location for elements that might cause illusions. He felt the witnesses were reliable but could not discern the source of the activity that was happening.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 05:37:54 +0000
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